INGAGI: FROM GORILLA SUIT TO LAWSUIT

This is the crazy story of an early "man in a monkey suit" Hollywood film that was initially a box-office smash, but eventually ended up becoming embroiled in legal troubles because of its claim to be a true documentary. Released by Congo Films, Ltd. in 1930 as "The Wonder Film", INGAGI (an unsubstantiated African name for Gorilla), the film's plot revolves around a wild gorilla who abducts a native girl for the purpose of -- wait for it -- procreation! The idea was as nutty as a coconut, but theater-goers were intrigued and flocked to their local cinemas to see what all the monkey business was about.

The titular character was played by Charles "Charlie" Gemora, a stowaway from the Philippines, who landed in California with enough artistic talent that soon got him noticed by Hollywood studios. Universal hired him for assisting with sculpting the ornamentation on the Notre-Dame Cathedral for their Super Jewel, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923), as well as work for THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925). Gemora gravitated towards his true calling as a makeup artist and his small size made him perfect to literally fill his gorilla costumes to appear in films such as a Laurel and Hardy short, THE CHIMP (1932), THE GORILLA (1930), and THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932). His hirsute hi-jinks eventually led to his moniker, "The King of the Gorilla Men".

Producers William Alexander and Nat H. Spitzer concocted the idea for INGAGI, which involves a pair of white adventurers who stumble upon a gorilla-worshiping tribe in the middle of a sacrifice. Ingagi hauls off the topless native girl and the explorers set off to both save her and capture the hairy beast. What got the film in hot water was using copyrighted jungle footage for some of the scenes as well as the obvious casting of Hollywood actors to play the parts of authentic natives. One trade journal cried foul when vaccination scars could be seen on the arms of some of them and at least one person was recognized as an actor. Congo Films was sued by the owner of the original footage and won a settlement of $150,000, which was little deterrent for the film's claimed gross of over $4,000,000!

The two fake explorers.

Ingagi (Charlie Gemora) abducts his bride.

Ingagi drags his sacrificial bride through the jungle.

Other goofs and blunders were noticed, included children who were made up as pygmies, the two so-called "British explorers",  Sir Hubert Winstead and Captain Daniel Swayne did not exist on any official records, suspected white women were made up in blackface, and some of the scenes were filmed at the Los Angeles Zoo!

Broadway and Hollywood "Movies" magazine, 1931.

The outrage continued and the Federal Trade Commission stepped in to stop the distribution of the film on the charge of fraud. It was Charlie Gemora himself that sounded the death knell when he admitted he was indeed the man in the gorilla suit. Ingagi was banned in 1933 and faded away into the jungle. The film languished and was thought lost until Kino Lorber released a DVD and Blu-ray of the entire film in 2021.

From Kino Lorber:

The exploitation cinema had its share of scandalous films, but none is so mired in controversy as the bizarre pseudo-documentary Ingagi. Purporting to be an ethnographic journey into the wilds of Africa, it combines authentic footage purloined from other films, with outrageous scenes staged for the camera in Los Angeles. Among the hoaxes perpetrated are the discovery of the “tortadillo,” a heretofore unknown species of animal, and the exposure of an indigenous cult that worships (and sacrifices its women to) gorillas—a particularly racist concept that would resurface in films for years, most notably as the dramatic springboard for King Kong. After spawning a whole sub-genre of exotic shockumentaries (e.g. Forbidden Adventure, Karamoja), the originator faded into obscurity, mired in lawsuits and cursed by the notoriety of its title (the Kinyarwanda word for “gorilla”). Ingagi has not been commercially distributed for at least 50 years, and this 4K restoration, from materials preserved by the Library of Congress, marks the film’s home video premiere.

This film contains racism and/or the mistreatment of people or cultures. Such depictions, in any era, are inexcusable. The film is being presented in its original form to bear witness to the history of racism in cinema, and to encourage a dialogue about how a future cinema can become more inclusive.

Exhibitor's Herald-World, June 28, 1930.

Hollywood Filmograph, June 28, 1930.

Motion Picture, October 30, 1930, detailing some of
the goofs in INGAGI.

The counter-suit by Congo Films, Ltd.

A letter by one of the producers defending the film.

Charlie Gemora blows the whistle in
Motion Picture, February, 1931.

Theater ballyhoo from Exhibitor's Herald-World, October, 1930.

A German program.

Promotional matchbooks.