It's surprising how much I remembered about Konga given that it has to be about 45 years since I've seen it but a shitload of scenes stuck in my memory and yet it's really not a very good film.
(Oh, spoiler warning. Everything remotely interesting is revealed.)
Michael Gough plays the increasingly deranged scientist who brings baby chimp Konga back from the Congo (see, Congo:Konga nothing to do with King Kong at all) along with some seeds as he's experimenting on increased growth. It's not long before he and his mature housekeeper/mistress are feeding meat to rather large carnivorous plants in the greenhouse. He's also injected baby chimp Konga with the serum turning him into a near-adult chimp.
At the college where he lectures we see the setup for the rest of the movie. There's the pretty and studious ingenue he has the hots for (and he's well old enough to be her father), the jealous boyfriend (played by Jess Conrad, a pop star trying to make it as an actor; pity he was rubbish), the dean of the college who doesn't like Michael's more outrageous pronouncements.
Out with the needle, camera goes blurry and Konga has become a man-size man in a cheap gorilla costume. Hypnotised by Gough (and with an extraordinary understanding of English, enough to follow complicated commands), Konga breaks into the dean's study and strangles him. At a soiree a few days later, Gough discovers a rival in the growth serum stakes, a Professor Tagore (not played by an Indian but a swarthy British character actor of the time who often took non-English roles). Gough and Konga follow him home and you know the rest. Jess Conrad gets sick of his professor putting the moves on his girlfriend, loses his temper and tries to strangle him. He comes to his senses and apologises and that evening as he's getting on his scooter to go and see g/f there's a rustling in the bushes and -shock!- it's Konga who does what Konga does to people Gough dislikes.
Gough shows the girl his extremely large carnivorous plants which keep opening and closing their mouths/fangs/traps(?). Now he really puts the moves on the girl who isn't too happy about it. Even less happy is the housekeeper/mistress who's looking through the window. It's one thing for her to tolerate him killing people -he's agreed to marry her if she keeps quiet- but trying to snog a student is a step too far.
She rushes to the basement, hypnotises Konga to obey only her -sure, we all know that's going to work- and rams home the needle. Finally, what we've been waiting about 75 minutes for happens. Konga gets really big, smashes the laboratory, picks up the housekeeper/mistress who has quickly turned into a doll and throws her into the flames. Still growing he bursts through the house and looks into the greenhouse.
Gough, intent on having his wicked way, hasn't heard a giant gorilla smash out of his house which is, oh, all of ten yards away. Konga smashes the glass, grabs Gough, the girl get her arm shoved into the maw of a salivating giant venus fly trap (and as we never see her being rescued, she could still be there, or in hospital minus half an arm). The police and a fire engine arrive but no-one at first notices a 30 feet tall gorilla on the other side of a wall. Fed up with being ignored, Konga decides to go into town in search of some action, growing all the time.
Michael Gough rather unwisely keeps telling Konga to put him down. Given that Konga is about a hundred feet tall by now this isn't a good idea. By the time they arrive at Big Ben, Konga gets fed up with Gough's whining and does as he's told. The crowd, who are politely lined up along the pavement watching, gasp. Konga does nothing. The army finally get their guns in position and start firing. Konga obligingly stays where he is and some of them still manage to miss a 100 feet tall gorilla from about 20 yards. Konga gets bored to death and falls down.
Then he turns into a baby chimpanzee again. On this tearful and poignant note, the film ends. For some reason I don't get a lump in my throat as I have been known to do at the end of the original King Kong.
Yongary's print is much better than the copy on my 12-pack giant monsters DVD but the film's still crap.
I've said good things about the Midnite Movie series in the past. Not this time.
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