Man Made Lon

MAN MADE MONSTER-1941-After a near fatal car accident jolly lug “Dynamo” Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney Jr.; he made THE WOLFMAN the same year) survives an accidental electrocution because of an electricity act he does at the local carnival. He's invited to the home of Dr. Lawrence (Samuel S. Hinds) so he can be studied. June (Anne Nagel), the doctor's niece takes a shine to Dan. So does the family dog. Mark Adams (Frank Albertson), a wise ass reporter tries to get a story by wooing June. Unfortunately Lawrence's crazy genius assistant Dr. Riggs (Lionel Atwill) uses Dan for his own experiments in making an invincible man. Dan becomes a sad, slow moving “electricity addict” and turns into a glowing ghoul like monster who can kill with one touch. Despite wearing a rubber suit when not electrocuting people he kills Lawrence anyway. He's arrested, found guilty of murder and sentenced to the electric chair. Naturally he survives and gets his revenge on Riggs (by electrocution; the same way Chaney,s Frankenstein monster does in Atwill's Dr. Bohmer in GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN the next year!) For some reason he runs off with an unconscious June but drops her in time to die by touching a barbed wire fence. In a touching final scene the dog mourns over Dan's dead body. ''

The story has good acting and fine direction by George Waggner and Chaney is very good as the happy go lucky Dan. It's real shame to see him come to such a terrible end especially when he was actually exploited by the rotten Riggs. Waggner also wrote the screenplay which was based a story called “The Electric Man” although some have claimed Ed Wood came up with the story idea and was cheated out of the credit. Universal had purchased the rights to the story years earlier hoping to use it for a Karloff/Lugosi team up but that never happened. It's been noted most everywhere now that Byron Foulger is credited as Alienist #2 but doesn't appear in the film. His scene was cut prior to release but strangely his name is still listed. Even stranger, there doesn't seem to have been an Alienist #1...

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