AllMovie

"An All-Star Cast" (well, that's what the credits say) helps bring a confusing tale of shenanigans in the jungle to the screen in this low-budget adventure saga, which has become a cult favorite. Steve Collins (Ray "Crash" Corrigan") is an explorer who stumbles injured and exhausted into Morgan's Trading Post, an oasis of civilization in the African jungle, and tells a strange tale of what he's seen over the past few days. Collins encountered Bradford, a fellow explorer who had run afoul of angry natives and was being held captive when they discovered a beautiful woman and her son, who were left stranded years ago by a death in their touring party. The young boy has developed an ability to communicate telepathically with the beasts of the jungle, and through them may be able to lead Bradford to the location of a long-lost treasure. Meanwhile, everyone lives in fear of the White Gorilla, an albino ape who has been shunned by the other creatures of the jungle and now regards every living thing as his enemy, in particularly an especially savage black gorilla. The majority of the jungle footage in The White Gorilla was taken from a silent serial, Perils Of The Jungle, which was shot in 1927; this helps to explain why Collins narrates the action, why many of the characters never actually meet on screen, and why the action frequently and abruptly speeds up or slows down. Ray "Crash" Corrigan donned an ape suit to play the White Gorilla, as well as portraying Collins.