Son of Ingagi

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.

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.

The first half of this movie belongs to Laura Bowman. I was interested in her reclusive Dr Helen Jackson character who lives in a house of secrets. On the one hand she is a severe grim-faced Judith Furse type who begrudges the humanity she is hiding from. On discovering a formula to benefit humanity she mutters to herself "Why should I worry about humanity?" But then there is the glimmer of the maternal Jane Darwell type in her character at times. If you like indomitable old ladies and creepy old houses then this could be your type of film. Dr Jackson is able to summon an ape man from a hidden room by striking a gong behind her desk. I reckon this would make a good 1940s horror double bill with 'The Ape Man' from 1943 on a horror hosted show. 'The Ape Man' has Bela Lugosi and Minerva Urecal in it. The second half of 'Son of Ingagi' is more humorous as the ape man and a detective go into a lengthy comic routine involving disappearing sandwiches etc. The story also involves a stash of gold from Africa and a newly-wedded couple who Dr Jackson takes a shine to.

SON OF INGAGI is about a man and his new bride trying to enjoy their wedding night. Instead, a series of disasters -an explosion at the groom's workplace, a mad scientist and her go-rilla henchman on a rampage- threatens to derail the honeymoon.

A fun movie featuring an all-African American cast...