Plot
In 1937 Tanganyika territory, Africa, seven-year-old Jill Young is living with her father on his ranch. Two Africans come by with an orphaned baby mountain gorilla. Unbeknownst to her widowed father, Jill trades some of her toys, jewelry, and money for the gorilla and names him Joe Young. When he finds out, her father is initially reluctant to keep the gorilla, but eventually agrees.
Twelve years later, businessman Max O'Hara and a cowboy named Gregg are on a trip in Africa looking for animals to headline in Max's Hollywood nightclub. The men have captured several lions and are about to leave when Joe Young appears, now 12 feet (3.7 m) tall and weighing 4,500 pounds (2,000 kg). When a caged lion bites Joe's fingers, he goes on a rampage. Visualizing Joe as their big nightclub attraction, Max and Gregg try to rope him, but he throws both men from their horses, breaks free, and attempts to attack them. A grown Jill Young arrives, calming Joe. The men meet with Jill, and Gregg becomes smitten with her. Max asks her to bring Joe and be part of his nightclub entertainment. He tells her that Joe and she will be a Hollywood hit and rich within weeks. Dazzled by O'Hara's promises of fame and fortune, the naïve girl agrees to take Joe to Hollywood.
On opening night, Joe lifts a large platform above his head, holding Jill playing "Beautiful Dreamer" on a grand piano. Afterward, Joe has a tug of war with "the 10 strongest men in the world", which he easily wins. Italian heavyweight boxer Primo Carnera tries to box with him, but Joe tosses him into the audience. Joe's popularity grows, and by the 10th week, he is Hollywood's biggest nightclub attraction. By the 17th week, Joe has grown tired of performing and is homesick. Later, during dinner, Gregg and Jill express their love for one another, with Gregg agreeing to return with her to Africa. In his cage, an unhappy Joe tries to ignore three drunks who have sneaked backstage; they offer Joe an open whiskey bottle, and he becomes intoxicated. Taunting him, the drunks burn Joe's fingers with a cigarette lighter. Roaring with pain and rage, he breaks out, wrecking the nightclub's interior. He also smashes the glass of the lion habitat, allowing the lions to escape into the crowded club.
After the drunks accuse Joe of trying to kill them, a court decree orders Joe to be shot. Gregg, Max, Jill, and a friend named Windy devise a plan to get Joe back to Africa using a moving van and cargo ship. Before reaching port, they see an orphanage engulfed in flames. Jill and Gregg help the caretakers save the children. A last group, along with Jill and Gregg, is trapped on the top level. Joe braves the raging fire by climbing an adjacent tall tree, carrying Jill to safety, while Gregg lowers each child by rope to the ground. One child is left behind, so Joe climbs up again, grabbing the little girl. Max assures Jill that because of Joe's heroism, his life will now be spared.
Much later, Max receives home movies from his friends. Jill and Gregg are married and living on their ranch in Africa with Joe. Joe waves "goodbye", along with Jill and Gregg, to Max.
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