I Don't Know Any Sane Ghouls. Do You?

 

THE MAD GHOUL-1943-Dr. Alfred Morris (George Zucco), who teaches at a local college recreates a poison gas that an ancient Mayan tribe used to cause “life in death”. He hires a student, Ned Allison (David Bruce), to help him over the summer. Ned is in love with a radio singer named Isabel Lewis (Evelyn Ankers). When Morris says things like “There is no good or evil. Only true and false”, it's obvious he's mad. To top that, he's in love with Isabel too and in order to get Ned out of the way, the deranged doc turns his student into a living dead slave via the ancient concoction. Ned turns into a pasty-faced ghoul who carries out the doc's bidding. 

 (imdb)

Later they visit a cemetery where ghoul-Ned performs a cardiectomy because a human heart is needed to bring Ned back to the land of the living. Police Sgt. Macklin (Miburn Stone) and newspaperman “Scoop” McClure (Robert Armstrong) investigate. It turns out the antidote isn't permanent. Ned goes to another town where Isabel is performing to propose but Isabel doesn't love him anymore. She now prefers her pianist Erik (Turhan Bey). After she spurns him, he turns back into a ghoul and he and the doc visit a cemetery and take the caretaker's heart. When the doc finds out Isabel & Erik are an item, he sends Ned to kill Erik but Isabel's scream saves him. Meanwhile McClure figures out that a new heart stealing murder happens whenever Isabel gives a recital. He sets a trap to catch the deadly duo but he's killed in the process. The Sgt. and his detective Garrity (Charles McGraw) up their game to catch the killer. Later, when things get too hot and Ned suspects he's being used, (“What am I? Alive or Dead?”), the doc sends Ned to kill Erik then himself but Ned tricks the doc into inhaling the gas himself. Ned goes to the recital hall but is killed by the cops before he can carry out the murder. The doc dies at the cemetery unable to procure a human heart. Also with Rose Hobart and Addison Richards. 

This enjoyable, eerie Universal quickie was the last film directed by James P. Hogan (LIFE RETURNS (1934) who died of a heart attack shortly after this was finished. He had also been directed much of the “Ellery Queen” series at the time. The great George Zucco had another banner year in 1943, appearing in SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON, 2 PRC productions: DEAD MEN WALK and THE BLACK RAVEN and The Ritz brothers comedy NEVER A DULL MOMENT. Top billed David Bruce was in the “Inner Sanctum” entry CALLING DR. DEATH the same year as The Mad Ghoul. Leading lady Evelyn Ankers was also in among other things SON OF DRACULA.

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