The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Lew Landers

Writers:

Hal Fimberg (story) and
Robert B. Hunt (story) ...

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

There's fun in this new type of horror picture...fun for everybody, and everybody loads of fun! (original poster)

Plot:

A young divorcee tries to convert a historic house into a hotel despite its oddball inhabitants and dead bodies in the cellar.

Plot Keywords:

Divorcee | Hotel | Cellar | Choreographer | Coroner

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Prof. Nathaniel Billings
Peter Lorre	...	Dr. Arthur Lorentz
Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom	...	Maxie, the Powder Puff Salesman (as 'Slapsie' Maxie Rosenbloom)
Larry Parks	...	Bill Layden
Jeff Donnell	...	Winnie Slade (as Miss Jeff Donnell)

Runtime:

66 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:A | USA:Approved (PCA #8640)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The plot of this film has strong similarities to Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), in which both Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre were previously associated--Karloff appeared in the theatrical original while Lorre co-starred in the film version.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Jeff Donnell's Winnie slips and calls Peter Lorre “Professor Lorre”, not Lorenz, and it remains in the film.

Quotes:

Prof. Nathaniel Billings: Amelia, this riffraff, as you call him, is really the salt of the earth. All he needs is to be iodized.

Movie Connections:

References Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Who's in charge of the asylum?

A curious film which weaves satirical comments about World War Two into a modified "Arsenic and Old Lace" theme, together with an implicit weakness of technology and what passes for science. The strongest satire revolves around nutty Professor Nathaniel Billings (Boris Karloff), a mad but seemingly harmless scientist, whose attempt at creating a superman is so close to Hitler's expressed plan for a superman race that the parallel cannot be ignored. The film was produced during a time of military victories for the Axis powers, at a point in World War Two when the Allies were all but powerless to resist. Satire seemed the only sure weapon. As a movie, it's great fun, with a cast much too sophisticated for both the plot and the script. In effect, the acting skill of both Karloff and Peter Lorre (as Dr Lorenz) are the film's salvation. As wacky as the characters are, they seem plausible representations of real folks, which makes one wonder who, indeed, is really in charge of the asylum.