Son of Ingagi

Definitely recommended only for die-hard fans of dusty old movies, this is one you've almost definitely never seen. Long out of circulation in any form, this very tame 1940s 'haunted house' type thriller is unique because it features an all-black cast. Otherwise, it is badly dated and so mild that it's a real snore throughout most of the short runtime.

The plot concerns two newlyweds who find themselves visited on their wedding night by a mysterious woman, a certain Doctor Jackson. Doctor Jackson is a severe old woman, and we see her roughing up her attorney and revealing herself to be stubborn and willful. However, she is also touched that the newlyweds have found her important enough to invite to their wedding, and she reveals that she was once romantically linked with the bride's father. Unbeknownst to anybody, Dr. Jackson has drawn up a will that leaves all of her earthly possessions, including her spooky old house, to our protagonists.

Also a secret is the fact that she has a weird ape-man living in her basement, which can only be accessed through a hidden door. The ape-man is summoned with an ominous gong the old lady has, and it appears to be mostly docile. However, Dr. Jackson is experimenting with some kind of potion, which she foolishly leaves sitting out in the basement where the ape-man lives. It drinks the potion and goes homicidally crazy, choking her to death. By wild coincidence, our newlyweds happen to visit the woman at almost the same moment and find her dead, no sign of the ape man. When the police discover that they were the beneficiaries of the old woman's will, they suspect the husband of murder. Cleared of all charges, the husband returns with his bride to move into the house they've just inherited--unaware that the ape man is still lurking in the basement. A few more attacks happen until the inevitable bride-snatching occurs after our lonely ape-man ventures out of the cellar.

The movie was filmed on a few cheap sets, with most of the action wisely taking place in the old dark house, but it's not that memorable of a set. It's poorly established, and we don't get a look at the creepy exterior until the conclusion, when it goes up in flames. The acting is passable, at best, with some comic relief coming from a bumbling detective. The makeup on the ape man is ludicrous, and there is no real explanation for what the creature is or why the doctor has it in her basement. We are to gather she brought it back from one of her excursions to Africa, but that's about all we know. Oh, and it likes cold cut sandwiches, too.

Worth a look for the curious, just don't expect too much. Watch for a couple of lively musical numbers near the beginning of the film, performed by the Four Toppers (not to be confused with the similarly-named Four Tops).

In reviewing movies involving people of color in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1940 when Spencer Williams-future star of TV's version of "Amos 'n' Andy"-wrote and took a part in this horror/comedy feature. I'll just say right now that this isn't very good. In fact, the pace is just lethargic enough that I rarely laughed and was not scared at all. The fact is that the only time a score plays is when they show newspaper montages to advance the story. So that's a demerit right there. The leads of Alfred Grant and Daisy Bufford are as bland as you'd expect. Laura Bowman has some nice moments playing a mysterious character but she's not on screen enough. And vocal group The Four Toppers have some entertaining musical interludes when singing "So Long, Pal" and "You Drove the Groom Away". And even Williams has some amusing moments involving two disappearing sandwiches. But it's all for naught as the whole thing just falls apart past the 30-minute mark especially when a noticeable splice occurs there. So I'd only recommend Son of Ingagi if you're curious enough. P.S. Among the people involved from my now-home state of Louisiana: director Richard C. Kahn from New Orleans, Ms. Bufford from Franklin, Spencer Williams from Vidalia, and Zack Williams (the monster of the movie). Among supporting players from other black-cast movies I've seen: Ms. Bowman was also in God's Step Children, Arthur Ray was also in The Duke is Tops, Earle Morris was also in director Kahn's The Bronze Buckaroo, and Maggie Hathaway was in Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather.

Wow! When they set out to make a bad movie in the golden days, they sure knew how to do it! This film is bad, no qualms, questions about it. The story essentially tells a story about a young couple just getting married who are visited by a wealthy doctor known to everyone else for her miserly ways, yet in secret a very giving woman. We learn that this woman is attached somehow to the wife, and then we discover that she has been in Africa and loved her father. The film is intriguing with its all black cast(save the doctor and her brother), but ultimately fails as the moment the monster(an ape-like man living in the doctor's office) is revealed destroys any credibility the movie might have had. This monster looks so silly with its black wire hairs(mop-like)hanging over its face which has sunken eyes. It moves around in a pitiful way, and in no way is scary. The film also does not know exactly what it is trying to be. Is it a horror film or a comedy? The ape kills on two occasions with no comedy implied, and then later we see it eat two sandwiches from a scared policeman desperately trying to imitate Mantan Moreland. I also forgot to mention the lovely music sung as the wedded couple spend their honeymoon in their house and are visited by all their "singing" friends and family. The film sports few great moments. It has poor, inferior direction, sets, script, and acting. The best part for me was the woman who played the doctor. She was quite atmospheric in her black dress and her portly figure. That, however, is not enough to recommend this exercise in will...making you sit through it.

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...