The Mad Monster (1942)

A mad scientist changes his simple-minded handyman into a werewolf in order to prove his supposedly crazy scientific theories - and exact revenge.

Director:

Sam Newfield

Writer:

Fred Myton (original screenplay)

Stars:

Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel

Cast

Cast overview:
Johnny Downs	...	Tom Gregory
George Zucco	...	Dr. Lorenzo Cameron
Anne Nagel	...	Lenora Cameron
Glenn Strange	...	Petro
Sarah Padden	...	Grandmother
Gordon De Main	...	Prof. Fitzgerald (as Gordon DeMain)
Mae Busch	...	Susan
Reginald Barlow	...	Professor Warwick
Robert Strange	...	Professor Blaine
Henry Hall	...	Country Doctor
Ed Cassidy	...	Father (as Edward Cassidy)
Eddie Holden	...	Jed Harper
John Elliott	...	Prof. Hatfield
Slim Whitaker	...	Officer Dugan (as Charles Whitaker)
Gil Patric	...	Detective Lieutenant

Storyline

Dr. Cameron has succeeded in his experiments with a serum which will turn a man into a wolf-like monster, and is ready to avenge himself on the men who caused his professional failure. He uses it on his gardener Petro and one after the other is killed by his creation. His daughter, Lenora, grows suspicious and confides with newspaper reporter Tom Gregory.

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Plot Keywords:

serum | werewolf | handyman | mad scientist | reporter | 

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Taglines:

The blood of a wolf he placed in the veins of a man... and created a monster such as the world has never known!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mad Monsters

Company Credits

Production Co:

Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Sigmund Neufeld and director Sam Newfield were brothers. Sam "Anglicized" the family name and Sigmund didn't.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Lorenzo Cameron: Yes, I know. You'd like to join your brothers outside and howl at the moon. But you're serving a much better purpose. Yes, you're serving science through me.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Mad Doctors (1996)

User Reviews

Silly, harmless, early horror sci-fi

A paranoid scientist creates a wolfman by transfusing wolf blood into a meek, quiet, but very large gardener, in order to prove an hypothesis. So the gardener begins nightly rampages and the scientist tries to use him to reclaim his credentials, but is rebuffed by his former colleagues for tampering with nature. Island of Dr Moreau, Frankenstein and various wolfman films all blended together into a terribly dated, goofy, morality play.

Though the subject matter is pedantic and unoriginal at best, this film is not too poorly made, and interesting to watch as a representative of horror film making of its time. Like most mad scientist films, this is a weak warning against fooling around with Mother Nature. It doesn't have the power or intellectual challenges of Frankenstein, but it doesn't ever extend its reach anyway. The acting is passable, as is the cinematography, and the film moves along at an entertaining clip. Some of the dialog is utterly ludicrous, but hey... it's just a movie - and a B minus one at that. There are also a few nice shots of a wolf, and a smattering of humor tossed-in to prevent the film from appearing to take itself too seriously - always a plus for this genre.