| "Diamonds Are an Ape's Best Friend" | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode 22 | |
| |
| A giant ape steals Mrs. Howell's diamond brooch. When that's not enough, so he kidnaps Mrs. Howell - all because he's attracted to the scent of her perfume. | |
| Basic Info | |
| Air Date: | February 27, 1965 |
| Written By: | Elroy Schwartz |
| Directed By: | Jack Arnold |
| Guest Cast: | Janos Prohaska as The Gorilla |
| Episode guide | |
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| Big Man on a Little Stick | How to Be a Hero |
Diamonds Are an Ape's Best Friend is the 22nd episode of Gilligan's Island. It first aired November 27, 1965.
Synopsis[]
One morning, Mrs. Howell discovers her diamond brooch missing, unaware it has been taken by a gorilla attracted to her perfume on it. She gets abducted by it as a result and the other Castaways try to rescue her. Eventually, the Professor realizes its attraction to her perfume and decides to use it to lead the gorilla into a trap. When Gilligan runs back to get it, he accidentally turns the open bottle upside down and douses himself with it. When he gets back to the Professor and Skipper, the scent on him is over-powering and the gorilla abducts him in exchange for Mrs. Howell. Now, Gilligan needs to be rescued, and as the Skipper and Professor try to mix a similar perfume, Gilligan escapes back to camp, the gorilla having run off with a female gorilla.
Message[]
- "Birds of a feather flock together."
Highlights[]
- Gilligan's reactions upon seeing the gorilla.
- Mrs. Howell mistaking the gorilla for Mr. Howell saying he needs a shave.
- Mr. Howell promising $10,000 dollars to whoever will find Mrs. Howell's brooch.
- Mrs. Howell with the gorilla.
Credits[]
Main Cast
- Bob Denver as Gilligan
- Alan Hale, Jr. as The Skipper
- Jim Backus as Mr. Howell
- Natalie Schafer as Mrs. Howell
- Tina Louise as Ginger
- Dawn Wells as Mary Ann
- Russell Johnson as The Professor
Guest Cast
- Janos Prohaska as the Gorilla
- Stockard Channing as the Female Gorilla (nconfirmed)
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode is from the Marilyn Monroe movie, "Diamonds Are a Girl's best Friend."
- When the Ape throws the Skipper to the ground; this is actually a dummy dressed to look like the Skipper.
- First appearance of Janos Prohaska in the series. Prohaska would reappear in "Gilligan's Island" as apes in "Forward March" and "Our Vines Have Tender Apes." He later guest starred with Bob Denver on "Dusty's Trail" playing a gorilla and a bear. He also appeared in the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark" as the Horta.
- The identity of the actor/actress playing the female ape is unknown, but it might be Janos's wife. The costume later turns up as Gladys in Beauty Is as Beauty Does.
- On an episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," the TV announcer mentions this episode in passing as "the one where a female gorilla falls in love in Gilligan" - apparently an in-joke reference to this episode.
- Just before Mr. Howell approaches the others with $10,000 cash reward for finding the brooch, Mrs. Howell tells him, 'if (the police) were as smart as you, they would have caught the fugitive by now'. This may be a reference to the TV show "The Fugitive" starring David Janssen, which was running concurrently on ABC with "Gilligan's Island" on CBS. Janssen's character apparently hadn't been caught yet at the time of filming this episode.
- Janos Prohaska cracked up in Behind the scenes when he has to carry Alan Hale Jr out of the cave.
- Reportedly, the female gorilla that walks away with the gorilla is played by actress Stockard Channing of "Grease" fame, but this is unconfirmed.
Quotes[]
- Mrs. Howell - "It is insured, isn't it?"
Mr. Howell - "That won't do us any good financially."
Mrs. Howell - "Why not?"
Mr. Howell - "We own the insurance company."
- Ginger - "If he comes through the ceiling, I'm going out through the wall!"
- The Professor - "He's not only strong, but he's smart too. We'll have to camouflage this pretty well to fool him."
Gilligan - "If you put a bunch of bananas in here, I'd go get them."
Skipper - "That's right, Gilligan, but as the Professor just pointed out, the ape is smart."
- Gilligan - "I think that gorilla has sailor's blood"
- Gilligan - "I'll tell you what... that gorilla ain't human."
- The Professor - "Ginger, you know what you're supposed to do. "
Ginger - "Yeah, attract a gorilla. I hope my agent doesn't hear about this."
- Gilligan - "Sorry, it's empty."
The Professor - "Uh, you don't have to tell us what happened."