Nuit d'épouvante

Forget the much vaunted Val Lewton "Cat People" as a classic horror film from the early 40s. "Night Monster" is a glittering gem of chilling beauty that supplies the juice and frission and performances that make "Cat People" look like "Ishtar." Veteran director Ford Beebe had only two weeks to whip his crew of Grade A technicians and Hollywood's greatest B actors into shape. Cult B-Actress, Fay Helm, is fantastic as the emotionally unstable Margaret Ingstom who claims she sees a hideous night monster creeping around her mansion at night. Irene Hervey is attractive and warm as the psychiatrist. Leif Ericson (former husband of tragic-prone actress Frances Farmer)is hilarious as the lecherous, over-sexed chaffeur. Bela Lugosi is here, too, but he mostly leers and raises his brows. There's plenty of mist, beautifully lit and photographed scenes of fire places and wavering shadows.The great character actress, Doris Lloyd, is wonderfully intense and lethal. She and Helm also starred together in "The Wolf Man." A great Hollywood mystery is whatever happened to Fay Helm? Not even film historians know. Although filmed on a low budget, "Night Monster" shows what can be done with great talent--before and after--the camera, in post-production and editing. H.J. Salter does the music which is mostly the much beloved excerpts from "Son of Frankenstein" in l939. This is a great movie to watch on a wintry night. Now, just to get it on DVD. Come on MCA/Universal Home Video--get with it. Put this one and "Captive Wild Woman" on the same disc and give us all a thrill!

Forde Beebe was a longtime writer and director who doesn't get much love -- the Buck Rogers serials excepted; most of his sound work was in the serial and B westerns, which usually don't impress. However in 1942 he shot Night Monster in less than two weeks for Universal. And it's a fine creepy-crawly with a good slow build-up and some fine atmospheric lighting by Charles van Enger. Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill were top-billed for marquee value, though Lugosi has few lines as the servant of the house, Rolf, and Atwill is the first person killed inside the house, so there really is no truth in advertising here.

Three doctors are summoned by wealthy Kurt Ingston (Ralph Morgan) to spend a few days at his mansion for possible endowments for their research. That's odd since the three doctors could not stop Kurt from ending up in the state he is in now - an arm and both legs partially amputated. Kurt's sister has summoned a fourth doctor, Dr. Lynn Harper, for completely separate reasons. Harper is a psychiatrist. A mystic, Agor Singh (Nils Aster), is a resident of the Ingston home, helping Kurt deal with the reality of his condition. And then guests as well as some of the servants are found strangled, usually in their rooms but sometimes outside. So the search is on to discover who the murderer - the titular night monster - might be.

This is a well-done horror film that, despite not having any big names who have many lines or who are onscreen for very long, was quite engaging with an interesting and unusual angle. With Leif Ericson as a big galoot chauffeur who could be the poster boy for the Me Too movement 70 years ahead of schedule. 15 minutes in I was rooting for the Night Monster to get this creep he was so awful!

Crippled Kurt Ingston (Ralph Morgan) has no arms or legs despite the fact that three doctors tried to save him (from what is never said). He invites all three of them to his creepy estate and says there are no hard feelings...but then the doctors start getting killed and his house is full of suspicious characters.

I caught this on late night TV when I was a kid and remember being pleasurably spooked by it. It's nice to see it still holds up all these years later. First off don't let the top billing of Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill fool you--they're hardly in the movie. Lugosi is totally wasted as a sinister butler and Atwill chews the scenery but is gone halfway through the movie. Most of it deals with Morgan and various supporting characters. The good thing is all the supporting actors are interesting and well-acted especially by Leif Erickson as a lecherous chauffeur and Nils Asther as a sinister yogi. The direction is very good and the movie has a nice dark atmosphere. There's a VERY spooky scene where one of the doctors is approached by the killer. Another nice touch is all the frogs and animals in the swamp surrounding the estate go dead quiet when the killer appears. The sudden dead silence is more than a little unnerving. The final sequence when you find out who the killer is doesn't make a lot of sense but the movie is so good that you let that go. A low-budget horror from Universal that is exceptionally well-done. I give it an 8.

Tho Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill are the big name draws here, they are in fact only supporting actors within the story. But don't let that detract from this being the entertaining murder mystery spooky house picture it is. Basically we are at a house in the South in the swamp region. It is the home of Kurt Ingston, a recluse who is wheelchair bound. Here on this evening are a number of doctors invited by Ingston, who start to be killed off one by one. So who is responsible? The butler {Lugosi}, the weird housekeeper, the chauffeur, the mentally ill daughter? Or could it have something to do with the mystical Agor Singh who has been teaching Ingston the fabled art of mind over matter? Either way the mystery holds tight throughout and nothing is ever quite as it seems.

For sure it's a Universal Pictures B movie, but it's the kind of effective creeper that gets in and does its job with the minimum of fuss. High on atmosphere and containing a ream of interesting characters, it's acted professionally and finishes on a high. It may not be "And Then There Were None", and those who wish to solve the mystery before the reveal will not find it hard to do so. But this is a decent entry in a lovely sub-genre of horror, so turn off the lights and listen out for those frogs. 6.5/10

Interesting "B" old dark house thriller about somebody or something killing people right and left at the estate of wealthy cripple Kurt Ingston (Ralph Morgan). Who the culprit is won't be a huge shock to you but how they are doing it is pretty cool. The main selling point of this film is the terrific cast, even though some of the bigger names have small roles. Despite being top billed, Bela Lugosi plays a minor part as a butler. Lionel Atwill also has a minor role as a doctor. Leif Erickson plays a lusty chauffeur and Nils Asther a Hindu mystic. Janet Shaw has a memorable part early on as a sassy maid who can't get away from the Ingston estate fast enough. But the best parts go to Ralph Morgan and Fay Helm as the deranged brother and sister. This is a great movie to pass an hour. Universal made it and it's usually billed as a horror film. It does have some supernatural overtones but at its heart it's basically a murder mystery. A good one, though.