The Lady and the Monster

A mad scientist called Professor Franz Mueller and his assistants keep alive the brain of a dead, crooked finance magnet called WH Donovan, who was killed in a nearby 'plane crash. However the brain has telepathic powers and takes control of scientist Patrick Cory. Mueller lives in a "castle" in the Arizona desert, the wind howls outside whilst inside his lab equipment buzzes and bubbles away, the sets are impressive and the camera work is good. Film noir, Gothic horror and science fiction. Erich von Stroheim puts in a good performance as Franz but the Lady, Janice, was played by Vera Rolston, originally from Czechoslovakia, she looks glamorous but her delivery of lines in English is quite wooden. I enjoyed this movie, despite being a bit plodding at times ,and would consider watching it again. The title is rather misleading, there is no monster as such, but that original poster artwork is very cool. This was the first filmed version of the novel "Donovan's Brain", on this basis I would like to see the others too.

THE LADY AND THE MONSTER is the first version of Curt Siodmak's often filmed novel "Donovan's Brain". This first version is largely forgotten, and those that recall it usually dis-miss it as inferior to the 1953 version DONOVAN'S BRAIN with Lew Ayres. While the 1953 version is superior in almost every way, THE LADY AND THE MONSTER is still an entertaining, atmospheric 1940's thriller.

The plot is basically the same, but in this version the living brain of Donovan possesses the mind of scientist Richard Arlen to clear his illegitimate son who has been wrongly convicted of murder. The brain also wants to get revenge on his daughter, whom is just as money hungry and ruthless as Donovan was in "life." Even though Donovan's goals are good, his disembodied brain is still ruthless; he orders the possessed Arlen to kill a girl who gave false testimony at his son's trial.

We can always tell when Donovan is about to possess Arlen, the lighting and Arlen's make-up changes. The 1953 version employed no such tricks, and relied entirely on the acting skills of Lew Ayers. (See my entry on that version). Erich Von Stroheim plays the elder scientist, and as with any film he was in, he was always a commanding presence. There are hints of him having an unhealthy infatuation with Vera Ralston, but this doesn't lead anywhere.

Overall, LADY AND THE MONSTER isn't as good as the later 1953 version, but it is still a decent 1940's horror thriller.

Science fiction/horror from Republic Pictures and director George Sherman. Dr. Patrick Corey (Richard Arlen) and Professor Franz Mueller (Erich von Stroheim) are conducting scientific experiments involving the preservation of life and the mind. When they get the chance to test out a new preservation process on the brain of dying millionaire Mr. Donovan, they take it. They manage to keep his brain alive in tank filled with liquids and electrodes, and soon the brain begins telepathically communicating with Dr. Corey, eventually taking over his mind completely as Donovan attempts to see to unfinished business.

I don't think that I'd ever heard that 1953's Donovan's Brain was a remake, but here's the original. It has some nice ambiance thanks to good set work and some interesting lighting. Von Stroheim seems born to play megalomaniac mad scientists, while leading man Arlen gets to stretch his limited acting chops in what is essentially a dual role. The film's biggest weakness is Czech ice skating champ Vera Ralston, making her lead acting debut. Her command of English was so poor at the time that she learned her lines phonetically, and she really seems to be struggling with her performance.

There is a completely misleading movie poster that made this film look like it was a vampire movie, probably because they were more popular with audiences at the time.

Despite the title, there is no monster, unless you count Vera Hruba Ralston's horrific attempt at acting. Beyond that, this is a pretty good B-flick, the first filming of "Donovan's Brain."

Erich Von Stroheim plays a scientist (you know where this is going already) who experiments on animal brains ... and now he is looking for a human subject. So when a plane crashes nearby, he dispatches his assistant (Richard Arlen). Arlen finds one guy barely alive and takes him back to Erich's "Castle." The guy then croaks, and we find out he was a rich dude named Donovan. Stroheim manages to remove his brain and start the ball rolling. In short order, Arlen begins to get subliminal messages from Donovan, like "if you build it, he will come."

The film gets steadily better, and Arlen does a good job transforming himself into a ruthless scumbag. The effect is heightened by what I presume was a special kind of makeup reacting to the lighting, which brought out shadows under Arlen's eyes and gave him a menacing forehead. At times, I expected him to turn into a werewolf.

Ralston is pretty much along for the ride. She looks good, but she may as well have been a mannequin that the director rolled onto the set. Von Stroheim is remarkably sedate in his role, even though he apparently sleeps with a gun.

The film's weakest aspect is the unnecessary narration.

This amazing little Republic Pictures movie is awesome, because crazy, fun, incredible, thanks a lot to Erich Von Stroheim's presence in a role that seemed to have been made for him. And as far as I know this is the only science fiction movie that director George Sherman offered us. Maybe it is a shame, because it's not so bad for a western dude. I don't compare it with Felix Feist's DONOVAN'S BRAIN, because this kind of topic is not really my cup of tea, so I won't give my opinion to say which is the best. Both movies are from a Curt Siodmak's novel. Watch it mainly for Von Stroheim's character. But not only.