The Ape Man Returns (?)

 

THE RETURN OF THE APE MAN-1944-Two scientists successfully keep a man alive in suspended animation for four weeks. Head guy Prof. Dexter (Bela Lugosi) needs a subject who's been frozen for hundreds of years to see if he can make him live again. So he and assistant Professor Gilmore (John Carradine) go to the Arctic to dig for one. They almost give up but a frozen specimen falls into there hands after an avalanche. They take him back to the US and revive him. 

He (Frank Moran) seems wild but Dexter uses a whip to tame him. Dexter plans to put part of a modern human brain into the ape man but needs a volunteer brain. At an engagement party for Gilmore's niece Ann (Teala Loring), he plays the Moonlight Sonata while Dexter decides her fiance Steve (Tod Andrews) would make a good brain donor and drugs him and prepares him for an operation. Fortunately Gilmore is wise to his partner's plan and saves Steve. He also tells Dexter he's mad and wants nothing more to do with him. Later after Dexter tries to tame the caveman with electricity and a blowtorch, the caveman escapes and kills a cop. Dexter recaptures him ("You brainless fool!") but the newspapers report a monster sighting. Gilmore wants to report the caveman to the police but Dexter persuades his too gullible ex-partner that he wants help destroying the creature. Of course instead Dexter uses Gilmore's grey matter to bring the prehistoric throwback under his control. But it doesn't work so well as the new improved cave ape (who can talk) makes a bee line out the front door to his former house. He climbs in a window and plays the piano for Mrs. G. 

Steve suspects Dexter and he and two cops go to his pad. When they check out his lab the cave guy (who'd been recap-tured by Dexter) bursts through his cage behind a fake wall and kills Dexter despite being shot at point blank range several times. Cavey heads back to Gilmore's house and kidnaps Ann. A crazy chase ensues with Gil-ape going across some buildings with Anne (an obvious dummy). He hides out with her in the prop room of a theater until he kills a night watchman. Somehow he goes back to Dexter's lab, a fire breaks out but Steve saves Ann. The End. 

This Monogram quickie was directed by Phil Rosen (PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN) and though George Zucco is listed in the credits as the ape man he only appears for a few seconds when the ape man is first found in the block of ice. Apparently Zucco fell ill just as filming started and was replaced by Frank Moran. It has nothing to do with previous monkey business type horror films from Monogram like THE APE (1940).

Fortunately Zucco got better and teamed with Lugosi and Carradine for VOODOO MAN soon after.

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He Knows....

THE SHADOW RETURNS-1946-This begins with a body being exhumed from its grave. Then Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) and Margo Lane (Barbara Read/Reed) argue about getting married. Of course Cranston is the crime fighting Shadow who dons a mask and appears as a shadow on the wall. 

The kind of boring story revolves around some jewels and the suspects who suddenly commit suicide (Frank Reichert and Cyril Devanti play two of them). Cranston is wise ass PI who the chief of police (Joseph Crehan) doesn't like (with good reason). But the commissioner (Pierre Watkin) is Cranston's uncle. Margo is somewhat of a ditz and they have a chauffeur named Shevvie (Tom Dugan, who seems to be channeling Shemp Howard!). 

The Shadow doesn't appear much in this first of 3 movies produced by Monogram featuring the mysterious crime fighter and the first to star Richmond (THE SPY SMASHER). Grand National had made 2 features (with Rod La Rocque in the lead) and a 12 part serial (with Victor Jory) in the late '30's. Old hand Phil Rosen handled the direction (some sources cite William Beaudine with an uncredited assist). He directed many of the Charlie Chan/Sidney Toler mysteries.

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Chan On The Air

THE SCARLET CLUE-1945-This time Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is on the trail of spies who want to steal radar plans. While he and a local police Capt. Flynn (Robert Homans) find a spy they were tailing dead, it seems the murderer drove off in a stolen car belonging to radio actress Diana Hall (Helen Deveareaux) and her friend Gloria (Janet Shaw). A footprint leads Charlie to believe that the killer works at the radio station. He’s right! The manager Bret (I. Stanford Jolley) is the killer but he takes his orders from someone who communicates by a telegram machine. When Gloria tries to blackmail Bret she dies from poisoning. When Chan connects Bret to the murder the manager falls to his death from a trapdoor in an elevator! There's also a scientific contraption that simulates different types of weather. On an “experimental” TV program Jack Norton does a drunk routine but is poisoned before he can give Charlie any info. This story features a lot of science tech and talk about TV. 

THE SCARLET CLUE also features no. 3 son Tommy (Benson Fong) who messes up several times and Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) who does 2 routines with his real life vaudeville partner Ben Carter. (They also do this in DARK ALIBI). Phil Rosen was once again in the director's chair. Followed by THE SHANGHAI COBRA.

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More Chan!

THE JADE MASK-1945-A scientist named Harper (Frank Reicher) has a gas that can turn wood into metal. Naturally the US government is interested in it. So are its enemies. Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is called in by a local police chief (Henry Hall) to investigate when Harper goes missing. There's enough suspects. A loyal but abused butler Roth (Cyril Delevanti), Harper's assistant Meeker (Hardie Albright), sister Louise (Edith Evanson), housemaid Jean Kent (Janet Warren), Stella Graham (Dorothy Granger) who was assisting Harper on another project and mute handyman/chauffeur Michael Strong (Lester Dorr). Charlie's later joined by number 4 son Eddie (Edwin Luke; the real life brother of Keye) and Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland),who actually stops the murderer from escaping. 

Phil Rosen was back as director and keeps it moving. THE SCARLET CLUE followed.

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Chan's Magic

BLACK MAGIC aka MEETING AT MIDNIGHT-1944-With his boss Charlie Chan going back to Hawaii, Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) gets a job as a domestic servant at the home of a medium named William Bonnar (Richard Gordon). During a seance in which Chan's daughter Frances (Frances Chan) is attending Bonnar is shot and killed after a mysterious voice asks him where he was on Oct. 5 1935. Police Sgt. Matthews (Joseph Crehan) arrives on the scene and soon the great detective (Sidney Toler) is involved. No gun can be found and there's no bullet in the body! While Charlie does his investigation, Frances and Birmingham do their own. 

Suspects include Nancy Wood (Helen Beverley) who's father was driven to suicide by Bonnar, his jealous wife Justine (Jacqueline deWit) who's in cahoots with a couple who provide effects for the seance, Edwards (Harry Depp) a guy who makes magic props, Hamlin (Paul Jacquet) also being blackmailed by Bonnar and jilted mistress Harriet Greene (Geraldine Wall). 

After Mrs. Bonnar in a trace state jumps off a building to her death Chan discovers she was under the influence of a powerful drug and hypnotized. Later he's drugged and hypnotized and almost commits suicide. Matthews more competent assistant Rafferty (Ralph Petters) helps out. Chan reveals the murderer and murder weapon at his own seance. 

A not bad mystery that again can't help but throw in some racist humor with Moreland but uses Chan's daughter to good effect and should have used her in future stories. Director Phil Rosen directed many more in the series. For it's re-release the title was changed to MEETING AT MIDNIGHT to avoid confusion with another film called “Black Magic” starring Orson Welles.

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Next in the series: THE JADE MASK

The Chinese Cat

CHARLIE CHAN IN THE CHINESE CAT-1944-The intrepid detective (Sidney Toler) and number 3 son Tommy (Benson Fong) investigate the murder of Thomas Manning at the request of his step-daughter Leah (Joan Woodbury). 6 months previously he was shot to death in a locked room. A famous doctor Paul Recknik (Ian Keith) has written a book about the case that implicates the girl’s mother (Betty Blythe). They are joined by taxi driver Birmingham Brown (the great Mantan Moreland) who says “Freedom of speech is gonna get me in trouble yet” and a police detective (Wendel Heyburn) who investigated the murder. Manning's business partner wants Chan off the case. It has to do with smugglers and stolen diamonds. The bad dudes hide out in a fun house so this provides several reasons for Birmingham to get scared. However he helps save Chan and Tommy when they are roughed up by the brutal thugs.

 This was director Phil Rosen's second Chan mystery in a row. Among his over 140 credits (!) are the underrated PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN, SPOOKS RUN WILD and two more Chan/Toler entries.

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Charlie Chan returns in BLACK MAGIC aka MEETING AT MIDNIGHT. 

Chan In Secret

CHARLIE CHAN IN THE SECRET SERVICE- 1944-A rocket scientist is killed in his home and his plans for a secret torpedo invention are stolen. As usual he has a whole houseful of guests as suspects (including the unbilled Gene Roth). Against his wishes Charlie (Sidney Toler) is assisted by son Tommy (Benson Fong) and daughter Iris (Marianne Quon), It's also the debut of Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), Chan’s future chauffeur who says “Just ain't no future for a man in this house”. This Phil Rosen directed whodunit wasn't that interesting to me.

Next: CHARLIE CHAN IN THE CHINESE CAT. Thanks for reading!

Young Wong

PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN-1940-This is the Monogram Pictures 6^th and final entry into their “Mr. Wong” series that started in 1939 with Boris Karloff in the lead. This time out however the detective is Jimmy Wong, a younger, more dashing and modern version than his predecessor and he's portrayed by Keye Luke, an actual Asian actor (born in China)! He helps investigate the poisoning death of an archaeologist. Capt. Street (Grant Withers) returns from the previous films and has a bigger role than usual. Jimmy's kind of love interest is Win Len (Lotus Long) and the plot revolves around the missing “Scroll of China”. 

It's refreshing to see the two leads actually played by Asian actors but unfortunately it's the only one made featuring “Jimmy”. The beginning lecture, photos and flashbacks look like they came from another movie. Director George Waggner (he directed THE WOLFMAN the same year) wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Joseph Lewis. PHANTOM's director Phil Rosen made many “quickies” (like SPOOKS RUN WILD) and several in the Charlie Chan series.

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Atwill

BEGGARS IN ERMINE-1934-Steel works industrialist Flint Dawson (Lionel Atwill) loves his work so much he always has lunch with his factory employees. He's against a merger so board director Jim Marley (Jameson Thomas) plots to do away with him. He has molten steel dropped on Dawson but it doesn't kill him, only leaving him cripple. Mrs. Dawson (Astrid Allwyn) was in on it too and she and Marley steal everything and go to England with Dawson's young daughter. 

In the hospital (where he smokes a pipe constantly) Dawson meets Marchant, a blind beggar (Henry B. Walthall) who he teams up with and forms an organization of beggars who's money he wisely invests to help them live. Years later Dawson's daughter (Betty Furness), who he's taken care of anonymously, is engaged to Marley's nephew (James Bush) after Mrs. Dawson committed suicide. Eventually through stock manipulations and help from the beggars Dawson gets his revenge (he kind of makes Marley commit suicide) and wins back his company. Very cheap Monogram picture worth seeing for Atwill. 

Russian born director Phil Rosen (a founding member of the American Society of Cinematographers) was a well regarded silent film director but in the sound era he worked mainly in cheap independent films. He made THE SPHINX another curious low budget film with Atwill the year before. Later he made PHANTOM OF CHINATOWN starring Keye Luke, SPOOKS RUN WILD with Lugosi and The East Side Kids and several Charlie Chan entries. He died in 1951. Screenwriter Tristram Tupper , who also wrote the non-horror Karloff vehicle NIGHT KEY, based his screenplay on a novel by Esther Lynd Day.