Konga (also called I Was a Teenage Gorilla) is a 1961 British/American international co-production science fiction horror filmdirected by John Lemont and starring Michael Gough, Margo Johns and Austin Trevor. It was shot at Merton Park Studios and inCroydon for Anglo Amalgamated then distributed in the United States by American International Pictures (AIP) as a double featurewith Master of the World. Anglo Amalgamated and AIP each provided half the funding for the US$500,000 film with each studio receiving distribution rights in their respective hemispheres.[1]
Konga was the basis for a comic-book series published by Charlton Comics and initially drawn by Steve Ditko (prior to Ditko's co-creation of Spider-Man) in the 1960s.
Plot[edit | edit source]
British botanist Dr. Charles Decker comes back from Africa after a year, presumed dead. During that year, he came across a way of growing plants and animals to an enormous size. He brings back a baby chimpanzee, Konga, to test out his theory. Decker goes insane after he discovers a serum that turns his chimpanzee subject into a ferocious gorilla-sized ape. To further his hideous experiments, he mesmerizes the chimp and sends it to London to kill all his enemies who want more credit in the scientific community than he already has. Among his targets is Dean Foster Professor Tagore and Bob Kenton, the lover of Sandra Banks, the woman the doctor wants for himself.
After Konga strangles Bob Kenton to death, Dr. Charles Decker attempts to make Sandra Banks his own. This doesn't sit well with Margaret, the botanist's assistant and current girlfriend, who attempts to get even by giving Konga an enormous amount of the strange serum and turns him into an enormous monster, although she becomes his first victim: Konga Kills Margaret.
Just before going on a rampage, the super-sized ape grabs Dr. Charles Decker in one of his enormous hands, while Sandra's Banks arm is eaten by Dr. Charles Decker's carnivorous plants. His rampage comes to a stop when he and Dr. Charles Decker are killed by the British army. Upon his death, Konga reverts to a chimpanzee.
Cast [edit | edit source]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Gough | Dr. Charles Decker |
| Margo Johns | Margaret |
| Jess Conrad | Bob Kenton |
| Claire Gordon | Sandra Banks |
| Austin Trevor | Dean Foster |
| Jack Watson | Superintendent Brown |
| George Pastell | Professor Tagore |
| Vanda Godsell | Bob's Mother |
| Stanley Morgan | Inspector Lawson |
| Grace Arnold | Miss Barnesdell |
| Leonard Sachs | Bob's Father |
| Nicholas Bennett | Daniel |
| Kim Tracy | Mary |
| Rupert Osborne | Eric Kenton |
| Waveney Lee | Janet Kenton |
| John Welsh | Commissioner Garland |
| Paul Stockman | Konga |
Body Count [edit | edit source]
The following is the body count for Konga in chronological order.
| Name | Cause of death | Killer | On-screen | Notes |
|
British Pilot |
Plane Crash | N/A | Yes | Accident |
| Margaret Cat | Shot | Dr. Charles Decker | Yes | |
| Dean Foster | Strangled | Konga | Yes | |
| Professor Tagore | Strangled | Konga | Yes | |
| Bob Kenton | Strangled | Konga | Yes | |
| Margaret | Thrown onto fire | Konga | Yes | |
| Sandra Banks | Eaten | Carnivorous Plants | Yes | |
|
Dr. Charles Decker |
Thrown |
Konga |
Yes |
|
| Konga | Shot | British Army | Yes |
