The Ape

William Nigh directs this low-budget Monogram picture about a circus ape escaping simultaneously with an eccentric doctor trying to cure a young girl's paralysis. Somehow the two plot strands meet and end in a very far-fetched denouement. Fantastical plot notwithstanding, The Ape is a quality picture at least as far as Monogram pictures go. Sure it has some real cheap sets and a threadbare, ridiculous story. The direction is adequate but nothing more. But what it does have is a fine performance from Boris Karloff as the doctor working endlessly to free a girl from the confines of her wheelchair all the while blurring the line of good and bad. For me there are three types of mad doctors. The first and probably most familiar is the crazed, maniacal, egocentric mad doctor looking for revenge or glory or the affections of a girl. These guys are the ones full of themselves and usually are dedicated in some form or fashion to evil. Bela Lugosi excelled at these. The second type is the same maniacal, crazed doctor but one that is more worldly. He wants money or power and position. He knows oftentimes that what he is doing is wrong(differentiates him from first type). I think Lionel Atwill played this type very well. The third type - and a very broad one - is the mad doctor who crosses the line of acceptable behaviour but his action are all done with good at the core. Karloff really perfected this type. The Ape has just such a "mad doctor" in it. Karloff gives such a good performance despite everything working against him. He creates genuine pathos in his role. The rest of the cast in this film is nothing too special. I enjoyed Henry Hall as the lawman, and Gertrude Hoffman as Karloff's quiet maid was chilling in her demeanor and silence. The Ape should not be overlooked simply because of its less than stellar roots with Monogram. Karloff rises above the material and this film rises above the standard fare usually created. The ape itself, well, quite ridiculous. In this one George Barrows gets a break and Ray "Crash" Corrigan(the alien in It! The Terror from Beyond Space)dons the unrealistic simian outfit.

In this very short and extremely cheap horror film, horror legend Boris Karloff once again stars as a devoted doctor/scientist on the verge of a big medical breakthrough. He played quite a few similar roles in his rich career and this time he's helping out a young woman who's suffering from an almost terminal case of polio. Dr. Adrian (Karloff's character) has great visions but his experiments are what they call 'unethical' and all the villagers avoid him. When a mad-raving ape escapes from a nearby circus, it brings Dr. Adrian to an idea… 'The Ape' is quite an imaginative and well-intended horror film with a slick plot but unfortunately too little action. It never features a horrific atmosphere and the ape costume isn't exactly convincing. Still, I'd certainly categorize it as a worthwhile horror film if it were only for the performance by Boris (who looks quite thin and unhealthy here, though). In case you're looking for a really excellent film starring Karloff going insane while reaching new medical heights, I strongly recommend purchasing 'Corridors of Blood'. This film would make a neat appetizer before watching that one.

I'm not sure what I'd name this film. It was probably named "The Ape" to bring in crowds - thoughts of an ape gone rogue and Boris Karloff creeping about would do so in 1940. Dr. Bernard Adrian (Karoloff) is introduced immediately. He is visiting a girl, Frances, who is paralyzed on what would have been Adrian's daughter's 18th birthday. Both his daughter and wife were lost in an epidemic of what is called "paralysis". It is probably polio, but the disease is never named. The girl is like a second daughter to Adrian, and she has a beau, the rather simple but kindly Danny.

A local circus goes up in flames and an ape belonging to the circus is on the loose. The ape badly injures his cruel trainer/keeper in the process of escaping and the trainer is brought to Dr. Adrian. Adrian figures the man is going to die anyways, and uses his spinal fluid in a serum he is concocting to help Frances and other paralytics walk again.

There are several mysteries going on here. The ape only seems to kill people who are evil - you are given a scene in which each of his victims does something awful. How does the ape know? Plus the ape is hanging around the doctor's house. Why?? Also, in one scene the ape is said to be killed but is shown walking about later, still on a mad spree. How?

Is this all just bad editing? Why are chronically ill young people always shown as so patient and kind in these B films? Will the doctor push the boundaries of medicine too far and have Frances remove the blanket on her legs to reveal hairy ape legs? If so will Danny make a run for it? Watch and find out the ridiculous ending.

This film is five out of ten just because of Karloff. He creeps up the atmosphere and adds depth to just about any character he plays. Everybody else in the cast is just a cardboard cutout next to him. It makes me wonder why he even did this film. Probably for Karloff completists only.

This is one of those lesser known Boris Karloff films that is an underrated horror classic! Worth watching if you enjoy the films concerning "a mad scientist", older horror classics and/or Boris Karloff.

Yes Karloff is finding a cure for polio in this underrated classic - but is he really a "mad scientist" or a man desperate to help humanity?

What does a circus, an ape, a mad scientist, a woman with polio and murder have to do with each other? If you are curious then I would recommend you watching the Karloff film "The Ape".

The copy of this film I have is clear and I can hear the movie quite well but it does jump around a little bit. I would guess the film was not preserved all that well but that has NOTHING to do with the original film before the wear and tear of time.

If you want a fairly decent copy of this film like I have then I would recommend getting the horror film pack called "Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection" (with Phantom of the Opera on the cover). It's a fairly clean/decent copy although their might be a better copy of this film floating around out there that I am unaware of.

"The Ape" is a good old fashioned horror film that I do recommend to others.

8.5/10

first off I enjoyed The Ape, not one of Karloff's great movies but it didn't stink either,, the premise of the movie is that he is trying to find a spinal cure for a woman, and the only way he can do this is to go around killing people,, he decides to use an Ape suit this way I guess he can scare the living daylights out of his victims.. he is great to watch his every move ,, what he is gonna do next, and how he will go about doing it,, he's really creepy in the Ape suit, I would not wanna be in his way when he is gonna get to his next victim,, granted there's not a lot of suspense here because you already know what he is doing, so there is really no great mystery about what's going on, just sit back and enjoy Boris Karloff that's what I did.