Man Made Monster (1941)

A mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.

Director:

George Waggner

Writers:

Harry Essex (story "The Electric Man") (as H.J. Essex), Sid Schwartz (story "The Electric Man")

Stars:

Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Nagel

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lionel Atwill	...	Dr. Paul Rigas
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Dan McCormick
Anne Nagel	...	June Lawrence
Frank Albertson	...	Mark Adams
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Dr. John Lawrence
William B. Davidson	...	District Attorney Ralph B. Stanley (as William Davidson)
Ben Taggart	...	Detective Sergeant Regan
Constance Bergen	...	Nurse (as Connie Bergen)
Ivan Miller	...	Doctor
Chester Gan	...	Wong
George Meader	...	Dr. Bruno
Frank O'Connor	...	Police Detective
John Dilson	...	Medical Examiner
Byron Foulger	...	Alienist #2

Storyline

"Big Dan" McCormick is the sole survivor of a bus crash into hydro lines. 5 others were electrocuted. Intrigued by Dan's apparent immunity to electricity, Dr. John Lawrence, distinguished elector-biologist, asks Dan to visit him at his laboratory, where Lawrence's assistant, Dr. Paul Rigas, is secretly conducting experiments to prove his theory that human life can be motivated and controlled by electricity. Rigas persuades Dan to submit to tests, where Dan absorbs increasingly powerful charges until he develops an amazing degree of immunity, and becomes a walking hulk of electricity. Rigas does a final test of pouring a tremendous charge into Dan's body, and Dan becomes superhuman and his body glows. He is also a robot that is controlled by Rigas. When Lawrence tries to stop the experiment, Rigas orders Dan to kill him. Rigas removes the electricity from Dan's body and he becomes a shrunken shell. Despite the efforts of June Meredith, Lawrence's niece, and newspaper reporter Mark ...

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | bus crash | lone survivor | experiment | playing god | 

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Taglines:

DEATH-DEALING DYNAMO!..All the furies of nature in his electric-charged body...his revenge-wracked brain! (originl poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Man Made Monster (1941) launched Lon Chaney Jr.'s career as a star in horror films and the film's success directly led to his casting in the big budget role of his career, The Wolf Man (1941).

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Goofs

While the film shows a bus skidding into a high tension tower, the newspaper article about Dan McCormick leaving the hospital states it was an accident with an interurban car and an oil truck.

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Quotes

Dr. John Lawrence: [to Dr. Rigas] With all the constructive things to be done, why do you concentrate on destruction?

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Man-Made Monsters (1996)

User Reviews

Very Good Second Tier Universal Horror

This is the story of Dynamo Dan, a sideshow worker who does a faked electrical act. Perhaps because of this he's the only survivor when a bus he's on slams into a high tension tower and all the passengers are killed by the electricity. Dan ends up working with Lionel Atwill a mad scientist trying to make electrified super humans.

Yes, its as corny as it sounds but then so are the Frankenstein films. Corny or no the film is a great way to spend an hour of your time on a rainy night.When most people think of the Universal horror films in the 1930's and 40's they tend to think of the Frankenstein/Dracula/Wolfman movies forgetting or unaware that Universal turned out a a number of very good second tier horror films at the same time. This is one of them.

Warning: do not confuse this with The Indestructible Man which has a similar plot line but which is not particularly well made.

8 out of 10 on a rainy night with the lights off and your best honey by your side.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Atomic Monster

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1