Le monstre marche

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.

Typical from the thirties, this horror flick from Poverty Row remains interesting to watch for gem diggers. Frank Strayer was a prolific film director whose most filmography is now lost and forgotten. I recently reviewed DEATH FROM A DISTANCE, the most interesting of them all, most incredible and unusual; and also VAMPIRE BAT. All those films are not destined to today hoorror audiences. But we are lucky enough to purchase those B movies. Of course it is slow, very slow, sort of sleeping pills. Anyway, there are not too long and after little practice, you should make it with not much effort. Good luck.

Ever since the literary origins of the horror genre, stories about old dark houses have haunted the dreams of horror fans across the globe. Like in literature, cinema adopted this kind of stories quickly and this Gothic branch of horror was early explored by the filmmakers. Among the earliest movies of this kind in the "sound era", is this little known Gothic film by Frank R. Strayer starring no one else but Mischa Auer (whom years later would achieve fame and recognition as a comedian) in a creepy and very dark role.

The film is about the death of a millionaire scientist, and the subsequent reading of his will. Among them are his young daughter Ruth (Vera Reynolds), his brother Robert (Sheldon Lewis) and his two servants, Mrs. Emma Turg (Martha Mattox) and her son Hanss (Mischa Auer). After the reading of the will, mysterious events begin to happen as it seems that a killer is after those more benefited by the scientist' will. This kind of plot is nowadays a cliché, but in its day it was still fresh and a favorite both among the audience and among the writers.

Made just 5 years after the first sound movie, "The Monster Walks" is a stylistically a film that still retains some features from silent films. It is one of the first works of writer Robert Ellis (who would achieve fame writing the Charlie Chan films), more exactly, his first talkie; and sadly, it shows, as it feels too stagy for its own sake. However, Ellis' love for mystery is present and while clichéd, the plot is well developed and shows why he became a master of the genre.

Strayer's direction is also a bit restrained, as if he was experimenting with the new technology. Strayer builds up his film with care and at a very slow pace, and while his lack of expertise is obvious, it's interesting to see the steps that lead to his far superior "The Vampire Bat" and "The Ghost Walks", and eventually to his highly successful "Blondie" series. It is also worth to point out that he gave both Mischa Auer and Willie Best one of their first opportunities in the business.

The acting is a mixed bag of extremes, with some members of the cast being excellent while others give rather poor performances. Mischa Auer is without a doubt among the former and while he is more recognized as a comedian, he pulls off a role clearly inspired by Lugosi and Karloff's performances on the Universal films of 1931. Martha Mattox is equally impressive as his mother but is definitely Wilie Best (under the racist pseudonym of "Sleep 'n' Eat") who steals the show with his great talent for comedy. The rest of the cast is less impressive, and while Rex Lease makes a good lead, Vera Reynolds' over the top melodrama (probably another element from silent films) is a bit annoying and distracting.

Like most films done on the Poverty Row, "The Monster Walks" suffers of a terribly low-budget and even lower production values. The old dark house scenery becomes repetitive and modern viewers may be bored by this old style of film-making. The over the top acting of some members of the cast may also be another distraction that hurts the film, but the biggest problem lays on the fact that nowadays the plot is neither original nor interesting. This last detail is definitely not the film's fault, but viewers are to be warned.

"The Monster Walks" is not a classic, and definitely not a very good film, but it is a great chance to watch how film-making was evolving as it features the early work of four great artists of the 40s and how they learned the business. As a novelty, this film is very rewarding and a nice chance to watch non-Universal horror of the origins of film. 5/10

Treating this horror film as anything but camp and you will agree it's one of the worst films ever made. The acting is wooden, the writing amateurish (with leading lady, Vera Reynolds, saying to her fiancé, Rex Lease, "Oh Ted, take me away" at least five times, whenever something disturbing happens), and the production values poor. As a horror film by today's standards it's totally laughable, but in 1932 it was intended to scare audiences. You see a wall picture move, revealing a hole (gasp! someone is watching). You see a furry arm come through the headboard and threaten an unsuspecting sleeper. And there's a caged ape in the basement that may or may not know how to get out of his cage. (He's called an ape but is obviously a chimpanzee.) Willie Best, annoying billed as "Sleep N' Eat," provides the intended comedy relief and is as good as usual, but don't expect too much from anyone else. See it with a group and you'll all have some fun.

Forgetful Filmmakers Dept.: Lawyer Sidney Bracy is billed onscreen as "Herbert Wilkes." But in the will he reads, he is referred to as "William Wilkes."

The Monster Walks (1932)

** (out of 4)

It's rather amazing at how many films would follow after The Bat was released in 1926 and kicked off the "old dark house" genre. This time a daughter returns to her father's house after his death so that she can hear the will being read. Everything starts off okay but soon a killer is stalking everyone with the help of a gorilla. I'm still rather curious why every "old dark house" from this period featured a gorilla. I'm going to guess that movie crowds back then were scared of them as I don't see why they should play such an important part in these films. Nothing really stands out in this film, although the running time is just over 60-minutes. The performances are decent but nothing special and the story itself doesn't offer enough twists to be entertaining. God knows there are far worse than this out there but then again there are much better ones. The racial humor from a servant (named Sleep 'N Eat) is off base and doesn't really help matters.