A double feature on behalf of VCI Entertainment’s new obscure titles releases, this set is one you may want to grab a hold of. The double feature is one of man in ape suit proportions you’ll find pure entertainment from, as I did. The Bride and the Beast (1958) is a very simple movie, which is why it’s a little under eighty minutes.

She commands him in a monotonous dreamy tone and instantly he follows her orders. If that isn’t an inadvertent commentary on the man and woman relationship, I don’t know what is. So, want to guess what happens next? Come on, you can try. I’ll answer anyway: Spanky breaks free from his cage in a hormonal rampage after coming face to face with Laura, and now holds her hostage. Yes, this is very much the plot of “King Kong,” but that was to be expected after the release of that monumental ape loves woman flick. One appealing aspect to “The Bride and the Beast” is that it’s written by none other than Ed Wood, whose writing is just as awful as you’d expect.

It’s further revealed through hypnosis that Laura is indeed the queen of the gorillas, and Spanky is intent on marrying her. Don’t you hate when that happens? Weiss’s film is surprisingly very well shot with a mood and atmosphere that’s as novel as many C grade monster flicks from that time. Lance Fuller and Charlotte Austin's performances are also surprisingly competent, providing their dutiful husband and wife roles, while being able to convince the audience of their predicament, as goofy as it may be. Sadly, what begins as a novel monster movie, transforms into an awfully heavy handed story about past life, as Laura is plagued with dreams of her past life, and her attempts to make sense of them. “The Bride and the Beast” is sadly a missed opportunity.

As for The White Gorilla (1945), the fact it's deemed an "Positively no refunds double feature" should be indication of what I was in store for. If a monster movie comprised predominantly of wildlife stock footage set to stern narration tickles your fancy, then by all means, have at it. "The White Gorilla" is an awfully odd film that combined newly filmed footage along with footage of the 1927 silent "Perils of the Jungle."

The story told is oddly complex, as a white gorilla grows up around a group of black gorillas. Deemed as one with the wrong color, they abandon him, thus he learns to survive on his own and becomes bitter and hostile. It's a surprisingly ahead of its time story about prejudice for a film that took place in 1945. But, I'm probably over thinking it. Either way, "The White Gorilla" is a shoddy monster movie in some respects with much of the combined footage sloppily slapped together.

You can often tell which portions of the film are the old silent scenes, and which are the newly filmed sequences that fit in a story among the recovered 1927 serial. "The White Gorilla" is essentially comprised of the silent footage that takes up a great portion of the film. A character returns to his cabin of fellow explorers and narrates and entire story for them on his accounts of dangerous jungle mission (cue footage). The White Gorilla the film claims to be about, doesn't really appear until the twenty minute mark, and even then it's pretty disappointing, to say the least. What's rather entertaining about this film is that our character stands on a tree watching everything happen and the viewer will be compelled to wonder "Why isn't he even helping beyond screaming out?" That's when you can sense the obvious difference between the silent footage and the filmed footage.

The DVD is not without its merits, the movies notwithstanding. There are trailers, commentary, bios, photo galleries, and even surviving footage from the rare "Perils of the Jungle." This is a gem of a release for any movie lover who will love sitting through the awful films, and then explore what special features the film brings almost as a reward.