Ingagi was "one of the biggest hoaxes in the history of the movies," and played at the Cinema Theater in 1930, under contract to be an "exclusive first-run engagement as long as the film grossed more than $2,500 per week." The racist film documented "a search for gorilla worshipers in Africa" and "the Cinema's management turned the theater entrance and lobby into a miniature jungle." The authenticity of the film became a controversy when, among other discoveries, "the movie's star gorilla sued Congo Films for his unpaid salary." As the public realized that the gorilla was actually a man in a gorilla suit, a national investigation revealed further fraud related to the filming, casting, and production of Ingagi. A judge would rule "that a fake film could not invalidate a legitimate contract. As long as customers continued to purchase more than $2,500 per week in tickets, the court forced the Cinema to continue the film's embarrassing run." | Source: Photo caption is a summary from Alan F. Dutka, Historic Movie Theaters of Downtown Cleveland (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2016), 179-181. The advertisement appeared in the Plain Dealer, June 30, 1930, page 21.Download Original File
Source
Photo caption is a summary from Alan F. Dutka, Historic Movie Theaters of Downtown Cleveland (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2016), 179-181. The advertisement appeared in the Plain Dealer, June 30, 1930, page 21.
