Vanishing Bride

THE CORPSE VANISHES-1942-Somebody is killing then kidnapping the corpses newlywed brides. 

A young headstrong reporter named Pat (Luana Walters) and her older comic photographer Sandy (Vince Barnett) try to investigate. It's all a fiendish plot by Dr. George Lorenz (Bela Lugosi) who extracts bodily fluid from the dead brides to keep his ungrateful wife, The Countess (Elizabeth Russell) young and vital. Dr. Foster (Tris Coffin) assists Lorenz in a cure for The Countess. Lorenz uses drugged orchids and gets help from “my little family” which includes little Toby (Angelo Rossitto), tough guy Mike (George Eldredge), housekeeper Fagah (Minerva Urecal; also in THE APE MAN with Bela) and her brutish son Angel (Frank Moran) who Lorenz whips. He and his wife also like to sleep in coffins. When Pat is forced to stay at the doc's place for the night she snoops around and sees Angel talking to a dead bride. When Foster sees Lorenz strangle Angel he decides to help Pat by setting up a phony marriage but instead Lorenz drugs and kidnaps her. Before he can make the lethal injection Fagah stabs him to death (he killed her son). When the Countess tries to make the injection Fagah stabs her too. 

This is a typical outrageous Monogram studios Lugosi melodrama with Bela being a pretty cruel guy. Luana Walters is good as the noisy wisecracking lead. Too bad she didn't get better roles. Wallace Fox directed Lugosi in THE BOWERY AFTER MIDNIGHT the same year. He also made several “East Side Kids” comedies. Later he made a bunch of westerns and went into TV. He died in 1958. Sam Katzman was the producer...

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Bela's Ape

THE APE MAN-1943-Crazy Monogram nonsense has Bela Lugosi (in another demeaning post-Dracula role) as Dr. James Brewster, who through unexplained experiments has become half man/half ape. He even sleeps in a cage with a real (man in a gorilla suit) ape! A fellow scientist (Henry Hall, also in THE APE with Karloff) brings Brewster's sister Agatha (Minerva Urecal), a famous "ghost hunter" home to help him out. Unfortunately Brewster needs human spinal fluid to cure himself. His friend won't help so he and the ape go out on nightly jaunts and kill to secure the vital liquid. This is easily done as Brewster can speak ape!

Wallace Ford (from FREAKS and THE MUMMY'S HAND) is a wisecracking reporter who suspects monkey business. Louise Currie (later in VOODOO MAN with Bela and still among the living at the time of this writing) is his photographer who doesn't have much to do until the climax. Jack Mulhall hangs around as a local yokel who's identity is revealed in the dumb comic ending. Emil Van Horn is the gorilla.

THE APE MAN is funny little horror film that doesn't go on too long (64 mins.) and doesn't drag thanks to William "One Shot" Beaudine's brisk direction. The story is by Karl Brown who supplied the story for THE APE! It would have been a lot better without Mulhall's character popping up all the time. Lugosi portrayed the monster in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN the same year. In 1943 he starred in a kind of sequel RETURN OF THE APE MAN.

THE APE MAN was one of seven movies Beaudine directed in 1943. He also made GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE where Bela met The Eastside Kids!

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Living?

THE LIVING GHOST-1942-Stupid Mongram whodunnit with a former detective (James Dunn) coming out of retirement (after being a phony swami) to solve a murder in an old house. Joan Woodbury plays his love interest and there are many suspects. There's some "haunted house" scenes but it's mainly a comedy. Mongram regular Minerva Urecal has a supporting role.

THE LIVING GHOST was one of eleven movies William "One Shot" Beaudine (whose directing career started in 1915) made in 1942. Star Dunn won a best actor Oscar portraying the father in A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN in 1945. Woodbury later starred in a Brenda Starr serial.

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