The Monster and the Girl

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The Monster and the Girl

OK, so it's about a human brain transplanted into an ape's body -- it's still a unique, original and stylish film. Director Stuart Heisler treats it all very seriously and the cast does a great job. It's beautifully shot and lit -- and there's even a sub-plot about white slavery and prostitution that's shocking for the time. A first-rate job by all concerned.

There are some good things in this film. No, it's not a masterpiece, but director Stuart Heisler worked wonders with the story, which I found strangely emotional and tragic rather than horrific; overall, an offbeat and quite satisfactory way to do a horror movie.

Scot Webster is looking for his brother-in-law who mysteriously left his wife and left her in at the hands of a racketeer and his mob. Webster is later set up with the murder of a mob enemy, convicted and set to die, but swears revenge on those who set him up. He donates his brain to science and it is later put into an ape, which proceeds to carry out Webster's venegance. The plot sounds pretty good for its genre, but the Webster's trial takes up a little too much time plus the scenes with the ape just seem to be lacking the excitement that this movie should generate. 5 out of 10.

Back in its salad days Paramount was a studio that did not go in much for the horror genre. So this film The Monster And The Girl is something of an anomaly for them. I'm sure Cecil B. DeMille, Preston Sturges, or Mitchell Leisen never had this script on their desks. Philip Terry gets framed by Paul Lukas and his mob for murder and despite the earnest pleas of girl friend Ellen Drew gets sentenced to die. Dr. George Zucco in one of his patented mad scientist roles asks Terry for the use of his brain after he's deceased and Terry agrees to it. After Dr. Zucco transplants Terry's brain, strange things are happening. Like the gorilla with the Terry brain inside and that brain has some scores to settle. Settle them the Terry gorilla does and in a most gruesome manner. Perhaps had Universal done this one it might rate as a classic as they knew how to serve these up. Still despite some mediocre production values The Monster And The Girl should satisfy the die-hard fans of the horror genre.

Philip Terry is about to be hanged for murder, so mad scientist George Zucco asks him if he can have his brain after he's no longer using it for a project that will benefit humanity. It turns out to be to transplant into a gorilla (played by Charles Gemora), who goes around killing the people who did wrong by him and his sister, prostitute Ellen Drew. It's a crazy, well-produced Paramount B movie, which also includes comedy cops, actors who specialized in gangsters playing scientists, a faithful dog and noir photography by Victor Milner. With a huge cast of skilled minor players -- Marc Lawrence gets a substantial role -- it looks like a movie that was written seriatim by fourteen or fifteen writers, with enough silly plot points to fill up 150 minutes, let alone a tight, 65 minute under the direction of Stuart Heisler. Credit B movie writer Stuart Anthony, who died 14 months later and who apparently felt a need to cram as many different movies into this one as possible.

Monster and the Girl, The (1941) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Strange but effective film from Paramount mixes the noir and horror genres. Mobsters frame an innocent man for murder but before his execution he swears vengeance on them all. After his death a scientist (George Zucco) experiments by putting the dead man's brain into the body of a gorilla who goes out for revenge. The biggest problem with this film is its short running time of 65-minutes, which isn't enough time for the two stories to work. We get a fast paced and fun movie but it could and should have been a lot more. This is certainly a very weird film that noir and horror fans should check out.