The Ape Man

Decade of 40! It's the most suitable time for a horror b-movie , isn't it ? But how could this be successful ? Let's try the simple one – shot way! William Beuadine and Bela Lugosi , the lord of horror owns the first role. Well , Bela Lugosi acts a very bad scientist (a role that we've so many times , we loved it , we got used it in , but we never borrowed of it) Dr. James Brewster , who transforms Emil Van Horn (`Sleepy Lagoon') to Ape. Police Captain O' Brien is the role of the classical J. Farrell Mac Donald (who played in 294 movies . Of them we remember especially the `Trail Of Shadows' , F.W. Murnau's `Sunrise' , `Four Devils' , `Dangerous Female' , `Sporting Blood' and the `Phantom Killer') attends to catch Dr. James Brewster . Lugosi and Farrell Mac Donald surrounded of a wonderful cast , ideal for a b-movie , just like this one . Buise Currie (`Here Comes The Boogie Men') , Wallace Ford (Tod Browning's `Freaks' , `The Mummy's Hand' , `The Mummy's Tomb' , Alfred Hitchcock's `Spellbound') , Henry Hall (`The Ape') , Minerva Urecal (who was played again the first role with Bela Lugosi at the films `The Corpse Vanishes' and `Ghost On The Loose') , the classical Wheeler Oakman (who was played in 195 movies , from whom we chose the `Ghosts On The Loose' with Bela) , Jack Mulhall (who has not only played in 314 movies but is also the producer of Madame Spy) , Charles Jordan (Cat People) , Charlie Hall (who made some short roles in movies with Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel). The offhand script that Karl Brawn (Phantom Killer) wrote with Barney D. Sarecky (The Phantom Killer) is exalted by the master of b-movies , William Beaudine . If you're not fans of this kind , you will have a good time , but if you are fans of b-movies , you shouldn't miss the `Ape Man'

I need to watch more of these ancient horror flicks - The Ape Man had me in tears of laughter. Brilliant! This one has it all...

Somehow, Bela's turned himself (slightly) into an Ape. Which means he's got bad posture and hair on his face. Apart from that he's alright. I mean, he can still speak English and wear clothes, which made me confused as to why he had to sleep in a cage with an ape. He certainly was an angry fellow though. I lost count of the amount of times he attacked that ape with a whip! When I say 'ape', by the way, I mean 'guy in an ape suit'. Bela and the guy in the ape suit talk their own ape language from time to time too, especially when arranging to kill folks and steal their spinal fluid for a laugh.

There are some old classic horrors kicking around, but this is a BAD classic horror. Poor acting (from everyone), spelling mistakes on the headlines, and an ending that must have been shown in Italian film school under the class 'How to leave the audience scratching their heads'.

It's public domain. You don't even have to pay to see it.

And buy war bonds! Help our boys overseas!

The Ape Man is a story about a mad doctor who has been experimenting with apes and has slowly turned himself into a kind of ape man through an injection of sorts. The details of the experiment as well as with the plot are often never stated or incredibly vague. To be certain, poor Bela wants spinal fluid for regressing the advancing stages of apeness, and he and his gorilla friend kill with this goal in mind. Bela lurches and swings his arms as the ape man. The movie was made by Monogram and is evidently cheaply made, but the film is entertaining as a Lugosi film. He is the important character and even though his dialogue and actions are highly doubtful given the circumstances, Bela comes off as a menacing mad man. I wish I could say something good about the rest of the cast. The gorilla is fake as can be, the male and female reporters whose lives are in peril at the film's climax have no acting savvy whatsoever. Bela's sister is rather good as is their doctor friend, but remember this film is a cheapie and looks it. Nonetheless I would recommend the die-hard classic horror fan to see it.

This is a 1 point or a 10 point movie. 1 if you want to be sensible, but 10 if you love the Ed Wood or pre-Poe Roger Corman school of film. Terrible script, dreadful acting, poor lighting, and worse sound than a Caruso or Nellie Melba recording 40 years earlier.

Bela Lugosi does a poor ape imitation, and wears a very rough prototype of the mask Roddy McDowall wore in 'Planet of the Apes.' He monkeys about (sorry!) with one Emil Van Horn wearing a full gorilla suit - he looks exactly like the one (called Ethel) that Oliver Hardy ended up with when the circus went broke. (Stanley got the flea circus.) Lugosi & another scientist have been fiddling about with 'glands,' so when Lugosi decides to test it on himself... The only way to keep himself away from the furry side of life is to keep filling himself with human 'glands' from the recently deceased. He steps out into the night and orders 'Ethel' to murder people - it's 'The Murders In The Rue Morgue' all over again.

Hard to tell whether this was supposed to be funny or not - wisecracking journalists who annoy the editor by calling him 'chiefy,' brain-dead Irish policemen, bubbling retorts in the cellars of an old dark house etc. Clearly this was made when Lugosi's life was turning into a tragic horror story all of his own, and accepted any old rubbish to pay for the drugs and the booze.

One kind of wishes for Abbott & Costello or The Three Stooges to turn up, but no such luck. The star turn is the wonderfully named Miranda Urecal (almost born to appear in cheap horror films) who plays Lugosi's sister, screaming energetically or fainting at the drop of a coffin lid.

This isn't quite as funny as Ed Wood's stuff, but better than nothing now the hockey season's finished. The ending's quite amusing, and make sure you spot Charlie Hall (like Ethel, a left-over from the glory days of Laurel & Hardy) at the very start.

I really don't know what some of the more snobbish reviewers expect when they sit down to watch movies such as this; "Gone With The Wind"? Maybe "Citizen Kane"? How about something that was produced last year for tens of millions of dollars? These were films produced in the thirties and forties with a low budget, by studios who did not have access to special effects and high cost productions as the majors did. Still, the films are highly enjoyable with good plots and usually fine acting. They are gems and classics in their own way despite the financial shortcomings they had to endure. "The Ape Man" is such a movie. The great Bela Lugosi and a talented cast give us a good story and a fine movie. Bela's character has, unfortunately, made himself part ape. Alas, another scientific experiment gone awry. He needs a special "spinal serum" or return to 100% human ways and has to kill to get it. He does and, well, you'll have to see the film to find out what happens. This is not a movie to be ridiculed or laughed at, but to be enjoyed. "The Ape Man" is a classic to those who enjoy these type of films.