“Mighty Joe Young” was a very entertaining film with a surprising amount of action. In fact, the last third to last half of this film is just about non-stop. it reminded me of King Kong, of course with a big age being brought to New York City for display and then things going haywire. This movie, however, has a happier ending than “Kong,” although it doesn’t look like that will be the case near the end. It turns to be a very suspenseful movie in that last 30 minutes, especially.

Even though this was an early Ray Harryhausen special-effects effort (and he’s interviewed in two features on the DVD), it still looks pretty hokey in spots. But in 1949, this must have been pretty cool. Hey, to be fair, some parts are decently realistic if you aren’t too critical. One thing: they are fun to watch!

The only weak point was the acting. A very young-looking Ben Johnson sounded wooden and Robert Armstrong overacted. Terry Moore, as Mighty Joe’s guardian, so to speak, was so-so.

What made this movie better-than-average was the injection of some humor into this adventure story. Humor, and a bit of sentimentality as Mighty Joe is humanized to a degree. The big ape was funny while sitting in the back of a speeding truck eluding the police, and at the very of the movie he made most viewers laugh.

This movie is much better now that it’s on DVD. The transfer is excellent; a nice picture. Near the end, with the big orphanage fire, the black-and-white scenes are tinted. Overall, if you liked the 1933 version of King Kong, you’ll like this. A lot of the same people were responsible for both films.