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. Cameron
Anne Nagel	...	Lenora
Glenn Strange	...	Petro
Sarah Padden	...	Grandmother
Gordon De Main	...	Professor 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	...	Harper
John Elliott	...	Professor Hatfield
Slim Whitaker	...	Policeman (as Charles Whitaker)
Gil Patric	...	Lieutenant Detective

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:

b movie | damsel in distress | double feature film | violence | reprisal | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was refused a UK cinema certificate in 1942, but passed uncut several years later.

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Quotes

Dr. Lorenzo Cameron: Gentlemen, I wish you were here to see the proof of my claim that the transfusion of blood between different species is possible. Perhaps you will change your mind one day soon when Petro tears at your throat.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

Using your gardener as your test subject results in your garden suffering!

I saw this film on the cult television riffing show, Mystery Science Theater 3000. Basically, this film is yet another take on the Universal classic, The Wolf Man with the only new aspect a mad scientist is the cause behind the terrible creature that roams the area. Not particularly bad, but not really much good in it either as it is very slow moving for a film that clocks in at only 77 minutes. Still, the acting is not too bad in this one and so it is a bit tolerable. Not sure I would care to see this without MST3K, but if I did it would be only to fill in the blanks as they must have cut a lot out of this one to make the episode because they had a short preceding it. In the end though, nothing to out of the ordinary as far as monster movies during its time.

The story has a scientist who is working on a formula to mix the blood of an animal with that of a human being. The animal in question is a wolf and the man in question is the scientist's gardener who apparently believes that if you are a gardener you have no right to question anything your employer tells you to do. The result a wolf man...though it actually looks more like one of the monkeys from planet of the apes with a pair of Dracula novelty teeth. The scientist wishes to sell his creation to the army so that the army can have an army of animal/man hybrids at their disposal, but first he must have his revenge upon the men who criticized his work! That, of course, will be his undoing.

This made for an okay episode of MST3K considering it was a first season episode which I consider their weakest season. They were still feeling their way at this point and it shows. The movie is preceded by a Commando Cody short and I see no reason for the short to be in front of this one. This film is 77 minutes long, that is plenty long enough to fill out an episode of MST3K. Maybe one small short, but this one took up the first block of the episode. Most films that have to have shorts to fill up the first block clock in at under an hour. Still, the jokes are rather good in the film portion of the film and make what would otherwise be a mundane Wolf Man clone into something a bit more humorous to watch.

So, not a great film, but nothing to terribly horrible either. Just kind of a bland film featuring a Wolf Man and a mad scientist. I am sure there were several such films back in the day, in fact, I know there were as several have been showcased on MST3K. The film is a bit uneven too as it seems to take place in several time periods almost. You have the mansion, you have the city and then you have the people living in a swamp that almost seem to be living in a different time period than the rest of the film. In the end though, I say this film would have been better had the monster been just a little bit madder.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mad Monsters

Filming Locations:

Chadwick Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sigmund Neufeld Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1