Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Leofwine_draca BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT is one of the many skid-row thrillers that Bela Lugosi made for poverty producers Monogram in the 1940s. This one starts off promisingly enough with an interesting plot that sees Lugosi acting as the kindly host of a soup kitchen, although it soon transpires that the kitchen is merely a front for Lugosi's midnight activities as the head of a criminal gang. Sadly, after the initial premise, this set up never ends up going anywhere and the resultant police investigation is highly boring. Sensing this, the scriptwriter adds in a nonsensical sub-plot involving the bodies of dead criminals being buried and then brought back to life as zombies in the soup kitchen basement. We never find out how or why these zombies are created and their presence adds absolutely nothing to the storyline, other than providing for Lugosi's denouement.The lack of budget and professionalism really hurts this film. The direction is absolutely stilted and the cast, aside from Lugosi, completely wooden. The horror star himself is on top form, delighting in the contrast between his kindly benefactor and sinister criminal mastermind, but his presence alone is not enough to lift this film from the quagmire into which it quickly sinks. Despite a scant hour-long running time this feels like a lot longer and is a real drag – it's another Monogram fail.

Panamint Despite some woeful production values and low budget, I regard this film as a success because it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It is a thriller, relentlessly so in a mean-spirited, bad attitude sort of way from start to finish. Lugosi is a ruthless, deceptive criminal. Tom Neal is very believable as a serial killer ("homicidal maniac") who stalks the dark Bowery with utter malevolence.The producers obviously had little money but they didn't need much- "Bowery at Midnight" is a lurid crime ring/serial killer movie requiring little budget or adornment.Cheap, black and white, 1940's in the dark thriller style. A classic film? Of course not, but it works for me because it delivers exactly what I expected.

Rainey Dawn This is a pretty engrossing crime-thriller with a splash of horror. To be honest, they could have left out the splash of horror that appeared towards the end of the film - (Did someone say Zombies?!!) (: Bela Lugosi is leading a double life as Professor Brenner/Karl Wagner. By day he is a the well respected Professor Brenner. By night he is the sinister criminal Karl Wagner. Wagner will kill his partners in crime to reach his goal. Little does Brenner/Wagner know, his helper Doc Brooks (Lew Kelly) has something up his sleeve when Wagner puts Brooks down one to many times. This movie is definitely worth watching! If you like crime-thrillers and don't mind twist of horror then you might like this film.8/10

the_mysteriousx Many have said that this Monogram quickie has Lugosi leading a double life, but upon further review, it can be said he leads 4! When you combine that with a basement full of zombies he doesn't even know about, that's a lot of action for an hour and one minute.Lugosi plays Professor Brenner, a respected college teacher who has a wife. What he doesn't tell anyone is that he is also Karl Wagner the benign owner of a soup kitchen on the bowery. However, beyond that, he is also the leader of an underground criminal organization. And beyond that, if one wants to take it seriously he is also Bela Lugosi – In a scene early in the film when two of the characters are in front of a movie theater you can very clearly see Lugosi on a poster for "The Corpse Vanishes", his previous Monogram film. So, there you have it – four lives, or one really busy one. Tom Neal's character says it best about Lugosi in an absolutely hysterical line, "I've never seen a guy with more angles."Lugosi perhaps was never more ruthless than he is here. He literally throws unknowing people off buildings, orders his assistants in crime murdered and without a hesitation even murders his poor wife. If you like seeing Lugosi play bad, look no further. I had avoided this one for years as I'm not a big fan of his very low budget films (and from the title I thought the Bowery Boys were in it), but this may be the last film he did where he looks in his prime physical form. His hair has the classic slicked-back look; his performance is dedicated; and he even throws in some touching moments with his wife and during his bad dreams that you wonder if his character really wants to get away from this crazy life he leads.Of course, the writing doesn't try to explain anything. Why bother leading all these lives? Does it get on his conscience? Why not quit being a professor and just be a crime leader and use the soup kitchen as a front? And how and why the hell are their zombies in this film? They don't even serve a purpose. If you ask me that's the fun in watching a 1930s and 1940s B-movie. You're not supposed to think. You are supposed to suspend all belief and just be entertained. Tom Neal is great as Frankie Mills – you really believe he's a killer; Director Wallace Fox could not keep the pace quicker and with an overtone of harshness that suits the subject just fine. And in this film you are being entertained by the number one bad guy in these kinds of low budget films from that era. So if you are reading this review, seek this one out, sit back, don't think and enjoy and tip your hat to Lugosi when you're done.