The Lady and the Monster

Although I did like my two viewings of Felix E. Feist's 1953 film version of Curt Siodmak's DONOVAN'S BRAIN (with Lew Ayres and Gene Evans), somehow I have yet to acquire it for my home video collection; besides, I am also familiar (from an age-old Italian TV screening) with the later Freddie Francis version entitled VENGEANCE aka THE BRAIN (1962) where Peter Van Eyck and Anne Heywood had the leading roles. What I did acquire very recently, however, is the even rarer original version directed by the reliable George Sherman and starring the great Erich von Stroheim, Contrary to expectations, the latter is neither the monster of the title nor (for the initiated) the man taken over by the dead financial wizard's brain; that unlucky guy is Richard Arlen – the hero of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932) no less – who, as Stroheim's unlikely assistant in his underground experiments, gets to become even more obsessed with their celebrated cerebral specimen than his crazed mentor! From the rest of the cast, Vera Hruba Ralston may have later become Mrs. Herbart J. Yates (when she married the head of Republic Pictures, the studio behind this film) but, frankly, she brought very little to this particular film; on the other hand, it was nice to see Sidney Blackmer – best-known for portraying Adrian Marcato in Roman Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) – albeit in a supporting role of the suspicious attorney. Incidentally, the sequences depicting the blooming romance between Arlen and Ralston and those between Blackmer and Donovan's wife can mostly be written off as mere padding; small wonder, therefore, that the film was shorn of 19 whole minutes (cut down from 86 to 67!) for a later re-release…not to mention being saddled with the highly ludicrous (and utterly misleading) alternate titles of TIGER MAN and MONSTER AND TIGER MAN!! Speaking of titles, despite the sheer similarity to the earlier Paramount horror entry THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL (1941), as can be gleaned from my own reviews of both films, they have nothing whatsoever in content (other than being of the same era and genre). Despite these flaws, I generally liked the film more than I was expecting to and that fact is mostly down to two simple factors: the presence of Erich von Stroheim in front of the cameras and that of celebrated cinematographer John Alton behind them! Even though the quality of the copy I acquired was fairly fuzzy at best, Alton's atmospheric lighting came through just the same – particularly during the atmospheric laboratory sequences and the eerie scenes showing Arlen's 'possession'.

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.

A short way into this film I realized that it is the same film that remade as "Donovan's Brain" (with Lew Ayers)--a very good movie. "The Lady and the Monster" is the original version of this story but based on the title you'd never know it--after all, there really is no monster in the film and it's not exactly a horror film...not exactly.

Erich Von Stroheim of all people plays the lead in this film. He's a not exactly mad scientist who has weird theories about keeping a brain alive after death--on the other hand, he sure ain't normal! He is a guardian for a rather hysterical young lady who is a bad actress (Vera Ralston--who was apparently sleeping with the head of the studio). And, he has an assistant (Richard Arlen) who can't make up his mind about the ethics of Von Stroheim's work.

One day, an actual human subject falls into Von Stroheim's lap, so to speak. There was an accident and he was called in to treat the victims--one of which was a rich and powerful man, Mr. Donovan. He and Arlen 'borrow' the brain when Donovan dies--unethical, sure, but probably not a bad thing...or is it?! The experiment turns out to be a great success--the brain is kept alive for many days. However, something weird happens--the brain begins to show amazing powers--powers to control Arlen and Von Stroheim!

As I said above, this isn't exactly a horror film. While it has some elements, the story is a but more understated and the scientists aren't quite mad enough to qualify it as a horror film. I think of it more as 'horror lite'. I enjoyed the film, for the most part, but also think the film needed a bit more polish and a few changes. The biggest problem was Ralston's character. Throughout much of the early part of the film she seemed really high-strung and went on and on about how horrible Von Stroheim was---even though he hadn't really done anything yet! It just made little sense--nor did her usual bizarre delivery of her lines. Apart from that the film was good but did seem to meander a bit here and there. As a result, and I RARELY say this, I really think the remake was a better film--and with a much more appropriate title.

After his career as a director ended in 1933 with the re-shot and heavily re-edited HELLO SISTER, Erich von Stroheim turned exclusively to acting where he was still much in demand. He had some good roles in the 1930s most notably in Jean Renoir's GRAND ILLUSION but by the early 1940s he was typecast as Nazi villains in movies like THE NORTH STAR (1943). One year later he returned to playing a mad doctor as he had done in THE CRIME OF DR. CRESPI back in 1935. The movie was THE LADY AND THE MONSTER and it was made for the same studio, Republic Pictures.

The story by Curt Siodmak , who wrote and directed 1940s monster movies for Universal, concerns the brain of a dead millionaire which is kept alive after a plane crash by a crippled scientist and his young couple assistants. Slowly the brain takes over the personality of the male assistant who is then compelled to carry out the dead man's evil plans. Instead of trying to stop it, von Stroheim keeps the brain alive "in the name of science" allowing its influence to grow. When it begins to threaten the female assistant, something must be done before it's too late.

Erich von Stroheim is his usual imperious self as the crippled scientist. Richard Arlen (WINGS, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS) plays the assistant who gets taken over while perennial Republic Pictures leading lady Vera Ralston is the endangered heroine. The film is beautifully photographed by Noir specialist John Alton and successfully directed by George Sherman. Although later remade as the better known DONOVAN'S BRAIN (1953) with Lew Ayers and Nancy Davis (later Reagen), this version is just as engaging. Seven years later von Stroheim would play the butler in SUNSET BOULEVARD...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

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.