Le monstre marche

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)

** (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.

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.

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!".

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."