Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)

Mighty Joe Young (also known as Mr. Joseph Young of Africa and The Great Joe Young) is a 1949 American black and white fantasy film distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and produced by the same creative team responsible for King Kong (1933). The film was produced and directed by Merian C. Cooper, co-directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose. It stars Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, and Ben Johnson in his first credited screen role. Animation effects were handled by Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, Pete Peterson, and Marcel Delgado. It was released on July 13, 1949, and did not produce profit in the box office though reviews were generally positive. In 1950 the film won an Academy Award for special effects.

Mighty Joe Young tells the story of a young woman, Jill Young, living on her father's ranch in Africa. Jill has raised the title character, a large gorilla, from an infant and years later brings him to Hollywood. The film explores the themes of domesticity, humanization, and primitivism. It was later remade in 1998 with Charlize Theron and Bill Paxton. From 2017 to 2018, Aberystwyth University hosted an exhibition about its production.