The Monster

The small town of Danburg is plagued by strange disappearances. In the opening minutes, we see a strange man trapping people while they drive on isolated streets. After reading the book "How to Become a Detective" and obtaining his "diploma" from a mail-order school for detectives, mild-mannered store clerk Johnny Arthur (as Johnny Goodlittle) decides to solve the missing person problem. His book advises Mr. Arthur use "ingenuity" to solve the crime. After losing his girlfriend at a dance, Arthur goes off to pout and haplessly finds himself abducted like the other missing people. He is brought to a sanatorium run by mad scientist Lon Chaney (as Gustave Ziska)...

Arthur's girlfriend Gertrude Olmstead (as Betty Watson) and brawny rival Hallam Cooley (as Amos Rugg) also arrive at the old dark house, where Mr. Chaney is conducting bizarre experiments. It's odd to see Ms. Olmstead, a fairly popular co-star, introduced in close-ups that show her eyes misshapen and teeth in unflattering light. Fortunately, photographer Hal Mohr improves Olmstead's camera angles in subsequent scenes. Snarling lines like, "Tighten his straps until he squeals!" hammy Mr. Chaney wants to transfer a man's soul into a female body. Yes, "The Monster" could have helped inspire "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975)...

"The Monster" is often promoted and introduced as a horror film starring Lon Chaney. It's not. Think of it as a comedy film starring Johnny Arthur and you're less likely to be disappointed. Arthur is effective under Roland West's direction as they adapt Crane Wilbur's Broadway stage play. The main sets are sometimes stagy, but they're designed well and Mr. West varies blocking and camera positions. Supplementary sets and locations are commendable, especially an exciting sequence of "high-wire" stunts for Johnny. The ending is exciting, but it doesn't get wild enough. It would have been fun to see more of Chaney's experiments reach fruition.

****** The Monster (3/16/25) Roland West ~ Johnny Arthur, Lon Chaney, Gertrude Olmstead, Hallam Cooley

A meek clerk (Johnny Arthur) who doubles as an amateur detective investigates some very strange goings-on at a remote mental sanitarium.

Director Roland West did not make a great many films (he seems to have been more of a stage director), but he did do a few with Lon Chaney. This is one of those few.

The movie probably is not well known, but it has the reputation of being one of the first "mad scientist" movies, and has the distinction of being an "old dark house" movie, actually beating "The Old Dark House" (1932) to the punch.

And while the horror elements are here (the scientist and the monster), this also works great as a comedy. There are some funny intertitles with some racy humor (including a milkman joke), and the humorous bannister / storm gag is worthy of Buster Keaton.

Lastly, a special shout-out to Gertrude Olmstead, one of the "victims" of the talkies. Olmstead had a strong career in the silent era and has an excellent presence, but she never made the transition to sound and is now almost completely forgotten. A shame.

A meek store clerk (and aspiring detective) investigating a man's disappearance winds up at a creepy old sanitarium with the girl he loves and his rival. They find the supposedly abandoned place is inhabited by weird Dr. Ziska (Lon Chaney) and his cronies. After the strong opening, I was really expecting this to be a great one. While it is good and I did like it, I couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed by it. For starters, it's part horror-mystery and part comedy. The horror-mystery parts are good; a precursor to the many mad scientist and old dark house movies to come. But the comedy is pretty weak. The lead character appears to be a rip-off of Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr, which was released a year prior. Still, the comedy is the minor part of the movie. Most of it is old dark house/mad scientist craziness with Lon Chaney. That's pretty cool, no matter how you slice it. Also love the sets, gadgets, and special effects.

This is a bizarre little horror/comedy, mostly a comedy, the horror aspects almost parody. Lon Chaney has the top billing, but he's the evil adversary to a group of three, the leader being an amateur detective far too reminiscent of the previous year's Sherlock Jr. by the great Buster Keaton. He carries around a book called How to Be a Detective, and there are frequent zoom-ins which underline certain passages in the book. This is the ancestor to the type of film where a group of normal people are abducted into a strange house with a strange owner.

As for the film's quality, its humor is generally on target, but it is never all that funny. A lot of giggles, but I never laughed out loud. It is often very slow moving, but it has a few wonderful set pieces and suspense scenes. Lon Chaney's villain is pretty entertaining; I really wish they would have had more of him. There's much more footage of his evil henchman. The climactic scene is excellent.

Lon Chaney is known as "The Man of a Thousand Faces," and known for make-up magic and for playing monster parts, but too little is he recognized as a actor -- at least too little in my opinion.

In "The Monster," he is frequently understated and even almost charming, considering the part.

Johnny Arthur, this time, is a star!

This must be his best part and he too showed he is by gosh an actor.

His character changes, with a little chemical help, but he comes across as believable in every characterization. His face, his gestures, his bodily movement are all just perfect.

Turner Classic Movies showed "The Monster" as part of its Halloween line-up in 2016 and as its Sunday night silent on 30 October, although in the Eastern time zone I guess it was actually Monday, 31 October.

It is a treat, at least once, with some funny situations and funny characters, and some generally excellent acting.

There are some directing or at least editing problems, and you can't take the story too seriously, but mostly it is a lot of fun.