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Man
Made Monster
Universal Horror
Classic Movie Archive
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8
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
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From the Universal Horror Classic Movie
Archive
• DVD Rating is for entire set |
A
mad scientist (Lionel Atwill) uses a good-natured sideshow performer
(Lon Chaney, Jr.) as a human guinea pig in his experiments with
electricity...
Reportedly
conceived as a vehicle for Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Man
Made Monster finally emerged as Lon Chaney, Jr's, first
proper intro to the horror genre. Shot quickly and inexpensively
in 1941, it emerged just shortly before the same year's The
Wolf Man cemented his reputation as one of the genre's staple
performers. The story actually bears some passing similarity
to an earlier Karloff/Lugosi picture — The
Invisible Ray (1936) — so while it would have been nice
to see them reteamed once again, the feeling of déjà vu may
have been somewhat overwhelming.
Director
George Waggner, who also directed The
Wolf Man and produced several other Universal horrors
of the period (notably The
Ghost Of Frankenstein and Frankenstein
Meets The Wolf Man), makes ample use of his credo that horror
should always go hand in hand with pathos. The role of "Dynamo"
Dan McCormick is perfect for the lovably awkward Chaney —
eager to please, not exactly an Einstein but full of heart.
As Dan undergoes experimentation at the perverse hands of Dr.
Rigas (a plum role for Atwill), the audience can't help but
identify with him; if there is a key factor Chaney had to his
advantage over the likes of Karloff or Lugosi, it's his ability
to evoke the Everyman in the audience. The transformation of
Dan from a vibrant and fun-loving young man to a literal shell
pulsing with electricity works as well as it does precisely
because Chaney and Waggner insist on keeping sight of Dan's
humanity —
rather than reduce him to a literal killing machine (ironically,
a major problem with Chaney's cracks at the Frankenstein Monster
and the mummy, Kharis), the film goes to great pains to keep
the audience continually on his side.
Of
course, pathos is all well and good, but this is a horror movie
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and a horror movie needs a strong villain with plenty of charisma.
Lionel Atwill, needless to say, fills the role grandly. One
of the very few performers associated with the genre who never
walked through a role or overplayed it so ripely as to reduce
it to caricature, Atwill clearly relishes the assignment at
hand; he conveys the necessary intelligence (it always helps
to have somebody credible as a research scientist) but adds
a layer of Sadean glee to his characterization in the bargain.
One of his best moments is his incredulous reaction when a colleague
(Samuel S. Hinds) accuses him of destroying Dan for the sake
of an experiment —
he truly convinces the audience that his motivations were, in
his own twisted mind, for the greater good. In addition to Atwill
and Chaney, the film benefits from a strong supporting cast:
Hinds is excellent as Atwill's benevolent partner, while Anne
Nagel and Frank Albertson make one of the most appealing and
believable romantic teams in a horror film of this vintage;
earlier Universal horrors were sometimes marred by the sappy
non-acting of, say, David Manners and Helen Chandler, here Nagel
and Albertson bring their roles to life and have plenty of fun
with their playful verbal sparring.
Clocking in at a super-lean 60 minutes, the
film doesn't have much opportunity to get particularly deep,
nor does it need to. Under Waggner's expert direction, the film
hits all the necessary plot points without feeling rushed or
under developed. The Wolf Man may
be the bigger and more popular of the two Chaney/Waggner debut
horrors, but it's arguable that Man Made
Monster is more successful on the whole.
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| Released
for the first time on DVD as part of the Best Buy exclusive Universal
Horror Classic Movie Archive set, Man
Made Monster emerges looking as good as can be expected.
The source print is very clean —
apart from some minor speckling, there are no real defects to
note. Black levels are deep, whites are clean, and there's plenty
of detail and variety in the gray scale. The mono soundtrack is
also in good shape, with clear dialogue and plenty of presence
afforded to the music score. Sadly, there are no extras.
10/15/07 |
| NOTE
The two-disc/five film Universal Horror
Classic Movie Archive also contains The
Black Cat and
Horror Island (both 1941), Night
Monster (1942) and Captive Wild Woman
(1943). This limited-run collection is only
for sale at Best Buy stores.
Copies are available on Amazon via Third Party Sellers,
but be warned — the price is considerably higher (i.e, "scalping").
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