The Boogie Man Will Get You

Though conceived as a quickie ripoff of "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Boogie Man" now seems more like a weird precursor of "Green Acres," featuring (Miss) Jeff Donnell as a sort of young female Eddie Albert, and Boris Karloff in what might be called the Eva Gabor position, spoofing his kindly old mad scientist roles as a semi-senile inventor attempting to create a race of electrically enhanced supermen in the basement of a crumbling colonial inn while Miss Donnell joyously appraises all the charming old antiques upstairs. Peter Lorre, of all people, gives a rare comic performance as the local version of Mr. Haney, running around dressed like Robert Mitchum in "Night of the Hunter," with a cute little Siamese kitten in his pocket that he periodically coos to in German. This is the sort of movie you used to catch one night on the late late show, and wonder for years afterwards if you'd actually seen it or just dreamt it.

(Miss) Jeff Donnell (yes, that's how she's billed) plays a woman who loves the charm of anything antique and buys a rundown old inn to renovate, much to the dismay of her ex-husband, Larry Parks. These two are fine in their roles as the squabbling exes, but honestly those parts are secondary to the real stars of the picture, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre.

Karloff owns the place, but is being evicted and needs Donnell's cash. He asks only to stay on to finish his 'experiments' in the basement: Karloff, as sweet and grandfatherly as can be, has created a machine he's sure can turn a mere mortal into superman and win the war..unfortunately, glitches in the procedure have produced nothing except the five bodies in the wine cellar. Also staying are the chicken-obsessed housekeeper (Maude Eburne) and a handyman who likes to carry his piglets about the house.

To make the sale legal, they call in Peter Lorre..the local mayor/coroner/sheriff/seller of insurance and hair tonic. Lorre's character is terrific--dressed all in black with a cute little kitten in his pocket. Parks sees bodies (that vanish) and Donnell thinks he's just trying to scare her, and she continues to believe the loony characters are just dears. When Lorre finds out about the bodies, he doesn't make an arrest--he suggests Karloff cut him in on the invention, and they are thrilled when Maxie Rosenbloom knocks on the door selling powder puffs (all the 'subjects' were salesmen) so they crank up the machine one more time. Things go from wacky to full-blown chaos to tie up all the loose plot strings.

This was obviously a take on "Arsenic and Old Lace"..Parks is no Cary Grant and this is not on a par with that classic comedy, but it is just silly enough to be charming, and worth seeing if only for Lorre and Karloff in a comic/satirical take of their usual frightful roles.

This film was quite enjoyable for what it was. A cockeyed optimist(Miss Jeff Daniels) buys a rundown colonial era inn with high hopes and decides to allow the current inhabitants, among them a scientist working on a device that will help the Allies win the war(Boris Karloff)and an old woman who obsesses about chickens, to stay on. Her bumbling ex-husband has followed her. The scientist is soon joined by the sheriff/coroner/justice of the peace (and purveyor of baldness cures),played by Peter Lorre. The big question is: Is there are or aren't there a room full of corpses in a secret room off the wine cellar? They have been experimenting on travelling salesmen who happen by the house,using the standard bulb- and- helmet type of contraption that should be familiar to moviegoers. Lorre's character packs a huge pistol and keeps a Siamese kitten in his pocket, claiming that "she has a incredible sense for crime and corruption." Good thing.

The Boogie Man Will Get You marks the first joint appearance of Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre in the same film. Both certainly could qualify as Boogie Men for the title, both frightened movie goers for generations. This was their first joint screen appearance and the first film where they spoofed their own images.

Karloff is a scientist of the mad kind who boards in an old colonial type inn that is run by an equally screwy couple George McKay and Maude Eburne. Lorre is the county sheriff and kind of a Grand Pooh Bah of the region, he's everything else official. When he discovers Karloff is experimenting on making zombie like supermen for the war effort, rather than arrest him Peter's intrigued even though five fatalities might be traced to Karloff's experiments.

There's also quarreling couple Jeff Donnell who wants to buy the old inn and Larry Parks her estranged husband who says no. Add to that Maxie Rosenbloom who plays Lorre's amiable lunkhead retainer and you've got a first rate spoof of horror pictures.

Certainly Karloff and Lorre showed they had a flair for comedy which would pop up every so often in their credits midst all the fiendish parts they did play.

Very funny film, should not be missed by fans of either Karloff or Lorre.

While the film fails to offer any actual "Boogieman", it does offer up a variety of decent chuckles, courtesy of its then all-star cast. With a goofy set up, likable characters, and some great slapstick, The Boogie Man Will Get You is a decent, fun little romp from yesteryear.

The plot follows a young woman who decides to purchase an old Colonial mansion in the middle of nowhere with the hopes of turning it into a hotel, even though it is barely standing. Her ex-husband finds her only seconds after she has made the purchase (a plot device never fully explained) and tried to convince her she's been swindled. She doesn't care, having become fond of the eclectic cast of characters that inhabit the house... but little does she know, the old man who works in the basement is actually trying to create a race of electric supermen! Bodies begin piling up (or do they?), Peter Lorre shows up playing the town mayor/sheriff/notary with a kitten in his coat pocket, and general Hollywood hijinks ensue. The ending is a mess, but it ends up being so convoluted, it somehow finds charms in all of its lunacy. While far from intelligent entertainment, you could do a lot worse for 66 minutes of your life.

If you're a Karloff or Lorre fan, its well worth seeing. Others, its hit-or-miss.