Monkeys, Go Home!

Residents of a French village attempt to stop an American from using monkeys in place of human workers on his newly-acquired olive farm. Poor screenplay from G.K. Wilkinson's book "The Monkeys" actually wants us to sympathize with the land-owner, who should perhaps be forced to do his own olive picking! Forgettable Disney product with the expected slapstick interludes is well-made, if not fresh. OK performances by Dean Jones, Yvette Mimieux and wily Maurice Chevalier (in his final film), but the argument at the center of the story isn't expanded upon, and the romance which sketchily develops between Dean and Yvette seems like an afterthought as well. Obviously, this was aimed at a younger crowd, but why not give kids something to think about as well as to laugh at? *1/2 from ****

Speaking as someone who has made an extensive study of the live-action Disney films of the 1960s-1970s I can say with some authority that this is truly one of the worst films ever released by Disney; almost unwatchable. With the charming Dean Jones and Yvette Mimieux at the center of a romantic plot this film has its moments (along with a delightful Maurice Chevalier, in what is a small role though curiously first-billed), but it is constantly derailed by the need to add monkey antics to the mix. Bringing in trained animals is a constant source of mirth in Disney live action gimmick comedies; it works in a Bubblegum Pop/ College Comedy setting (see the Disney film "The Monkeys Uncle") but against the backdrop of an American desperately trying to save an olive farm in Provence the entire film just fights against itself for a hundred minutes. Supporting characters rage about for no apparent reason, constantly entering and exiting the plot with no apparent motivation; and we are supposed to believe (and the plot hinges) on the concept that the entire village would be outraged that a man would use trained monkeys to pick olives for a harvest that last but three days a year instead of hiring locals is a stretch even by Disney standards (and this is the studio that convinced us a boy could turn into a dog and a car could have a mind of its own).

This was released in the year following Walt Disney's death. One might wonder if he would have chucked the entire thing rather than release this to theatres under the Disney name. It is truly shocking that this film made it to DVD before many other, better-remembered titles from the era.

I loved watching this as a kid. It was in two parts on Sunday nights on "The Wonderful World Of Disney" or whatever name the show was using at the time. And our country (New Zealand) only had B&W.

As a young lad, I was particularly impressed by Yvette Mimieux. Drop dead gorgeous.

Seeing it again a few years later, it didn't feel the same but the movie is still good light entertainment.

I guess all shows seem a lot better when you're young. Nevertheless, its better than some other stuff out there that I've revisited, hence the 7 rating.

If I see it out on DVD on a cheap label I plan to buy it.

I don't have any negative feelings towards this, yet I have nothing for it positively either - there's no real enjoyment or entertainment to be had.

'Monkeys, Go Home!' starts off intriguingly, but to me as soon as the monkeys turn up it loses all interest - which, as you can imagine, isn't great considering the title. It just sleepwalks through its run time.

Dean Jones (Hank), Maurice Chevalier (Sylvain) and Yvette Mimieux (Maria) all give decent performances, but unfortunately for them everything else about the film is just so average. As for the other cast members, Bernard Woringer (Marcel) & Clément Harari (Emile) are OK antagonists.

The score is solid while the locations look pretty good. However, sadly, I can't really majorly praise much else about this. Even if there are worse films out there, of course.

Not the best film ever, but with this many monkeys it can't be at all bad. Definitely worth watching. I suppose maurice chevalier also lends some class to the film. But the monkeys are the real reason for watching it. They're great. It can't be long until someone remakes this.