Murders in the Zoo

A madman commits a series of MURDERS IN THE ZOO, hoping to punish his adulterous wife and her lovers.

Sadly neglected, this dandy little thriller comes from a studio & director (Paramount, Edward Sutherland) more noted for their comedy films. It holds its own, however, and offers several visual shocks which should more than satisfy its audience. Especially noteworthy are the opening credits which humorously compares the human stars with various zoo beasts, and sweeps immediately into an initial scene of unusually fiendish ferocity. From this point on, the viewer is hooked...

Lionel Atwill adds another portrait of evil to his gallery of grotesques, here playing a villain not only morally twisted but positively vile. The gentle, daffy humor of top-billed Charles Ruggles might seem out of place in other horror films, but here it is a welcome anodyne to Atwill's monstrosities.

The rest of the cast - Randolph Scott, Gail Patrick, Kathleen Burke, Harry Beresford - do very well in roles that are really little more than supporting parts. Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Jane Darwell as a society matron at the Zoo Supper.