The Mad Monster is a 1942 sci-fi horror film about a mad scientist who transforms his gardener into a murderous wolfman. He uses the monster to kill his ex-colleagues one by one…
Directed by Sam Newfield (Fight That Ghost; The Flying Serpent; White Pongo; The Monster Maker; Dead Men Walk) from a screenplay written by Fred Myton (Dead Men Walk). Produced by Sigmund Neufeld (The Flying Serpent; Nabonga; The Black Raven).
The Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) production stars Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel (The Mad Doctor of Market Street; The Invisible Woman; Black Friday) and Glenn Strange (House of Dracula; House of Frankenstein; The Mummy’s Tomb).
“Even some of the (small) stylistic touches, like the way Zucco’s strangulation–death is seen as a shadow cast upon a wall, were already rapidly hurtling toward clichédom […] Tired clichés to the cynical, these hoary touches are, again, just part of the charm of Poverty Row films. The Mad Monster trundles them all out so enthusiastically, and everyone seems so starved for approval, that it becomes one of those uniquely bad films but it is difficult to dislike.” Tom Weaver, Poverty Row Horrors! book
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Choice dialogue:
Doctor Cameron [George Zucco]: “Now dear, you know there’s no such thing as being possessed by a demon. That’s ignorant superstition.”
Tom Gregory [Johnny Downs]: Doctor Cameron! So, you’re the owner of this haunted castle.”
Doctor Cameron [George Zucco]: “I can inject into your veins a substance that will give you the strength of ten men. Or, following the line of evolution, how would you like a pair of donkey’s ears? [laughs] That’d go well with your type of mentality.”
Cast and characters:
Johnny Downs … Tom Gregory
George Zucco … Doctor Cameron
Anne Nagel … Lenora
Glenn Strange … Petro
Sarah Padden … Grandmother
Gordon De Main … Professor Fitzgerald (as Gordon DeMain)
Mae Busch … Susan
Reginald Barlow … Professor Warwick
Robert Strange … Professor Blaine
Henry Hall … Country Doctor
Ed Cassidy … Father (as Edward Cassidy)
Eddie Holden … Harper
John Elliott … Professor Hatfield
Slim Whitaker … Policeman (as Charles Whitaker)
Gil Patric … Lieutenant Detective
Technical specs:
77 minutes
Production:
Filming began on March 19, 1942, for five days.
Release:
Released on May 8, 1942. The movie was re-released by PRC in 1945 as a double feature with The Devil Bat. The film is now in the public domain.
Censorship:
According to British film historian Phil Hardy, the film “shocked the British censor enough to ban it until 1952, and even then had to insist that it should be accompanied by a disclaimer on the matter of blood transfusions”.
Fun facts:
Producer Sigmund Neufeld and director Sam Newfield were brothers. Sam “Anglicized” the family name while Sigmund didn’t.
The estate set was redressed as the crypt set in Dead Men Walk (1943).
At 77 minutes, the film is the longest “B” picture made on Poverty Row in the 1940s.
Free to watch online [1080p HD]:
Free to watch online [480p]:
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