The Ape Man (1943)

Powerful

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Monogram quickie starring Bela Lugosi as a scientist who is turned into a man-ape after an experiment goes wrong. In order to keep his apeness at bay, Bela needs human spinal fluid. So out he goes with a gorilla to find unwilling donors. It's a silly movie, for sure, but also a great deal of fun. Bela's made up with a laughable wig/beard getup to resemble an ape-man. His pet gorilla is a guy in an ape suit, which is always a sign of a good film. Probably my favorite moments are when Lugosi has to intimidate the gorilla to keep it in line. Hilarious stuff. The rest of the cast includes Wallace Ford, Minerva Urecal, Louise Currie, Henry Hall, J. Farrell MacDonald, and, in a small role, Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison. This is one of those movies that Lugosi did that many people rag on him for, or maybe just feel sorry for him that he had to resort to this. I certainly understand that but I feel like this is at least entertaining, unlike many of the other cheapies he made.

William Beaudine directs and Bela Lugosi stars in this cheapie horror that finds Lugosi as a mad scientist who has transformed himself into an ape man hybrid. Cue more mad science as Lugosi and his pet gorilla go on a killing spree in search of the spinal fluid that may cure Lugosi of his ills...It's not to be taken seriously, of course, since it's all very goofy and over melodramatic. Lugosi does turn in some genuine moments of acting that hold the attention, whilst an array of energetic characters buzz in and out of the story. The science is nutty and the means and motives of Lugosi's initial experiments are left floating up where Dandelo the cat would eventually wind up. But it's a short piece that doesn't hang around to annoy or dull the senses, it's not very good, but at least it isn't boring with it. 4/10

Police detectives and news reporters gradually begin to piece together a puzzle when a man is murdered by what appears to be an ape. The answer lies in the basement of a house inhabited by a ghost hunter, Agatha Brewster (Minerva Urecal), where mad scientist Brewster (Bela Lugosi) has turned into THE APE MAN of the title.. with his back problems and facial hair, Brewster totters on the brink of madness as he whips a murderous gorilla he keeps in a cage. His only salvation lies in the spinal fluid of human beings whom he must kill to get. However, as his friends turn against him, the reporters find the truth and the police close in, Brewster must find a final victim to save himself...This is a real camp classic. Lugosi is the star of the show, putting in an incredibly funny performance as the bearded doctor. In an early scene he walks across his laboratory in a laboriously lurching fashion which makes you reach for the rewind button. There's another scene where he is also being 'cured' by his fluid, and gradually becomes upright, which is also hilarious to watch. By this time, Lugosi's famed accent had been considerably reduced, but he never totally got rid of it. The film is also surprisingly fast paced for the time, and wisely spends most of its short running length in the basement laboratory.There are lots of murders (which are, I guess, the horror part) and even a man in a remarkably fake gorilla suit jumping up and down and going "oop oop". With films of this sort, I usually find myself not paying attention during lengthy scenes where minor characters talk about trivia (to increase the running time, no doubt) but this film has none of that. It's full of action and campness and it is, as to be expected, atrocious, but it's so charming that you can't help but love it.

While Bela may have appeared in worse movies, he was never more embarrassed than in his work here. While a bit of the hijinks is good for unintentional laughs, this has less the fun tone of "The Devil Bat", and more the bone crushing boredom of "The Corpse Vanishes." While it mostly served the purpose of cheap laughs, can we just note now that George Barrow's much employed suit did not look much like a real Gorilla?Your heart also has to go to the excellent Wallace Ford, whose crack comic timing was often put to use in moviessuch as this. The writers even seem to be halfway spoofing the tired, tired, "screwball" button of a dame trying to make it in a man's world. In fact, I sort of like the self referential gag of the films writer, a stammering dimwit, occasionally appearing to move the plot along. Obviously, however, the joke at the closing credits is whoever sat through this thing.