The Home Stretch!

I can't believe it's almost over!  This year's Countdown to Halloween: all-Universal Monsters, all-the-time, from Dracula (1931) to The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) has gone fast.  But we're in the home stretch and I hope you'll continue to join me daily for a fresh perspective on movies you may not have watched in a long time, if ever.

Universal was also in their home stretch as the popularity of their classic monsters waned and audiences looked to the skies for science fiction-based horrors.  But there was at least one creature left to be introduced and it would become the modern favorite of many people.  Our final phase of movies includes:

• Abbott & Costello Meets Frankenstein
• Abbott & Costello Meets the Invisible Man
• Creature from the Black Lagoon
• Revenge of the Creature
• Abbot & Costello Meets the Mummy
• This Island Earth
• The Creature Walks Among Us

The Brute Man (1946)

For this year's Countdown to Halloween, it's all-Universal Monsters, all-the-time, from Dracula (1931) to The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).  Join me daily for a fresh perspective on movies you may not have watched in a long time, if ever.  Today, when is a Universal Monsters movie not a Universal Monsters movie?  When it’s The Brute Man.

I watch plenty of movies based on something I read about them ahead of time.  But sometimes it pays to go into them ignorant.  Recently, I watched The Brute Man (1946) simply because I needed to fill a day in the Countdown to Halloween.  I knew it wasn’t technically considered a Universal Monsters movie, but I had never seen a movie with the legendary Rondo Hatton.

I thought the movie was all right, but it was only after watching it that I learned about its reputation.  My first clue should have been that there was no Universal introduction; instead, the beginning read, “Producers Releasing Corporation.”   Apparently, Universal produced The Brute Man during a pending merger with International Pictures and adopted a policy against releasing any more B movies.

Or did they?  Because Universal was still releasing other B movies in the months before the merger, film experts believe the studio simply wanted to distance itself from a film that would tarnish its corporate image.  Instead of taking a loss by shelving it, they sold it for $125,00 to Producers Releasing Corporation.  Their decision may have been based on the  movie’s exploitative nature toward Hatton.

Rondo Hatton died eight months before The Brute Man was released.  He suffered from a syndrome called acromegaly that produced the natural deformities for which he became famous.  I don’t know why Universal’s handling of Hatton would be considered exploitative; all they did was promote the fact that he didn’t need makeup for his monstrous roles.  (That’s sarcasm.)

Part of the problem was also that the backstory for Hatton’s character in The Brute Man eerily echoed details from Hatton’s life.  He was also a handsome young football star before becoming disfigured.  In the movie, though, it’s not from a debilitating disease; it’s from an experiment gone wrong in a college science class.  Hatton’s character, Hal Moffat blames everyone but himself for the accident…

…and sets out on a murderous rampage to exact his revenge.  First he murders his old professor, then begins targeting the friends he believes were responsible for placing him in the lab on that fateful day.  When other people interfere, he murders them, as well, and becomes known in the papers as “The Creeper.”  Hatton played this generic killer character in at least two other movies prior to The Brute Man.

One of the complaints about the movie, and one that probably caused it to be ridiculed on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, is the horrible acting by Hatton.  I guess I don’t expect great acting from any movie like this, but I thought he was simply playing himself and was somewhat natural.  It seems cruel to criticize the movie for this, especially when it makes his character more sympathetic.

Another complaint is the script.  Yes, it blatantly steals from Bride of Frankenstein’s blind hermit sequence.  On the other hand, it includes a subplot about the police force’s inability to catch the killer that I don’t think I’ve seen in other movies of that time period.  The story suffers from the same issues as any other Universal Monsters movie I’ve watched this month; it doesn’t stand out to me as being any worse.

Truth be told, I enjoyed watching The Brute Man.  It held my attention better than some of the other movies I’ve watched lately.  It may have helped that it runs just under an hour.  There are probably better examples of Hatton’s work when his disease had not progressed so far, but there’s historical value in this being his final performance.  I don’t regret the experience.

Tomorrow: Abbott & Costello!

She-Wolf of London (1946)

For this year's Countdown to Halloween, it's all-Universal Monsters, all-the-time, from Dracula (1931) to The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).  Join me daily for a fresh perspective on movies you may not have watched in a long time, if ever.  Today, you may be fooled by She-Wolf of London.

Spoiler Alert: The following contains revelation of key plot elements, which may ruin the movie's surprises.

When I wrote about Werewolf of London, I mentioned pictures of Henry Hull in full makeup that appeared in monster magazines and books when I was a child.  As I began watching She-Wolf of London (1946), I realized I didn't recall any pictures of June Lockhart in similar makeup.  Little did I realize that it was because there is no wolf, she or otherwise, in the movie at all.  Yes, it's a direct sequel; however, it's a crime mystery rather than a typical Universal Monsters horror movie.

For a good portion of the movie, you don't realize there's no werewolf.  In its opening moments, a title card reminds us of the Allenby legend and a Scotland Yard inspector attributes a brutal murder in the park to a werewolf.  It does seem to make more sense than the stray dog theory, and Phyllis Allenby (Lockhart) is portrayed as the sole inheritor of not only her family's fortune, but also its curse.

When the suspected murderer leaves the house walking upright and wearing a hood, I began to suspect something different was happening.  Sure enough, Phyllis is being set up and her own belief in the curse may be driving her crazy.  It's a clever twist, but one I can't decide if audiences were thrilled by or disappointed by.  Once my suspicions were raised, I was pretty sure I knew the identity of the villain, but the movie is reluctant to say for sure.

It actually could be one of two women, if the evidence gathered is accurate about indicating the perpetrator's gender.  Both Martha Winthrop (Sara Haden), Phyllis's stern aunt, and Carol Winthrop (Jan Wiley), her cousin, act suspicious at various times.  Martha would be the more obvious choice, but Carol would be a more shocking choice.  How far will a 1946 movie really go?

While She-Wolf of London may be atypical in many ways, its melodramatic climax is nothing but typical.  The real killer reveals herself and is overheard, initiating a chase through the house that provides the real lessons of the movie: don't run in a long dress and don't run with a knife in your hand.  Just as the police arrive, drugged Phyllis murmurs, "She's going to kill me," to which she's replied, "No, dear… she'll never kill anyone else."  Music swells, credits roll…

Tomorrow: The Brute Man!

House of Dracula (1945)

For this year's Countdown to Halloween, it's all-Universal Monsters, all-the-time, from Dracula (1931) to The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).  Join me daily for a fresh perspective on movies you may not have watched in a long time, if ever.  Today, the overdue end of an era: House of Dracula!

They should have quit while they were ahead.  I don’t know when that would have been, considering no matter how bad they became, the Universal Monsters movies featuring the original three (Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the Wolf Man) were almost always fun to watch.  The final installment, though, House of Dracula (1945), is no fun at all and, at 67 minutes long, is also quite boring.

Its failure lies with the title monster, Dracula.  None of the other Universal Monsters suffered as greatly as he did throughout their runs.  Here, he’s inexplicably risen from the dead and seeking release from his curse.  John Carradine plays him for the second time and fares a little better than he did in House of Frankenstein.  At one point, I almost wondered if his appearance didn’t come closer to what Bram Stoker envisioned for the character.

But when did he become so wishy-washy?  He’s barely a threat to anyone, least of all Miliza Morelle (Martha O’Driscoll), the blonde assistant to Dr. Franz Edelmann (Onslow Stevens), who is instead, as all women seem to be, attracted to the “tragic” Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.).  Talbot also comes to Edelmann for a cure.  Impatient about getting results, he throws himself off a cliff, the better to end up in a cave where Frankenstein’s monster lies.

I always thought the Wolf Man was the common thread among the later Universal Monsters movies.  Instead, it’s really The Monster.  He’s the only character that remained true to any continuity.  Wherever he is found in a movie is where he “died” at the end of the last one.  In House of Dracula, there’s no explanation for how Larry Talbot survived a silver bullet.  He became somewhat tiresome, always whining about his condition and even willing to kill himself.

Let’s see, we also have a hunchback in this one, played by the lovely Jane Adams.  Her Nina is a loyal assistant to Dr. Edelmann, never asking for anything.  But when given the choice of being able to cure only her or Talbot, Edlemann would prefer to help her.  Unfortunately, the multi-tasking doctor has been giving Dracula transfusions of his own blood and has become tainted, turning into some kind of vampire/Mr. Hyde monster at night.

Ultimately, it’s a happy ending for Larry Talbot.  He does not transform into a wolf when the moon rises.  But almost everyone else is dead and The Monster once again lies beneath a pile of fire and rubble.  I suppose that’s a good place to leave our beloved characters.  We know that with the simple click of a typewriter, someone could resurrect them.  Thank goodness, though, no one ever did.

Tomorrow: She-Wolf of London!

The Mummy's Curse (1944)

For this year's Countdown to Halloween, it's all-Universal Monsters, all-the-time, from Dracula (1931) to The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).  Join me daily for a fresh perspective on movies you may not have watched in a long time, if ever.  Today, the second mummy movie in the same year: The Mummy's Curse!

The Mummy’s Curse (1944) strays ever so slightly from the recipe established in the previous four Universal Monsters mummy movies, but mostly by adding the ingredients in a different order.  The obligatory scene where an Egyptian high priest recaps events happens later in the movie than usual and after there’s already been a murder.  It wasn’t even Kharis who committed this murder.

It’s 25 years after the events of The Mummy’s Ghost and the government is draining the swamp where Kharis carried the reincarnation of Ananka and sank to the bottom.  Dr. James Halsey (Dennis Moore) and Dr. Ilzor Zandaab (Peter Coe) arrive on the scene hoping to unearth the bodies to take back to the Scripps Museum.  However, Zandaab is really a high priest and has a man planted in the crew.

It’s this plant, Ragheb (Martin Kosleck), who murdered the man after he helped set up a makeshift tomb in an old monastery on the hill.  It’s the two men’s plan to revive Kharis (Lon Chaney, Jr.), have the mummy retrieve the body of Ananka, then ship them both back to Egypt.  Oh, and of course, kill anyone that gets in its way.

There is one unique scene in The Mummy’s Curse when Ananka rises from the dead.  She’s quite zombie-like as she first reaches a hand out of the ground and then slowly sits up.  She’s been mummified, I guess, and moves in jerky motions like we’ve become used to today in horror movies with special effects.  Drawn to the sun, she regenerates as she walks, becoming the lovely actress Virgina Christine.

Otherwise, it’s standard mummy nonsense for the rest of the movie.  There’s the bare hint of a romance between Halsey and Betty (Kay Harding), the niece of the crew’s foreman.  But it’s enough of a hint that they’re leaving the tomb hand in hand at the end of the movie.  She’s never threatened by Zandaab or Kharis, which I suppose could be considered a twist.

Kharis is buried when a wing of the monastery collapses, but Halsey mentions digging him out to take him to the museum.  There could easily have been another installment, but this is the last audiences would see of the mummy, unless you count his co-starring role with Abbott & Costello 11 years later.  You may want to, considering one of the most unintentionally funny monsters was then featured in an actual comedy.

Tomorrow: House of Dracula!

House of Frankenstein (1944)

For this year's Countdown to Halloween, it's all-Universal Monsters, all-the-time, from Dracula (1931) to The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).  Join me daily for a fresh perspective on movies you may not have watched in a long time, if ever.  Today, it's everything but the kitchen sink: House of Frankenstein!

House of Frankenstein (1944) is another Universal Monsters movie for which, as a child, I owned a Super 8 excerpt reel.  For that reason, it lives in my mind as a terrific movie.  It’s almost heartbreaking to watch the full thing now and realize how bad it is.  Like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man before it, it’s fun for the different monsters to get together, but you can’t look any deeper than that for coherence.

Regardless of the specific circumstances of the stories, they’re ultimately the same:

1. Frankenstein’s monster lives in a state of disrepair.
2. Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, longs to die so he’ll be at peace.
3. A mad doctor promises to help Larry, but becomes consumed with reviving Frankenstein’s monster.

The set-ups, though, can be clever.  In House of Frankenstein, we also have an appearance by Dracula and a hunchback.  It takes some ingenuity to craft a story, no matter how ridiculous it is, that brings them all together.

Here, the common thread is Dr. Gustav Niemann (Boris Karloff), who masquerades as Professor Bruno Lampini, driving his mobile Chamber of Horrors across Europe from Neustadt to Vasaria.  Mad scientist?  Check.  This travelling sideshow features the skeleton of Count Dracula, from which Niemann extracts the wooden stake to revive the vampire.  Dracula?  Check.

Niemann’s assistant is Daniel (J. Carrol Naish) who repeatedly asks Niemann to make him like other men.  Hunchback?  Check.  While hunting for Henry Frankenstein’s records so that he can do so, Niemann unearths the bodies of Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) and The Monster (Glenn Strange).  Wolf Man?  Check.  Frankenstein’s monster? Check.

The climax always arrives in a laboratory when the particular drama of the movie comes to a head just as equipment is buzzing, lights are flashing and villagers are grabbing torches.  Here, it’s Daniel’s jealousy of Talbot’s relationship with gypsy sweetheart, Ilonka (Elena Verdugo), that causes silver bullets to be fired, man made monsters to be frenzied and bodies to be thrown out of windows.

Dracula’s involvement is limited to the first 30 minutes of House of Frankenstein and is totally uncharacteristic of the character.  John Carradine is slightly better than Lon Chaney, Jr. was as the Count in Son of Dracula, but the same effort is not made to connect him to the continuity that is so strict for the other monsters.  Here, he’s blackmailed to do Niemann’s bidding, which we all know Dracula would never do.

It’s nice to see Karloff in a Universal Monsters movie without elaborate makeup covering his face.  It’s also an interesting reversal in House of Frankenstein that he’s bringing a monster to life rather than portraying the monster being brought to life.  But Naish’s Daniel is the heart of this movie and the actor gives a moving performance.  So, it’s not without its little rewards, but the entire movie is no treasure. 

Tomorrow: The Mummy's Curse!