The Monster Maker (1944)

A mad scientist injects his enemies with an acromegaly virus, causing them to become hideously deformed.

Director:

Sam Newfield

Writers:

Larry Williams (original story) (as Lawrence Williams), Pierre Gendron (screenplay)

Stars:

J. Carrol Naish, Ralph Morgan, Tala Birell

Cast

Cast overview:
J. Carrol Naish	...	Markoff
Ralph Morgan	...	Lawrence
Tala Birell	...	Maxine
Wanda McKay	...	Patricia
Terry Frost	...	Blake
Glenn Strange	...	Giant
Alexander Pollard	...	Butler
Sam Flint	...	Dr. Adams
Ace the Wonder Dog	...	Ace

Storyline

A mad scientist injects his enemies with an acromegaly virus, causing them to become hideously deformed.

---

Plot Keywords:

gorilla | psychotronic film | mad scientist | acromegaly | virus | 

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lowly PRC hadn't released a horror picture in nearly 17 months, having spent most of 1943 substantially expanding their once-laughable capabilities by purchasing the bankrupt Chadwick Studio (a poverty row operation that specialized in renting stages and production equipment to low-budget producers along Gower) for $305,000. While critics - what few that would review a PRC release - complained about the film's lack of action, production values were noted to be somewhat higher than earlier releases.

---

Goofs

In the scene where Patricia is reading the note on the flowers her nails go from being painted a dark color to not being painted at all when the camera zooms into the note she is holding.

---

Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Freaks (1996)

User Reviews

Worth catching for several reasons

This is one of those films that's entertaining for its sheer audacity. It also has an unusually interesting cast for a small-studio B-picture. J. Carroll Naish (as the evil Dr. Markoff) and Ralph Morgan (as victim Anthony Lawrence) were veteran character actors who were always worth watching, and Glenn Strange (as Steve, Markoff's giant-size henchman) would be promoted that same year to playing the Frankenstein Monster in the first of three films for Universal.

This professional cast tries to lend believability to several ludicrous situations. At one point Markoff attempts to put his nervous female assistant under a Svengali-like hypnotic influence; when this fails, Markoff turns loose his pet gorilla (!) in the hope that the beast will kill the beauty, though all it does is overturn a table.

Some critics have found this film particularly distasteful since it deals with acromegaly, an actual disfiguring disease (see the bio for actor Rondo Hatton elsewhere on this data base). And the sight of the malformed Mr. Lawrence (when his daughter suddenly enters a darkened room) is certainly an unforgettable jolt.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Apprentice

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sigmund Neufeld Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1