Son of Ingagi

Son of Ingagi (1940)

** (out of 4)

A female doctor lives in a large castle where she brought a few things back from Africa. One is a large sum of gold and the other is a half-man, half-ape creature. One day the doctor is killed by the creature and her home is left to a newlywed couple. It doesn't take long for the couple to run into the creature.

SON OF INGAGI is best remembered today for featuring an all black cast, which certainly wasn't the norm for 1940 and especially in the horror genre. I've seen a lot of the race pictures from this era and all of them suffer from having very small budgets and often time not having that much talent in front or behind the camera. This film here is actually pretty entertaining for what it is even with the limitations.

What I enjoyed most about this picture was the monster itself. If you're familiar with the horror films from this period then you know gorillas and killer apes were quite popular and they'd continue to be throughout the decade. If you've seen Bela Lugosi's THE APE MAN then you'll see a few similarities to this picture but I'd argue that the ape creature here is even better since the actor's entire face is covered here (unlike Lugosi who the studio obviously still wanted you to see).

Of course, there are several flaws in the movie, which is to be expected including some pretty fair to bad performances. I would argue that none of the performances are all that good but they had to work with what was available at the time. It should also go without saying that there wasn't too much suspense in the film and as a horror movie it's really not all that horrifying. Still, SON OF INGAGI makes for a decent way to kill a hour.

Before the mid-1950s, movies geared towards African-American audiences, which for the most part were shown in segregated theaters, avoided horror-themed flicks. That was until Sack Amusement Enterprises produced the first, and some film historians say the only black horror film of that era in February 1940's "Son of Ingagi." The low-budget film, written and starring Spencer Williams, who went on to play Andy on television's 'The Amos 'n Andy Show,' has no relation to the classic 1931 exploitation film "Ingagi." The 1940 movie does contain a 'missing link' monster transported from Africa who is kept in the basement of a doctor's home.

Although "Son of Ingagi's" production values were a far cry from the slick films the major Hollywood studios created during the Golden era, the picture does reflect the comfort level of African-Americans' integration within the fabric of American society, unlike most roles blacks found themselves in the A-listed movies. Film critic Mark Welsh notes, "it's really nice to see black people on the screen at this time in history as normal, ordinary men and women, rather than as mugging, idiotic stereotypes used for comic effect." In "Son of Ingagi", newlyweds Eleanor (Daisy Bufford ) and Robert Lindsay (Alfred Grant) are approached by Dr. Jackson (Laura Bowman), who says she knew Eleanor's father intimately and plans to leave her personal inheritance with the couple when she dies. Dr. Jackson has transported a 'missing link' animal similar to a gorilla caged in her house to study. Unfortunately, the monster gets loose, murdering the doctor. The Lindsays inherit her house as promised and move in, not realizing the monster is still lurking around the premises.

"Son of Ingagi" was one of many "race films," a genre popular between 1915 and the early 1950s. These movies, produced outside the Hollywood system, consisted primarily of African-American actors and shown mostly in theaters for black audiences. More than 500 movies were produced during that span, yet only 100 have survived. Alfred Sack, producer for "Son of Ingagi," was a white owner of a small studio that was part of 150 minor film production studios focused on all-black cast pictures for African-American audiences. In the segregated South these films were shown in exclusive black filmgoers' theaters. In the more integrated North, the 'race films' rarely attracted white audiences, and were shown either at matinee times during the day or late at night in regular movie theaters.

Film historian Todd Stadtman points out, "As the products of a segregated America, the Race Films ironically present us with a vision of America that can't be seen anywhere in the commercial cinema of the time. This is an America where blacks are doctors. Lawyers, police detectives, scientists. There is not a white face in sight, and so the black actors are free from having to react to the oh-so-important doings of Caucasians and can instead relate to each other as equals."

This old flick is about a murderous half-man half-ape who lives in a secret basement unbeknownst to a young married couple who have just taken ownership of the property. This leads to a number of murders which casts all manner of aspersions on the husband.

Son of Ingagi is, along with Devils Daughter and Chloe, Love is Calling You, one of the earliest all-black horror films. Like the others it's strictly a poverty row affair which only really stands out as an example of early black cinema. While it does have a reasonably intimidating monster, it suffers from being very creaky, as many of the low-budget films from the period are. It combines elements of horror and comedy, which was something that was increasingly popular at the time. Although, even up to the present day, this approach has proved never to be easy to pull off successfully as the comedy deflates the horror and vice-versa.

Without doubt this is a movie primarily recommended for those interested in the development of black cinema. It also should be of interest to fans of old 30's and 40's low budget horror films. Others should approach with caution, as despite its significance as an early example of a minority race film, it might just be a little too unoriginal and antiquated.

SON OF INGAGI (1940) is a rare horror film. One of the films by Zack Williams, a black film artist who made films with an all black cast, for the black audiences. (This was in the days before Denzel washington, Sidney Portier, James Earl Jones, the days you never saw a black man in the heroic lead in a film.) The real treat of the movie is the nasty old witch that lives in a little house. All she has to do is bang a low-toned gong and the big giant, who sleeps on hay, wakes up and beats the old woman's enemies to a frazzle. A rare piece of film history, and a lot of fun.

A newlywed couple is visited by a strange old woman who harbors a secret about the young girl's father.

"Son of Ingagi" is allegedly the first science fiction-horror film to feature an all-black cast. Even if the film had no merit (which it does), this alone would make it worthwhile as a historic film.

This is really the brainchild of Spencer Williams (1893-1969), who wrote, acted and helped behind the camera. While today perhaps best remembered as the latter half of Amos and Andy, he was a true talent and a pioneer in the category of "race films".

I would love to see this film properly released. Maybe it has been, but the public domain copy I saw was pretty unbearable and ruined what should have been a lost classic.