Son of Ingagi (1940)

A newlywed couple is visited by a strange old woman who harbors a secret about the young girl's father.

Director:

Richard C. Kahn

Writers:

Spencer Williams (original story "House of Horror"), Spencer Williams (screenplay)

Stars:

Zack Williams, Laura Bowman, Alfred Grant

Cast

Cast overview:
Zack Williams	...	N'Gina
Laura Bowman	...	Dr. Helen Jackson
Alfred Grant	...	Robert Lindsay
Daisy Bufford	...	Eleanor Lindsay
Arthur Ray	...	Zeno Jackson
Spencer Williams	...	Detective Nelson (as Spencer Williams Jr.)
Earle Morris	...	Bradshaw (as Earl J. Morris)
Jesse Graves	...	Chief of Detectives
The Four Toppers	...	Singing Quartet (as The Toppers)

Storyline

A wealthy old recluse wills her fortune and exceedingly-gloomy house to a pair of newlyweds, Robert and Eleanor Lindsay. Years before, Dr. Jackson had been in love with Eleanor's father, who was younger than her and did not return her love. N'Gina, an ape-man, Dr. Jackson brought back from Africa drinks a potion she had concocted in her laboratory, for a specific reason, but N'Gina turns on her and kills her, which is not what she had planned. Then he murders her attorney, Bradshaw, who is hunting for $20,000 in gold she had hidden in her gloomy house. Her brother, Zeno, an ex-convict, finds the gold but N'Gina isn't bothered by the bullets Zeno fires at him and kills him also. Detective Nelson then goes looking for it.

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Plot Keywords:

newlywed | gold | africa | laboratory | detective | 

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Taglines:

Terror reigns when the giant of the jungle breaks loose!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures Corporation (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is a take-off on the notorious film Ingagi that was made nearly a decade earlier. This is believed to be the only horror film with, what was then called, an "all colored cast."

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Quotes

Nelson: They tell me that lady has enough money to burn up a wet mule.

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Connections

Follows Ingagi (1930)

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Soundtracks

"So Long, Pal"
(uncredited)
Performed by The Four Toppers

User Reviews

Son of Ingagi was not one of Spencer Williams' better moments

In reviewing movies involving people of color in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1940 when Spencer Williams-future star of TV's version of "Amos 'n' Andy"-wrote and took a part in this horror/comedy feature. I'll just say right now that this isn't very good. In fact, the pace is just lethargic enough that I rarely laughed and was not scared at all. The fact is that the only time a score plays is when they show newspaper montages to advance the story. So that's a demerit right there. The leads of Alfred Grant and Daisy Bufford are as bland as you'd expect. Laura Bowman has some nice moments playing a mysterious character but she's not on screen enough. And vocal group The Four Toppers have some entertaining musical interludes when singing "So Long, Pal" and "You Drove the Groom Away". And even Williams has some amusing moments involving two disappearing sandwiches. But it's all for naught as the whole thing just falls apart past the 30-minute mark especially when a noticeable splice occurs there. So I'd only recommend Son of Ingagi if you're curious enough. P.S. Among the people involved from my now-home state of Louisiana: director Richard C. Kahn from New Orleans, Ms. Bufford from Franklin, Spencer Williams from Vidalia, and Zack Williams (the monster of the movie). Among supporting players from other black-cast movies I've seen: Ms. Bowman was also in God's Step Children, Arthur Ray was also in The Duke is Tops, Earle Morris was also in director Kahn's The Bronze Buckaroo, and Maggie Hathaway was in Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather.