The Ape (1940)

Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a ... See full summary »

Director:

William Nigh

Writers:

Adam Shirk (suggested from the play: "The Ape") (as Adam Hull Shirk), Curt Siodmak (adaptation) (as Kurt Siodmak)

Stars:

Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon, Gene O'Donnell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Boris Karloff	...	Dr. Bernard Adrian
Maris Wrixon	...	Miss Frances Clifford
Gene O'Donnell	...	Danny Foster
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Mother Clifford
Gertrude Hoffman	...	Jane - Adrian's Housekeeper (as Gertrude W. Hoffman)
Henry Hall	...	Sheriff Jeff Halliday
Selmer Jackson	...	Dr. McNulty

Storyline

Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape has broken out of its cage, and is terrorizing towns people.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | mad scientist | spinal fluid | wheelchair bound | searching for cure | 

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Taglines:

Jungle Beast or Man of Science?

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gorilla

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final film in Boris Karloff's six-picture contract with Monogram. Filming began 7/29/40.

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Goofs

When the doctor is showing off his 'cured' guinea pigs, one of the poor critters falls off the table, at the end of the shot.

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Quotes

Danny Foster: I don't like things I can't understand.

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Connections

Featured in Sprockets: Golden Turkeys (1991)

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Soundtracks

Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)
(1887) (uncredited)
Written by Juventino Rosas
Played at the circus for the trapeze act
Reprised as background music on the circus grounds

User Reviews

Karloff and Siodmak add class to ridiculous tale

It doesn't sound like much of a compliment, but this cheapie was better than I expected, thanks not only to Karloff's sympathetic performance but to a script by Curt Siodmak, who did much better things. Once you accept that the main idea is stupid, you can appreciate that each individual scene is well-written in terms of character development. Everyone is slightly more ambiguous than their stock character usually would be. The "mad" doctor is sincerely concerned with the insipid heroine who reminds him of his daughter, and his madness is a kind of beautiful tragedy. The "good" boyfriend says he doesn't want her hurt, but he also seems jealous of the doctor and resentful that the heroine won't be so dependent on him. There's real tension in their triangle. The hick sheriff is almost sharp enough to figure things out. The town blowhard gets several scenes showing what a well-chiseled wretch he is, especially the scene with his pathetic wife. The small-towners are all various little unflattering types--lazy, suspicious, gossipy, narrow-minded--not exactly an ad for rural life. Karloff's maid seems mute except when she suddenly whispers one word. There's a city doctor who comes on as an antagonist, then gets converted into an ally by Karloff's evidence, and disappears from the movie! There's the wise caretaker, introduced in a surprising pan shot that begins with a black circus worker playing a trumpet for a dancing elephant and ending with the ape being provoked by the rotten trainer. The very ending, too, has a certain power if you meet the movie halfway. The trouble is, just as you're pulled into the simplicity and effectiveness of all these human scenes, along comes another scene with that apesuit to pull the rug out from under the movie's credibility. The ape is the worst thing about THE APE!