The Ape is one cockamamie movie. Boris Karloff made a deal with Monogram Pictures for nine movies (which included three turns as Mr. Wong a Chinese detective) and this humble 1940 effort is the final one of those. Here he is a country doctor with a difference, former researcher he is a man who is driven by a compelling need to cure the lame and prove his theories. To that end he makes use of what comes his way and that includes two men who are murdered to get at spinal fluid used to make a beautiful young girl walk again.
Now mix with this set-up the arrival of a circus, a circus with a ferocious gorilla who kills his abusive trainer and in the doing sets fire to the whole shebang. The circus folk move on but the small town in which the doctor lives and works must find the escaped gorilla. The doctor finds it first, kills it and uses the ape's hide to prowl the night getting his precious spinal fluid. (I told you it was weird.)
I won't say more, so as not to spoil, but most of this you can see coming a mile off. The gorilla portrayed by Ray Corrigan is pretty darn tough but not as tough as a crazy Boris Karloff it seems.
Rip Off
No comments:
Post a Comment