O Passo do Monstro

It was a dark and stormy night with constant cannon fire in the distance, with the wind scratching a wax record somewhere out of scene. OK the quality of the picture is not Oscar material but hey, this was 1932. At least now I know where H&B got all the gags for the Scooby Doo cartoons. As mentioned in most of the other comments this is a typical Haunted House movie, with only one or two real surprises. There is even the maniac monkey thrown in as with countless other "horror" movies of the era. Were chimps really that scary back then???? The acting is worthy of any community playhouse, I kept looking for the script cards Hanns was reading off of. And I was shocked to learn Hanns actually had musical talent - kinda... sorta... OK not really. But I did manage to make it through this movie in one setting without going comatose, but I did find myself quoting Vera at least once or twice during the movie, "Oh Ted, take me away!".

"The Monster Walks" is a very old and very cheap haunted-house mystery thriller without much mystery. Yet, considering the budget and the experience cast & crew members disposed of, this probably isn't such a bad movie after all. I'm sure that fans of early horror films will definitely detect a lot of charm and goodwill in this typical story about a wealthy daughter that is targeted for murder upon returning to her parental house for the regulation of her dead father's inheritance. Ruth has always been petrified by her father's pet-ape and, although safely caged in the basement, some malicious persons uses the animal to scare her senseless. Rex Lease is her all-knowing doctor/boyfriend who investigates the strange nightly events and eventually reveals the true culprit. Maybe the plot-twists would have intrigued me more if the actual climax wasn't stupidly mentioned on the DVD-box, but I still can't say the script is very complex or effectively misleading. There are one or two decent suspense-moments but overall this is a dull and unexciting poverty row movie. All the lovely clichés of 30's horror cinema are there, though, like the exaggeratedly polite servants, the seemly endless thunderstorm outside the castle and the black chauffeur-guy who simultaneously serves as the comic relief. This is an okay film as long as you don't expect to see another "The Old Dark House".

It is surprising how many "old dark house" movies there were back in the early days of talking pictures. It seems like every independent, Poverty Row studio made their fair share. Some are actually quite good even after all these years. I am about to talk about one of them. Stop me if you've heard this one before: a rich, reclusive, eccentric man passes away and his relatives gather for the reading of the will. What? You've heard this one already? Stick with me, it gets good. The dead mans brother (Sheldon Lewis, the Clutching Hand himself in a surprisingly subdued performance) is confined to a wheelchair and the servants (Martha Mattox, best remembered from THE CAT AND THE CANARY, 1927 and Mischa Auer later to costar in CONDEMNED TO LIVE, 1935) are the creepiest characters you ever saw. The family attorney (Sidney Bracy) is acting mighty suspicious too. Along comes the dead man's daughter (Vera Reynolds) who seems to be the only likable member of the family. With her comes her fiancee (Rex Lease, taking a break from westerns) and his chauffeur (Sleep n' Eat who later went back to his real name, Willie Best). Also in the house is Yogi, a large chimp whom the doctor used for experiments. Everyone in the house gets a chance to say "His death was so sudden!" so right away we are ready for foul play to be mentioned. Like all houses in this genre there are lots of secret passageways but at least this time the killer does not skulk around in a cloak and black hood. It looks like the killer is Yogi the chimp. Ah, but things are not always what they seem to be! Before the 65 minute running time is over we learn about secret love affairs, children, murder plots, bribery and madness. Sadly the weakest point in the movie is the heroine herself. It hardly takes more than a clap of thunder or a shadow to start her screaming "Take me away from here!" to her fiancee. Willie Best steals many scenes with his on-the-money delivery of many great lines. When informed that his room is in the basement near Yogi's cage he responds "Well get me an umbrella and I'll sleep on the roof." Once we know there is a killer loose in the house Willie is asked if he left his gun in the glovebox of the car and he replies "No sir, it's right here!" and pulls it from his pocket. Mischa Auer is quite effective as a menacing presence but he later abandoned drama and became quite a successful comedian. Sheldon Lewis gets much more to do in this movie than he does in THE PHANTOM (1931) where he does a retread of his old Clutching Hand character. Okay so the movie is old and the plot is nothing we have not seen before; this is still a fun movie and worth catching if you are studying early talkies or if you just want something to enjoy.

The owner dies and leaves his fortune to his daughter (Vera Reynolds), but the brother (Sheldon Lewis) wants it for himself and the son (Oscar nominee Mischa Auer) he is hiding. He plans to have the son eliminate everyone so he can grab the riches.

The plan goes awry when the son kills his mother (Martha Mattox) by mistake. He turns on his father and tries to kill the daughter.

It was a weird little film, just out of the silent era, and there was more talking than anything.

Of course, they have the stereotypical black chauffeur (Willie Best, who was listed in the credits as Sleep 'n' Eat). I kid you not! I last remember Best from High Sierra. He has a long career with numerous roles, probably many of them doing that stereotypical frightened black man.

Not very scary for a haunted house.

THE MONSTER WALKS (1932)

An ape is killing people in an old spooky house! This movie is sooo bad, but also a wonderful example of the 1930's "haunted house" films. We love the scene where a dead body is kept in a room lit only by a single candle light...Lots of gimmicky scenes that were common in those days are practiced in this atmospheric movie. Don't miss it, it's a real treasure that will have you laughing, but also calling up some great memories of the era.