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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Good effort., 11 October 2002
Author: cliff-p (cliff@perriam.fsnet.co.uk) from London, England

I watched this movie on a videotape which was rather dark but I enjoyed the film. I have been watching horror films for 45 years and through the miracle of NTSC imports, I'm trying to catch up with those that I have missed. And I'm seeing some stinkers! This however is a reasonable example of the genre, the standouts being Arthur Sheilds, J.Carrol Naish and Mike Mazurki. Unusually, George Zucco hasn't got much to do in the title role. Noel the ape-man is very fortunate and obviously a skilful driver as he handles the Rolls Phantom II very well and can see round corners (when he avoids the dog). Very useful. Not a film for those who are not connoiseurs. Also not much effort given to the cliche creepy bits, but definitely miles better than a Monogram effort.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
J Carrol Naish is good in average Island Of Dr. Moreau clone, 17 February 2001
Author: mord39 from New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Here's another rarely seen film that runs only 57 minutes, and features a heartfelt performance from J. Carrol Naish. He plays a dimwitted servant of Dr. Renault (George Zucco), and is an odd-looking man who is the result of an experiment on a real ape by Zucco.

Like so many similar films (TERROR IS A MAN, TWILIGHT PEOPLE, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS) this is just another take on the "Dr. Moreau" theme, and if not for Naish's sympathetic performance, it would be unimportant.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Strangely watchable and engaging, 6 December 2001
6/10
Author: DrSatan from The Land of Mortis

I don't know if it was the spectacle (for me anyways) of seeing J. Carroll Naish in something that wasn't "Frankenstein vs. Dracula" (my all-time favorite so-bad-its-good film), Naish's decent "pitiable villain" or the rather flimsy "Island of Dr. Moreau" reworking, but somehow this movie really held my intention. It's mercifully short (any longer would've been far too much), and fairly typical of horror films of its day. Definitely takes a page out of Wells' book, although the action this time has been relocated to France. There are definite signs of its era and its budget-very set bound, french accents that come and go, random Euro-sounding accents instead of french accents, the "monster" that redeems himself in the end, the odd (and racist, if we want to get all PC, which I don't usually bother for a film of this era that isn't being deliberate about it's racism) notion that a man from Java and an ape made to look like a man would be indistinguishable. Leaving all of these criticisms aside, if you're a fan of horror films, whose interested in the history of the genre and not just in the latestest "Scream" knock-off or still hoping they'll come out with a tenth Friday the 13th or a similar sequel machine, I say check it out. If you're into B-pictures of the era, check it out. It shows the general qualtity of studio horror films of the era, and its got a little something extra I can't put my finger on.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
You Can Take The Ape Out Of The Jungle.........................................., 31 December 2007
7/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

I was surprised to see that 20th Century Fox had produced this B horror classic, it was the kind of thing that Universal Studios was known for at the time. Had it been done at Universal I could have seen a whole series of films based on this.

George Zucco plays the title role her, he's certainly played many a sinister character in his day. He's from the Doctor Moreau school of science. But whereas Moreau was tucked away on a remote South Sea Island doing his experiments on a host of animals, Renault has brought his one great experiment back from Java to his château in France.

J. Carrol Naish plays the experiment, a Java ape who's not got the human social graces quite down yet. Naish's characterization falls somewhere between Charles Laughton's Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Frankenstein monster of Boris Karloff. It's a brilliant piece of acting, gone unappreciated because it's in a B horror picture.

Lynne Roberts is Zucco's niece, deliberately brought to his château to stimulate Naish's budding human libido. It's budding a little too well so her scientist boyfriend Sheppard Strudwick is brought in to get her out of the place and safely married.

There's also a nice side story involving Zucco's retainers Mike Mazurki and Jean Del Val in a kidnapping scheme. The two parts of the story come together at the finish.

I was lucky enough to see this as I got up earlier than expected today. Don't miss it if it's ever broadcast at a reasonable hour.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
DR. RENAULT'S SECRET (Harry Lachman, 1942) ***, 26 October 2008
7/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

Although I've been aware of the existence of this film for years, the sheer fact that I found next to no reading material on it in my father's books on my favorite genre (which I devoured as I was growing up) has led me to believe that it was merely just another ordinary escapist wartime horror programmer. Until it was surprisingly given a recent DVD release – as part of the second entry in the "Fox Horror Classics" collection along with the higher-profile CHANDU THE MAGICIAN (1932; featuring Bela Lugosi) and DRAGONWYCK (1946; with Vincent Price) – I had no previous opportunity to watch it and, now that I have, it's safe to say that it's been one of the most pleasant surprises I've had during this year's bumpy Halloween Challenge.

Unlike Universal, Paramount, RKO and even MGM, 20th Century Fox was hesitant to jump onto the Horror bandwagon and seemed to do so only half-heartedly – as evidenced by John Brahm's all-style-but-no-substance werewolf picture THE UNDYING MONSTER (1942) which, incidentally, was actually paired with DR. RENAULT'S SECRET on original release as the upper half of a double-bill. I'm not sure if it's because I thought the Brahm film suffered in comparison to Universal's THE WOLF MAN that I've found RENAULT to be more satisfactory or merely because I haven't yet watched any of the latter's own progenitors – the Silent French Gaston Leroux adaptation BALAOO (1913), Fox's own intriguing Silent foray into the genre THE WIZARD (1927) and Paramount's well-cast THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL (1941) – or perhaps because it's undoubtedly superior to a similarly-themed contemporaneous Bela Lugosi vehicle THE APE MAN (1943) – which wasn't really all that bad to begin with – but, ultimately, I now consider DR. RENAULT'S SECRET to be an unjustly forgotten vintage gem of this most prolific, beloved and yet maligned of genres.

In essence, the story set in France is typical 'mad scientist' fodder with the titular ultra-Darwinian medico/part-time jungle explorer (George Zucco) attempting to prove conclusively his idol's controversial evolution theories by surgically turning an ape into a man. The cast of characters is supplemented by the doctor's lovely niece (Lynne Roberts), her fiancée who also happens to be a doctor (Shepperd Strudwick – billed here as John Shepperd!), Renault's ex-con gardener (Mike Mazurki) and equally shady butler (Jean De Val), a suspicious Police Inspector (Arthur Shields) and, best of all, J. Carrol Naish as Roberts' enigmatic and highly sensitive protector Noel. The ensemble cast is generally good and sympathetic to the material at hand, but it's clearly Naish's show here in a very poignant performance as the result of Zucco's questionable experiments: a soft-spoken, love-struck handyman, subtly but effectively made to look simian in appearance via a shaggy wig and enlarged nostrils (incidentally, he would play a variation on the role as a hunchback in Universal's HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN [1944] – in which Zucco also appears, by the way). Although Zucco made a slew of similarly ghoulish potboilers around this time (and so did Naish, as already mentioned), I've only watched a couple of them myself so far; seeing him turn from a suave gentleman by day into a whip-wielding sadist with the poor, unfortunate Naish at the receiving end of it, one can't blame producers for simply offering him more of the same in subsequent years!

Being the product of a major studio (albeit a low-budgeted one and running a trim 58 minutes), the solid production values were to be expected but one other aspect that impressed me about DR. RENAULT'S SECRET was the intermittent stylishness of Harry Lachman's direction, all tinted angles (down to the very last shot of the film with Naish's lifeless body practically falling onto the camera!) and evocative chiaroscuro lighting (Zucco's own come-uppance is simply depicted as a shadowy struggle between him and the finally-rebellious Naish). I'm not about to assign auteur status to Lachman (whose last film this proved to be despite going on to live for another 33 years!) or anything, but it's a well-known fact that his version of DANTE'S INFERNO (1935) starring Spencer Tracy (also for Fox) is highlighted by a memorable nightmare sequence set in Hades and also that OUR RELATIONS (1936) was Laurel and Hardy's most polished production and one of their most satisfactory vehicles overall.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
A good forties studio "B" horror. Note : SPOILER***, 23 February 2003
Author: jim riecken (youroldpaljim)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

WARNING! DANGER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! I must confess that I only saw this film for the first time recently on video, having missed it when it was shown on New York T.V. in the early seventies. About all knew about this film was that it featured J. Carrol Naish and George Zucco and was a variation on "The Island Of Dr. Moreau" from a still and a brief mention in Dennis Gifford's "A Pictorial History Of Horror Movies." I had wrongly assumed this was just another cheezey "poverty row" B horror, when actually it was a Fox production (although still a "B") with decent production values in the manner of low budget big studio films. I also discovered the film has a remarkably good performance from J. Carrol Naish. I should have known the former and expected the latter. In many ways the film is surprisingly good and the reasons for its relative obscurity remains a mystery.

Most of what makes this film memorable is the performance of J. Carrol Naish as the unfortunate apeman Noel. Naish plays the apeman Noel as a sad, unhappy, and very sympathetic character. I read once where Naish said that an actor owes it to the audience to always give his best performance, even if he thinks the production is beneath him. Naish stated that an actor should always see a given role as a challenge, and Naish takes the challenge head on in this film. Naish was one of thirties and forties best character/supporting players. He always gave a good account of himself whether in prestigious films like SAHARA (1943) or dismal programmers like JUNGLE WOMAN (1944) (See my comments on that film). Most any other actor cast to play an apeman would have probably felt embarrassed, walked through the role, collected their paycheck and never looked back.

George Zucco makes the most of his limited screen time. Here he gives his usual suavely sinister-if at times over the top-performance as Dr. Renault. There is some distraction involving an ex-con handyman employed by Dr. Renault played Mike Mazurki. Early on, Noel is kind of a red herring for Mazurki's own murderous activities. The film is set in France, but some the cast, especially Arthur Shields are unconvincing as Frenchmen. Other cast members like Shepperd Strudwick who plays a non-Frenchman are adequate.

This film was the last film directed by Harry Lachman. Most of his films were routine studio films with some exceptions including DANTE'S INFERNO and OUR RELATIONS with Laurel and Hardy. He soon retired from films after this and went back to being an artist and opening up a shop in Hollywood that sold unusual antiques. In fact the last film he was connected with was a short documentary about his shop called TREASURE FROM TRASH (1946) in which he appeared as himself. There is one very interesting scene in the film when male lead Shepperd Strudwick sneaks into Dr. Renaults lab and discovers his notes. The transformation is told in narration by Zucco and a series of still photographs capturing Noels transformation from ape to man. E.A. Dupont used a similar scene told in a series of still photographs to good effect in the otherwise dismal film, THE NEANDERTHAL MAN (1953.) (See my comments on that film). The one very weak point in the film is having Noel actually kill two people which we see on screen. There is a murder early in the film (off screen) where Noel is a suspect but its obvious by the films end he didn't do it. Why have a character that ends up becoming the hero at the end commit two murders kind of bothered me.

Dr. RENAULT'S SECRET is decent forties B horror film made people who cared about what they were making. It's not an unsung classic of the horror film genre, but it is worth viewing by people who can appreciate good old fashioned horror films.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Dr. Renault's Secret (1942) ***, 22 February 2009
7/10
Author: JoeKarlosi from U.S.A.

For a long time this was an overlooked little 'B' picture, but thankfully it's been given new life on the recent FOX HORROR CLASSICS VOL. 2 DVD set. George Zucco is on hand as another mad doctor who experimented on a gorilla, gave him plastic surgery, and then tried to make him into a human. J. Carrol Naish is very good in the part of this man/ape character, and he manages to make him sympathetic and fierce at the same time. This is a brisk and tight film which manages to rise above its 'B' trappings, and the moody shadow photography and capable direction add a lot. Very reminiscent of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS ("The Island of Dr. Moreau").

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Secret beyond those doors, 31 October 2007
Author: dbdumonteil

Why does the story take place in France?The atmosphere of the inn where Larry enters at the beginning of the film is more that of an English pub : a customer playing darts in a French café?The same goes for the Bastille Day celebration : the dances are closer to American country and western than to French Valses Musette ;and where are the fireworks?the firecrackers?

This is minor quibble;only a French can notice such things.J.Caroll Naish 's part is not unlike Peter Lorre's tormented characters.The script is some cross between "Frankenstein" and "Beauty and the Beast" ,and is thus rather derivative.But as the movie is short (less than an hour ,probably part of a double-feature at the time) ,we are not bored at all.

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Some twists that remain unanswered., 22 August 2011
6/10
Author: iszatso from United States

Nice play on the topics of mind control and re animations of the sort that Noel received from the Doctor. Left standing at the end is the paradox of who actually killed the man in the hotel in the film's early scenes. And the depraved acting of the human who abducts the girl contrasts nicely with the animal instincts of Noel. In the 1940's with science advancing quickly on the workings of the mind the dichotomy between man and animal is revealed. Who are the real animals in the movie? Movies of this genre who leave you smiling through the horror of it all are fun fill in for our contemporary modern day culture. (with all of its' incipient horrors...)

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Discovered Dr Renault's Secret, 18 June 2011
9/10
Author: johnniedoo from United States

This is a real sleeper, particularly for fans of old "B" mysteries. It is classed as horror genre by most reviews i saw but it is in the same mode as Charlie Chans or Mr Moto's , which is no great surprise since it was produced by Sol Wertzel and directed by Harry Lachman who did some Chan's and a Moto or 2. I got the restored disc through netflx and was totally surprised by the quality of the picture and didn't expect it to be so well done, as far as production values to. It seemed to be much less horror and more mystery as they kept the 'secret' back for much of the movie.(even though it was no great surprise). It was a very familiar cast with another great performance in yet another odd character role for J.C. Naish and G.Zucco as the Dark Dr Renault supporting each other's roles well. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes b&W movies from the 30s-40s from serials to Horror/Mystery genres. Cant really go wrong with this long lost or recently rehabbed movie.

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