Cinema has always known the box-office draw that comes with slapping a simian up on the screen.
'I got one!'
They are genre defying animals that can bring laughs
Drama.
'Give my gorillas the  protection they're entitled to.'
horror...
even romance
whether real animals...
'Give me five.'
groundbreaking makeup...
'Damn them all to helllll.'
ingenious stop-Motion
Ridiculous CGI
Or dodgy costumes there is no shortage of ways in which audiences can enjoy their antics.
'Saw them monsieur they are charming.'
That's why we're celebrating our top 10 movie monkeys
and yes we know they're not all technically monkeys,
what we mean is top 10 non-human primates on Film,
but that lacks the alliteration we like in a title.
There is no shortage of killer monkeys.
'Many people are dying and are going to continue to die unless we find that monkey.'
usually from the effects of some kind of medical research
Whether it's the effects of living in cyberspace
Sent through Jeff Goldblum's transporter
Or injected with a rage virus
It never ends well for the humans
But Monkey Shines shows us their gentle nature
After being hit by a truck Alan is rendered a quadriplegic and given an experimental help monkey.
' I set you up for the blind date. I hope you don't think she's too much of a gorilla.'
All seems well at first until Ella begins acting out on Alan's anger inflicting revenge on his friends and family
We are also treated to one of the most epic monkey shots in Cinema history
as the monkey leaps across the screen with lightning streaking across the sky
Get that image on a t-shirt right now
From horror to comedy sticking a monkey in a film might be a way to get a quick laugh
but no critic is rushing out to see Matt MeBlanc's Ed or Spy Mate or
MXP Most Extreme Primate, if you want comedy from your monkey you have to go Animated
whether it's Family guys evil monkey
the Simpsons Mr.. Teeny
or the lemurs of Madagascar.
'Shut up you're so annoying!'
But it's Disney that really hits it out of the park with the Lion Kings Rafiki,
Aladdin's pet monkey Aboo
and our number 9...
'now I'm the king of the swingers, A jungle VIP'
voiced by the Real-Life King of Swing Louis Prima the raucous Orangutan King Louie is a
purely Disney creation having not featured in kipling stories of the jungle book
and his song I want to be like you
Written by the Sherman Brothers remains one of Disney's Best-known and best loved.
'Oh man, what a beat.'
Next we travel far from home to the land of Oz, in a world filled with witches
Talking lions, tin men and holy crap is that a Munchkin hanging from a tree?
Anyway, when the wicked witch of the west wants to bring dorothy to her castle
She enlists the help of an army of winged monkeys,
the eager-to-please minions have been given a legacy outside the film
'and I'd like to know how loki used to turn two of the sharpest men
I know into his personal flying monkeys monkeys.'
'Monkeys? I do not understand...'
'I do!'
Winged monkeys or flying monkeys have become the pop psychology terms for the sycophantic followers of a narcissist
Insert followers of your least favourite politician here or just enjoy this clip from the Simpsons a night
'Fly my pretties! Fly!'
(monkeys heard hitting the ground)
'Continue the research.'
If there's one thing you should learn from this list. It's that no matter how funny they may be
Monkeys and humans just don't mix.
'What's the matter with him?'
'Maybe you think you're getting more attention than he is.'
But that hasn't stopped people from trying especially in the 70s when pretty much anything was acceptable
'I breast fed him for a couple of months'
'it seemed completely natural.'
Everything was about treating him like a human being.
Project Nim is the excellent documentary that follows the exploits of Nim Chimpsky
A chimp who was raised as a human by hippy scientists
in order to show that not only humans were gifted with the use of language
'I had a relationship with the chimpanzee and I had conversations with another species.'
The controversial study remains inconclusive,
with some believing Nim could sign over a hundred words,
while others thought he performed tricks that could be taught to a pigeon
'He learned how to beg.'
He could work his teachers and always get what he wanted by moving his hands of different ways
Project Nim is a tragic story of an animal we tried to make human
and how he was cast aside when the experiment failed
'and I think his reaction has "Holy Shit." Like he knew we're he knew it was bad.'
For many, there's only one choice for best monkey side kick and that is Clive from Any Which Way But Loose
but that ignores the likes of Tarzan's Cheta
Barboza's Mischievous Jack, or our number six pick the Nazi saluting Capuchin monkey in Raiders of the Lost Ark
from winning over Marion...
'What an adorable creature.'
to betraying her...
To mourning her death. The little monkey's fate ultimately saves, Indiana Jones' life
'Bad dates.'
There has been a long tradition of men dressing up as gorillas on film,
Don Macleod billed himself as the world's foremost gorilla actor
appearing in such films as trading places and the man with two brains
'Doctor Beckerman?'
'That's him alright, I never did like shaking his hand.'
But Steve Calvert was cavorting in gorilla suits in meeting the likes of Bela Lugosi decades earlier
in fact the only non gorilla role on his CV. Had him playing a robot in Target Earth
but with a gorilla Career Spanning five decades
Our number 5 spot goes to George barrows
His screen debut saw him play gorilla in Tarzan and his mate
And he followed this with Baroda and Gorilla at Large.
His gorillas TV credits include the Addams family the Lucy Show the Beverly Hillbillies
and the Incredible Hulk.
For fans of Dark Corners the great George Barrows has appeared in three of our reviews
Hillbillies in a Haunted House
Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
and while only half gorilla his greatest starring role...
Roman in Robot Mobster
George has now passed on that his suit also seen in Kongo with Paul Stockman in it,
now resides at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, an inspiration to other serial apists.
While we're on the topic of people performing as monkeys we can't ignore the original Planet of the Apes
packed full of great ape characters and combined with the groundbreaking
Prosthetic makeup techniques of artist John Chambers,
these are miles away from Barrow's stiff faced performances.
But with so many great characters who do we pick?
The minister of science Dr.. Zaius?
'I Love you Dr Zaius'
Yes, we all do.
If it has to be anyone it can only be Kim Hunter' Zira.
'Bright eyes is remarkable.'
'He keeps trying to form words.'
With Zira we have someone determined to do the right thing even in the face of the pressure of the authority she must report to
Get your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape
She even shares what might be the first on screen interspecies kiss.
Hey, no tongues, Heston.
Monkeys do tend to dominate the screen so it's nice when one can play an incidental role in a much larger story,
The 1995 Serbian film, Underground or Once Upon a Time There Was One Country, is one such film
Opening in Belgrade as Nazi bombs are dropped at the start of the second world war
the young Chimps Sonny is orphaned and taken in by the zookeeper Evan.
As invasion intensifies the chimp joins an underground bunker
Here they remain making weapons for the resistance not knowing the war has long ended
In a movie of outlandish humans Sonny is a simple witness to history and somehow more human
Ultimately it is he who sets everyone in the bunker free when he climbs inside a tank and blows a hole through the wall
There is no doubt that we here at Dark Corners. Have been critical of CGI
and when it comes to monkeys there's good reason.
Look no further than Shia Laboeuf swinging with monkeys in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Motion capture and advances in technology have changed the game for filmmakers whether it's in pirates of the Caribbean or
Andy Serkis' Kong, we now live in an age where CGI can in the right hands enhance a movie.
And for our number two, we can't ignore andy Serkis' other ape performance in the new Planet of the Apes Trilogy
'NO!'
Rise of the Planet of the Apes acted as proof of concept introducing us to Caesar a CGI character we genuinely invested in.
'Apes do not want war.'
But it is the two films that followed that really raised the bar.
Caesar is not only the absolute pinnacle of what CGI is capable of
but is also a clearly fleshed out character with more dimensions than the humans he performs against.
'You will not forgive.'
Finally shocking no one our top spot can only go to the eighth wonder of the world King Kong.
In his long film career there have been many incarnations
We have seen him fight Godzilla, a robot Kong, Jeff Bridges and his own legacy
But for us, there will only ever be one Kong.
Created from the imaginations of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack
Brought to life by Willis O'Brien and screamed at by Fay Wray
He nevertheless seems a living character as vital as any of the actors and as sympathetic
There are many movie monkeys, but there's only one great ape.
Thanks for watching what celluloid simians have we forgotten
let us know your favourite movie monkeys and acting apes in the comments below.
And son't forget to subscribe.
'No more monkey business, no!'
