Rondo Returns

  (wikipedia)

THE BRUTE MAN-1946-When a string of brutal murders credited to "The Creeper" hit town, a police chief (Donald McBride) and his Lieutenant (Peter Whitney) suspect a guy named Hal Moffat whose face was disfigured in a college chemistry experiment. He's out for revenge on the people he blames for his predicament especially classmates Clifford Scott (Tom Neal; in DETOUR the year before) and his wife Virginia (Jan Wiley). While killing and stalking potential victims Hal (the unforgettable Rondo Hatton in his last movie) meets Helen (Jane Adams), a blind piano teacher and they kind of bond. 

Helen needs money for an eye operation so Hal goes to Scott and demands money. Scott shoots Hal but he kills Scott and takes Virginia's jewels and gives them to Helen. When she has them appraised she learns all about her mysterious benefactor. She helps trap him and he's arrested. The movie actually ends on a comic note. 

This was originally a Universal Pictures production which was suppose to introduce Rondo Hatton as their new horror star (“the monster without make-up”) but Hatton died before the movie was released. Though the studio made no bones about their plan to exploit Hatton's looks while he was alive, it seems after his death they were a little more than embarrassed by presenting an actor with a real physical condition (acromegaly) as a guy who was a monster and his character in the film had once been “normal” before an explosion.

 Cutting their loses, controversy and questionable taste, Universal sold the film to Monogram who released it on a double bill. Work horse director Jean Yarbrough had already worked with Rondo Hatton earlier in the year in HOUSE OF HORRORS and made SHE-WOLF OF LONDON and three other features in 1946. Fred Colby plays Hal before "the accident" and Tris Coffin, Pat Costello and John Hamilton have un-billed roles. 

Thanks for reading!

Dual Belas!

 BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT-1942-Prof. Brenner (Bela Lugosi) is a criminology teacher by day and at night he's Karl Wagner who runs a Bowery mission that's a front for robbery and murder. Sgt. Crawford (Dave O'Brien) investigates. Wagner's M.O. is to kill one accomplice at the scene of a crime. He recruits psycho killer Frank Mills (Tom Neal; he'd star in DETOUR in 1945) to help. Wagner's nurse Judy (Wanda McKay) doesn't suspect but her boyfriend Richard (John Archer) goes undercover as a bum to study the underprivileged and winds up dead. The nutty ending has an insane doctor resurrecting Wagner's dead victims who in turn kill him. Since Richard comes back to life he and Judy live happily ever after. When Richard is on the Bowery he meets two oddballs almost in a row. One is played by Pat Costello and the other by Bernard Gorcey! Wheeler Oakman, Victor Adamson and Snub Pllard have small roles.

Director Wallace Fox made several "East Side Kids" comedies (that were set in The Bowery) and directed Lugosi in THE CORPSE VANISHES the same year. After making PILLOW OF DEATH, one of the Inner Sanctum series of film at Universal he drifted into low budget westerns then went into TV (The Gene Autry Show, Ramar Of The Jungle). He dies in 1958.

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2020/01/vanishing-bride.html

Sam Katzman was the executive producer of this low budget quickie released through Monogram but it's not bad despite some lapses in reason!

Thanks for reading!

Let's Go Navy

LET'S GO NAVY-1951-In this outing Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Huntz) are robbed at gun point of some money they planned to give to charity. Since the two robbers (Tom Neal and Richard Benedict) were dressed as sailors "the boys" decide to join the navy and find them! Allen Jenkins is their CPO who is thrown overboard several times because of Sach's idiocy. Jonathan Hale is the captain. There's a lot of Abbott & Costello type gags including giving the captain a bar of soap instead of cheese and shell game routine (featuring Frank Jenks). When they land on a tropical island someone named Charlita shows up as Princess Papoola. She was in BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA the next year. Billy Benedict is Whitey, Buddy Gorman is Butch and David Gorcey is Chuck.

Unfortunately there's not enough Louie Dumbrosky (Bernard Gorcey). Directed by William Beaudine. This is the only credit for screenwriter Max Adams (!). This would be Buddy Gorman's last appearance as Butch. Bennie Barlett would rejoin the gang for the next entry. Leo Gorcey's manager Jan Grippo also exited as producer after this one.

Thanks for reading!