(1941)
Dir - Stuart Heisler
Overall: MEH
Though it is presented in a straight-faced and even stark manner, Paramount's The Monster and the Girl is still a bizarre B-level production on paper. Featuring some long-forgotten lead and character actors, (Paul Lukas, George Zucco, and Edward Van Sloan being the most recognizable), its lack of genre star power is forgivable since the major attraction is a guy in a gorilla suite. Primate B pictures were usually good for a knowingly goofy chuckle at most, but the story here ups the weird as it concerns a wrongly convicted man whose brain is used by scientists after his execution, a brain which is then put into an ape that inadvertently allows said condemned fellow to intact his revenge in a much hairier and stronger body. Director Stuart Heisler stages the handful of kill scenes with no incidental music, something that actually makes them suspenseful, plus the brisk sixty-four minute running time means that most of the fat is trimmed. The first half is more sluggish by comparison as we are given two flashbacks in a lengthy courtroom scene, but once the movie showcases what it advertises on the poster and does so in a horror-by-way-of-mad-scientist/film noir manner, it becomes a more interesting affair that it probably deserves to be.
(1942)
Dir - Edwin L. Marin
Overall: MEH
After the low-rent Invisible Woman went full comedy, Universal's following Invisible Agent switched genres yet again to being a war time spy film while still retaining elements of purposeful goofiness. This particular franchise was miles away from horror at this point as well as H.G. Wells' source material, (a throwaway line states that Jon Hall's title character is the grandson of Griffin from the first film and novel), but it is also less silly than its predecessor. That said, there are tonal shifts aplenty while Nazi officers and scientists try to get Griffin's invisibility formula and wacky high-jinks ensure, particularly during a long intelligence operation where J. Edward Bromberg's bumbling SS officer keeps falling for Griffin's unseen pranks on him. Most of the performances could have been equally handled by anyone, including Hall in the lead who possesses only the most bare-bones level of charisma to carry things through. That said, Peter Lorre is always a highlight even in his underused form here and Sir Cedric Hardwicke makes for a calculated Nazi Gestapo with a sophisticated English accent. The main attraction of course are the special effects though, which thankfully are frequently showcased.
(1946)
Dir - Robert Siodmak
Overall: MEH
A gripping finale and superb cinematography are the major advantage points to director Robert Siodmak's The Spiral Staircase; an adaptation of Ethel Lina White's novel Some Must Watch that is otherwise bogged down by an uninteresting plot. David O. Selznick originally owned the rights to the source material before selling them to RKO, with first time screenwriter Mel Dninelli changing the setting from Merry Ole to New England with an almost exclusively American cast. A proto-slasher film in some respects that utilizes POV shots and a story with a mysterious serial killer, the end reveal is satisfying in its melodramatic intensity. The performances are commendable, with Dorthy McGuire as a mute, live-in companion and Ethel Barrymore as an invalid head of household making the best impressions. Director of photography Nicholas Musuraca is the star of the show though, using heavy shadow juxtaposition and flowing camera work to create a Gothic mood that gives the entire thing the look and feel of a proper horror movie without technically being one. Yet the mostly single location as well as hefty amount of characters and their uninteresting squabbles unfortunately get in the way of the "murder on the loose" aspects and eerie atmosphere, making this just shy from being a top-notch production.
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