Juggernaut

This film is what I call "basic" - meaning not a lot to it. Doctor Sartorius (Karloff) is a "mad doctor" who's lost all his funding, Yvonne Clifford (Mona Goya) is married to a rich man while having an affair with man with not a lot of money. So she enlists the help of Dr. Sartorius to bump off her husband but there is one problem - the nurse.

If you like Boris Karloff then this film is worth watching otherwise you can pass this one by - you are not missing anything. It's not a terrible film but it's not a great film - I put it in the so-so category.

When you read reviews of this film you will find that reviewers talking about Mona Goya's performance being bad - and it's true she is not very good in this movie. Very much over acting in this film but she does not take away from Karloff's performance.

5/10

This has been put out on the DVD market by Alpha, and it's for die-hard Boris Karloff fans (like moi) only. It's not a horror flick, but a drama where Boris is a struggling scientist agreeing to kill a wealthy woman's husband in order to gain the fortune needed to continue with his work. But once the dying victim changes his will and leaves his spouse nothing, all hell breaks loose. It's appeasing enough seeing Karloff as another selfish sinister type, and some of the acting is unintentionally hilarious (especially from the leading lady Mona Goya who is absolutely a laugh riot as the double-crossed wife). But proceed with much caution. * out of ****

Boris Karloff is cast once again as a man of science in the British independent film Juggernaut released here by the short lived Grand National studio. Science might be Boris's game, but he's not mad just led terribly astray.

It's his research and his own mortality that Karloff is worried about, that he might die before finding a cure for some tropical diseases. He's been cut off from research funds and left at sea.

Enter Mona Goya, trophy wife of rich old Morton Selten who is not in good health, but not dying fast enough to suit Mona. She's already got Anthony Ireland in tow ready to share in the fortune when the old coot croaks. But Selten isn't croaking fast enough to suit her.

Enter Karloff who needs money for his research and do I have to go into the rest of it for you? The whole thing ends in one sudden melodramatic climax as if the rest of the film wasn't melodramatic enough.

What is good about Juggernaut that without his usual makeup and sinister science as part of the plot, Karloff does do a very good job as a man who succumbs to evil so he can put a coda of good on his life. But the whole film is really rather far fetched and could have used better writing and production values.

Juggernaut (1936)

* (out of 4)

Incredibly bad thriller about a mad scientist (Boris Karloff) who is hired by a millionaire to kill her husband but things take a turn for the worse. This film runs 62 minutes but I could have sworn it was 62 hours. The movie is so incredibly slow, boring and annoying that I kept wishing Karloff would insert me with some poison. The only good thing is Karloff's performance but that too gets lost in all the badness. Mona Goya plays the wife and gives without a doubt one of the worst performances I've ever seen. The most annoying to as she does nothing but shout throughout the film.

I adamantly disagree with those claiming this is a really bad film. I suppose they want monsters or vampires or whatever but this isn't about all that. Juggernaut is a very well produced, reasonably well written, and quite well acted feature. My only gripe would be the paradox that the Doctor found himself him wasn't fleshed out as well as it could have been. However, this movie is pretty short so that probably explains the shortcuts. You see, essentially Karloff's character (who has a short time to live) has to make a difficult choice: he can let his life's work come to a screeching halt for the most trivial reason (lack of money) or he can turn to murder for hire and finish his research which may benefit mankind greatly. In my opinion the doctor transitioned a bit to smoothly from dedicated man of science and medicine to homicidal maniac.

Despite this problem I enjoyed the entire film. The actress who played the wicked wife was a bit over the top but the role was over the top so...? Opposite her was the understated performance of the other leading lady who was pretty and quite effective. The gent who played the caddish gambler was perfect for his part. Of course Karloff hogged the spotlight in every scene but how could he not. The little smile there at the end when he was found out was simply genius.

I love these old films because they carry you relatively far back in time. It's like having a little window that allows you to peek into a different time and attitude. I love the cars, the fashions, the slang, the hair, even the furnishings. (In one memorable scene there is a stunning nude statue just behind the action...cool!) It makes me wonder a bit as to why the cameras lingered in that area for such a major part of the film...ha. Thankfully many of these oldies have a bit more than just nostalgia value...they are interesting.

The production values were, for the most part, quite good. I really liked the storyline and Karloff really elevated the cast and the movie with his strong presence. Definitely worth checking out but no monsters or vampires for you kiddies.