1942’s NIGHT MONSTER,
directed by Ford Beebe, “stars” Bela Lugosi and Lionell Atwill as a couple
supporting characters in an “old dark house” thriller that actually has a
pretty good mystery. Although Lugosi and Atwill aren’t very consequential in
the film, they get top billing for ticket-selling purposes.
Really front and center
is Ralph Morgan as the wheelchair bound owner of the old dark house in
question. The house is surrounded by marshes and there’s rumors of a monster
stalking the marshes and killing people. Inside the house things aren’t much
better: Morgan’s daughter (Fay Helm) seems to be going insane, Lugosi’s the
butler, and the chauffeur (Leif Erickson) is a handsy would-be rapist.
The three doctors
(Atwill, Frank Reicher and Francis Pierlot) who have each attempted to cure
Morgan of his ailments have been summoned to the house for a demonstration of
the psychic healing abilities an Eastern mystic (Nils Asther) has been teaching
to Morgan. He’s able to materialize a skeleton seemingly out of nowhere, and
only a mysterious puddle of blood is left behind when the skeleton is gone.
It soon becomes clear
that there is indeed a monster killing both inside and outside the mansion, as
the doctors start to turn up dead. Luckily yet another doctor (Irene Hervey)
who has been summoned to help the insane daughter is on hand to look into this
mess, along with the neigher (Dick Baldwin) who happens to be a mystery
novelist.
Most of the movie unfolds
the way these types of movies do but the solution at the end is so unique and
different than anything I would have expected that it gets a couple extra marks
for that. It’s a shame Lugosi’s wasted here, again – he could just have easily
played the Morgan part, and probably made a more memorable movie. Oh well.
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