JohnHowardReid
Producer: Sam Katzman. Copyright 25 April 1941 by Monogram Pictures Corp. Produced by Banner Productions. New York opening at the Rialto: 7 May 1941. U.S. release: 25 April 1941. Never theatrically released in Australia. 7 reels. 64 minutes. SYNOPSIS: An innocent man (John McGuire) is executed for the murder of his former sweetheart (Terry Walker), a housemaid employed by the father (Bela Lugosi) of his current girlfriend (Polly Ann Young).NOTES: 33rd and final film of Polly Ann Young (older sister of Sally Blane and Loretta Young), who retired from the screen after this effort. She died in 1997. COMMENT: Far-fetched but genuinely scary horror yarn, masterfully directed by Joseph H. Lewis who does wonders with an extremely limited budget. Lugosi is inclined to over-emphasize the catatonics, and Pembroke is singularly colorless as the police investigator, but Miss Young makes a suitably fair heroine and Mr McGuire is quite impressive as both Ralph and Paul. We also liked the sultry, blonde victim played by Terry Walker, silent star Betty Compson as the madwoman, and reliable Clarence Muse as the steadfast butler. A current DVD offering accurately reproduces the compelling sepia tones of the original release prints.
Nigel P
Since his ground-breaking turn as Count Dracula in what I think was the first talking horror film ten years earlier, Bela Lugosi had endured peaks and troughs in his professional life. The ban on horror films in 1936/7 all but wiped out the career of a man who seemed every inch the star. After the resurrection of Universal Films' horror output with 'Son of Frankenstein (the 1939 chiller in which Lugosi all but stole the show as disfigured Ygor)', he was soon appearing in low-budget 'quickies' like this for the Monogram company.Let's get the screamingly obvious out of the way first: there is no ghost here, unless it truly is invisible and no-one knows about it! You could be forgiven for thinking there is an invisible ghost however, for Bela, as Doctor Charles Kessler, addresses his dear departed wife regularly. "You are looking more beautiful than ever," he addresses an empty chair. Oh dear, the old boy's clearly as mad as a sponge. But kindly, it seems.His daughter Virginia is concerned, as is the maid. "This is a crazy house," she says. "And what about those murders? Jools says there's been a lot of them." Jools the gardener is more concerned with stealing scraps of food and wine, which he takes to the garden shed - a place where it seems no-one else ever seems to go. Inside, resides Doctor Kessler's wife, alive but mentally broken. Her distraction is worrisome, but quite why she is kept willing prisoner here presents a mystery (Jools clearly feels he is protecting her). All this happens in the first ten minutes! When Mrs Kessler (Betty Compson, who is extremely good in a baffling role) leaves the shed and goes for a little walk past her husband's window, the sight of her puts him in a strange trance. Her words "I can't come home; he'd kill me. He'd kill anyone," turn him into exactly the kind of sneering killer Lugosi excels at, before he returns to his kindly self, with no knowledge of what has happened. It makes no sense, but the scenes are quite effective and well played. Shockingly, Virginia's beau Ralph is found guilty of the murders, and executed. Soon, his brother Paul turns up vowing revenge.Ralph and Paul are both played by John McGuire. It would be unnecessary to put forward the opinion that McGuire's talents, bless them, were sorely stretched playing one character, let alone two. Luckily, apart from having different names, they are utterly identical. Twins, you see.Evans (Clarence Muse) is spared the usual wide-eyed eccentricities most black butlers from this era are afforded. He emerges as possibly the best played character, and rather than being a comedy foil, is the one who stumbles across various killings.Director Joseph H. Lewis keeps the pace running briskly during the first half. Understandably, things slow down after this as the police arrive and try to catch up with events we already know. Lugosi is very good in this, communicating Kessler's confused state, as well as his befuddlement and longing when he spies his dishevelled wife. He only lapses into ham when stalking the house under her influence, arms outstretched. The ending is quite tragic, although in-keeping with the spirit of the preceding 66 minutes, could have benefited from some extra explanation. As Kessler is lead away by the police, try not to imagine how the bizarre evidence will be presented against him.
utgard14
Bela Lugosi plays a sad sack whose wife left him years ago for another man. Unknown to Bela, the wife is back but a little nuts. So every night she wanders out and finds her way to her old house, where Bela sees her at a distance. This causes him to snap and strangle whoever he can get his hands on.The first of nine movies Bela Lugosi made for poverty row studio Monogram in the 1940s. This one is fun enough to overlook its cheap trappings. Bela is in fine form, hammy in the best way. Performances like his are what make seeing cheapies like this worthwhile. Final film appearance of lovely Polly Ann Young, older sister of Loretta. She plays Bela's daughter and does a fine job. Clarence Muse is good as Bela's trusted butler. Unfortunately, the least interesting actor in the cast, John McGuire, gets to play two parts. It's an enjoyable B movie. The title doesn't make a lot of sense but it's just a title. Worth a look for any Lugosi fan and anyone who can enjoy these old B movies without nitpicking too much.
Theo Robertson
A series of gruesome murders are being varied out and the police are completely puzzled who the murderer is A very simple premise but one that is painfully told in a bizarre manner. In this type of movie the audience should be subjected to an element of suspense and mystery if only to involve some basic interest in the narrative but from the outset the audience are shown who the murderer is even if their motive is unclear Along with the lack of mystery nothing else about the story works well either. The dialogue is constantly expositional where characters refer to things they'd already know about. Okay it's a B movie simply to be shown after the cliffhanger serial and before the main feature but even so the audience should demand a bit more from the film makers
