Reviews (2)

Series fans, add 1 *.Huntz Hall in drag is worth price alone
The East Side Kids series took a definite turn for the better when director William Beaudine joined it in 1943. CLANCY STREET BOYS is Beaudine's first, and also the first East Side escapade to be played strictly for laughs. To impress his father's old friend from Texas, Leo Gorcey has to pass off his rowdy pals as his siblings (including Huntz Hall in lipstick as sister "Annabelle," and African-American Ernie Morrison as a stepbrother!). Noah Beery and Lita Ward (the future Mrs. Gorcey) are enjoyable as Gorcey's fresh-from-Texas visitors, and Rick Vallin is personable as the heavy. (Vallin became one of producer Sam Katzman's favorite actors.) This was filmed on Katzman's usual how-low-can-we-go budget, which results in frequent ad libs and a relaxed atmosphere. An hour of fun for comedy fans, and series fans will really enjoy it. The print was frequently cut and recut by TV stations, so there are splices at scene changes. Except for a few momentary digital glitches, the image is surprisingly sharp and clear.

Antics galore!
If you grew up watching the East Side Kids/Bowery Boys, you'll love this film. Muggs and the gang are always at their hysterical best. It's just as much fun to watch them now at age 51 than when I was 10. This is a keeper! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The East Side Kids meet Bela Lugosi again!
The East Side Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sammy Morrison, Bobby Stone, Billy Benedict, Stanley Clements) meet Bela Lugosi (Dracula [1931]) again! They met him before as "Nardo" in SPOOKS RUN WILD" (1941). This is the second East Side Kids film William Beaudine has directed since CLANCY STREET BOYS (1943). William Beaudine believes in one takes only if it can be done. It was not rare for an East Side Kid film to be done in six days. Boy did he keep a "one-take" this time! Bela thought he would have some fun. The scene where Bela Lugosi is inside the painting and sneezes the offensive word, "s***", was the first take. So Beaudine left it in the film. The plot this time: Jack (Rick Vallin) is going to marry Betty (Ava Gardner) and they have bought a huge house two miles out in the country from the subway. Later, the agent tells him, the house next door is haunted. Mugg's (Leo Gorcey) gets word that the Katzman's mob (an in-joke to producer, Stan Katzman) will crash the wedding. Bela Lugosi as "Emil" is in town. He doesn't want Jack to have that house on Elm Street. Even Emil's assistant tells him the house next door is haunted. The assistant gives him some cash and a business card to call to close the deal. Of course, he will not. Later, the boys find the card on the floor. The boys decide to decorate Jack's new house , but they go by the number on the card and go to the haunted house instead. They don't know the mistake they made. Watch the fun begin with the boys and Bela Lugosi. This is Bobby Jordan's last appearance with the East Side Kids until BOWERY CHAMPS (1944). Then re-joined them for the Bowery Boys films. The next films in the series: Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943), MILLION DOLLAR KID (1944).

Have to love em!
The East Side Kids/Dead End Kids/Bowery Boys did it again. All your favorite guys are back again for some more fun. If you like Abbott & Costello...The Three Stooges....or The Little Rascals/Our Gang then your going to like these guys. Its fun for the whole family, good viewing you can trust with the kids. Add Bela Lugosi and a little old time spooky fun. Its good to finally see an almost forgotten piece of film history restored thanks to our friend Loyd Kaufman at Troma Studios.

East Side Kids vs. Nazi madmen
Thoroughly inane and forgettable mystery-comedy only worth watching if you are either a fan of so-bad-its-good type of movies and/or Ava Gardner. Beautiful Gardner plays a pre-stardom role as Betty, a sweet young thing who for some unexplained reason is kidnapped by a band of Nazis. The East Side Kids star as the inept group of local toughs who accidentally discover an abandoned house is harboring Nazi saboteurs plotting a takeover--so it is up to them to save Betty and the day! I suppose the misleading title is alluding to the villians and Bela Lugosi as their ringleader (in a thankless part) as the "ghosts," because there certainly are no spooks in this story, apart from the chills our bumbling "heroes" encounter and misinterpret as supernatural in origin. Lighthearted fluff which is entertaining enough if you have nothing better to do (as in my case) and is helped considerably by Gardner's magnetism, breezy pacing, and most of all--the movie's not taking itself seriously.

The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi, Again.
Don't be fooled by the title. Ghosts have nothing to do with this movie. This is another encounter of our hapless heroes with the dark master of the poverty row horror film. This time the East Side Kids find Bela and his gang of Nazi spies occupying a local "haunted" house. These little low budget comedies don't pretend to be any more than they are. This film has the added attraction of a very young Ava Gardner in the unlikely role of Huntz Hall's sister. Bela Lugosi had become a low-budget standby at this point in his career. The East Side Kids, if not lovable, are tolerable in small doses. Due to a misunderstanding that is worthy of the Three Stooges, the boys mistake the deserted house for a honeymoon cottage that needs a good cleaning and decorating. The spooky manse has secret panels, revolving bookcases, paintings with moving eyes, and mysterious people creeping around. The mild thrills and chills are suitable for family viewing. There are a few low brow chuckles, but The East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi had better luck with the earlier "Spooks Run Wild," reviewed elsewhere in Amazon.com. Adjust your expectations accordingly. ;-) ... Read more

Reviews (6)

"I warn you. It's frightening."
That's the warning Dr. James Brewster's medical colleague gives Brewster's sister - - a ghost-hunting psychic - - before she sees Brewster changed into the Ape Man. It's also a warning for us. This is not one of Lugosi's better films. It's barely a step up from what he did with Ed Wood. But in one scene Lugosi evokes more pity than anything in Dracula.

Brewster (the filmmakers should have changed the character's name when they got Lugosi to play the part) injects himself with serum from living victims' spinal columns. (I saw the movie two days ago and I've already forgotten why he needs it.)

We watch Bela Lugosi, by this time fighting drug addiction in real life, shoot up. Then, even through bad monkey makeup, we see the shame and horror on his face as he realizes what he has become.

"I can't fight it," he says.

There's one other interesting thing in the movie. Low-budget pictures made during World War II dealt more explicitly with the fact of men going off to fight than ostensibly better movies with bigger stars. In Holiday Inn (1942) everyone wears dinner clothes and dances and drinks champagne on the Broadway Homefront, while in The Ape Man (1943) the cliché girl photog razzes the cliché cynical reporter about being 4-F (in one month he'll be Seaman Cyncial Reporter and kick Tojo's butt).

The last scene makes it clear the producers had no respect for themselves or their audience. Most of the movie is unspeakably bad. But if you get a chance, watch the first half hour to see one truthful moment with Bela Lugosi.

Uniquely silly Forties horror.
The only thing that saves this effort from a one-star rating is its enjoyable silliness, which is pretty extreme even for poverty row Forties horror flicks. This time, Bela Lugosi is "Dr. Brewster" (yet another Anglo-Saxon name for the exotic Hungarian!), whose unholy experiments with apes have given him a face-encircling beard, a slouching gait, and a tendency to sleep in a cage with his pet gorilla. He needs fresh spinal fluid (human only, please) to restore him to normal, so many complications ensue. His only ally is his sympathetic sister (Minerva Urecal), who addresses him as "you poor boy!" (Lugosi was about 60 at the time.) The film was aparently not even intended to be taken seriously, which is its one small saving grace. Even Lugosi is not as charismatic as usual.

A classic by Beaudine & Katzman.
A Monogram/Banner classic co-produced by Sam Katzman and directed by the one and only William Beaudine. Bela Lugosi is Dr. Brewster who has experimented with spinal fluids from a gorilla on himself. He is now slowly transforming to an ape himself and starts to regret what he has done. So Dr. Brewster and his pet gorilla (!) goes out killing people to get human spinal fluid so he can be cured. This is just as stupid as it sounds, and the film has a total lack of logic. But it's a fun and entertaining movie if you are into the genre of old horrors from the 40's. Well worth a look.

Bela Lugosi goes ape!
Here we have the local mad-scientist and gland expert (Bela Lugosi) working in his basement lab on his latest project. It seems while doing the usual mad-scientist thing of tampering in God's domain, he injected himself with some vaguely defined ape fluid. The ape stuff had some very unfortunate side-effects. Bela now goes around all hunched over, and wearing whiskers and a wig (both very phony). He swings his arms as he walks and mingles words with occasional grunts. Tragically, the only way he can stand upright as a man is to take injections of human spinal fluid. The only way to get human spinal fluid is to render humans inanimate (i.e., dead). The beneficial effect of the injections has become distressingly temporary; it doesn't last long enough for Bela to get rid of the whiskers and wig. Bela has taken to sleeping in the same cramped cage as Mr. Gorilla, his lab animal companion. The sexual overtones of this we won't even discuss.

This low-budget thriller is a good example of bad acting and unintended laughs. Bela Lugosi made some truly classic horror films, but this clunker isn't one of them. Lugosi and his gorilla pal lurking in doorways and alleys remind one of a simian version of Abbott and Costello. Bela is tall and slender while Mr. Gorilla is short and chubby. The snappy dialogue of the newspaper people is meant to be witty, but gets tiresome instead. The WWII jokes hopelessly date the film. The mysterious skinny guy wearing the goofy hat is a silly plot-twist gimmick that emphasizes the poor quality of the story. It's possible that dedicated Bela Lugosi fans or die-hard fans of old horror movies will find value in this movie. The recommended way for anyone else to view this movie is to use it as a "so dumb it's funny" party tape. Just be sure there has been sufficient imbibing of your favorite beverage to dull the senses.

Bela Lugousi needs a shave!!!!!
I really enjoyed Bela in this wacky but still good horror flick. I thought the end was the stupidist part where you find out who the mysterious man is. But other than that it was very good.4 1/2 stars ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The East Side Kids meet Bela Lugosi again!
The East Side Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sammy Morrison, Bobby Stone, Billy Benedict, Stanley Clements) meet Bela Lugosi (Dracula [1931]) again! They met him before as "Nardo" in SPOOKS RUN WILD" (1941). This is the second East Side Kids film William Beaudine has directed since CLANCY STREET BOYS (1943). William Beaudine believes in one takes only if it can be done. It was not rare for an East Side Kid film to be done in six days. Boy did he keep a "one-take" this time! Bela thought he would have some fun. The scene where Bela Lugosi is inside the painting and sneezes the offensive word, "s***", was the first take. So Beaudine left it in the film. The plot this time: Jack (Rick Vallin) is going to marry Betty (Ava Gardner) and they have bought a huge house two miles out in the country from the subway. Later, the agent tells him, the house next door is haunted. Mugg's (Leo Gorcey) gets word that the Katzman's mob (an in-joke to producer, Stan Katzman) will crash the wedding. Bela Lugosi as "Emil" is in town. He doesn't want Jack to have that house on Elm Street. Even Emil's assistant tells him the house next door is haunted. The assistant gives him some cash and a business card to call to close the deal. Of course, he will not. Later, the boys find the card on the floor. The boys decide to decorate Jack's new house , but they go by the number on the card and go to the haunted house instead. They don't know the mistake they made. Watch the fun begin with the boys and Bela Lugosi. This is Bobby Jordan's last appearance with the East Side Kids until BOWERY CHAMPS (1944). Then re-joined them for the Bowery Boys films. The next films in the series: Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943), MILLION DOLLAR KID (1944).

Have to love em!
The East Side Kids/Dead End Kids/Bowery Boys did it again. All your favorite guys are back again for some more fun. If you like Abbott & Costello...The Three Stooges....or The Little Rascals/Our Gang then your going to like these guys. Its fun for the whole family, good viewing you can trust with the kids. Add Bela Lugosi and a little old time spooky fun. Its good to finally see an almost forgotten piece of film history restored thanks to our friend Loyd Kaufman at Troma Studios.

East Side Kids vs. Nazi madmen
Thoroughly inane and forgettable mystery-comedy only worth watching if you are either a fan of so-bad-its-good type of movies and/or Ava Gardner. Beautiful Gardner plays a pre-stardom role as Betty, a sweet young thing who for some unexplained reason is kidnapped by a band of Nazis. The East Side Kids star as the inept group of local toughs who accidentally discover an abandoned house is harboring Nazi saboteurs plotting a takeover--so it is up to them to save Betty and the day! I suppose the misleading title is alluding to the villians and Bela Lugosi as their ringleader (in a thankless part) as the "ghosts," because there certainly are no spooks in this story, apart from the chills our bumbling "heroes" encounter and misinterpret as supernatural in origin. Lighthearted fluff which is entertaining enough if you have nothing better to do (as in my case) and is helped considerably by Gardner's magnetism, breezy pacing, and most of all--the movie's not taking itself seriously.

The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi, Again.
Don't be fooled by the title. Ghosts have nothing to do with this movie. This is another encounter of our hapless heroes with the dark master of the poverty row horror film. This time the East Side Kids find Bela and his gang of Nazi spies occupying a local "haunted" house. These little low budget comedies don't pretend to be any more than they are. This film has the added attraction of a very young Ava Gardner in the unlikely role of Huntz Hall's sister. Bela Lugosi had become a low-budget standby at this point in his career. The East Side Kids, if not lovable, are tolerable in small doses. Due to a misunderstanding that is worthy of the Three Stooges, the boys mistake the deserted house for a honeymoon cottage that needs a good cleaning and decorating. The spooky manse has secret panels, revolving bookcases, paintings with moving eyes, and mysterious people creeping around. The mild thrills and chills are suitable for family viewing. There are a few low brow chuckles, but The East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi had better luck with the earlier "Spooks Run Wild," reviewed elsewhere in Amazon.com. Adjust your expectations accordingly. ;-) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Decent Pickford, Ok Budget Release
I really enjoy silent movies. Especially ones with Mary Pickford. This one, while not her best, or maybe not even one of them, remains to be an enjoyable little movie, from 1925. Having said that, I will not go widely into the story of this movie (I really dont know how to write about it, without spoiling a scene in some way), so instead, I am going to make this a review of the DVD.

This DVD is from Terra Entertainment. It is, as you would have gotten from the title of this review, a budget disc. Funnilly enough, it really is not that bad of a budget release either, but it does have a number of bad points. The music on this disc, that accompanies the film, is horrible. It sounds horrible, and was not for this film either, and it really does not fit with it. Ok, there are a few scenes, when it kind of goes with it, but not many. The print used here, looks very good, and is very watchable all the way through. Sadly though, it is ruined, when a scene in the movie, an important scene, is repeated. Lasting approximately one and a half minutes. This is easy to solve though, since all you do when you notice the scene being repeated, is skip the rest of the chapter, and it takes you to where it should be.

So, as I said, this is actually a decent budget release, with just a few bad points. Since I really like this film, I can recommend it happily, even with the faults on the disc. Although you might want to turn the sound off.

Wildcat Mary!
In Little Annie Rooney, Pickford portrays a feisty, gutsy little character who beats up boys, throws fruit as missiles of war and is extremely resourceful.
Annie's father, Officer Rooney, disapproves of her fighting but she revels in it. Her attempts at denying her involvement are quite charming.
The film is a murder/mystery, involving an innocent character being blamed for the murder. Despite this darker touch, the film is often comedic. Annie's attempt at mounting a horse via flying fox are hilarious. Her protective device in a gang fight scene is a baby pram, from which she hauls well aimed missiles and she throws punches at grubby little boys with a ferocity which cannot but help make one laugh.
Pickford looks suitably childlike in her pom pom hat and little girl dresses but her character has undergone a maturation by the conclusion of the film, to the degree that she is prepared to sacrifice herself for someone she loves.
The film concludes warmly and happily, despite Annie's character having gone through difficult times. This film grossed more than Pickford's previous two, being the typical Pickford characterisation of a little girl who suffers but comes through despite everything. If you love Pickford's work, youll love this one. Just ignore the parts of the soundtrack which are absurdly out of place. It is a heartwarming film and will make you want to see more of her work.

Later Pickford fun, so-so budget disc
Although today Mary Pickford is mainly her known for her child roles, she was actually a versitile actress who alternated her parts accordingly. However, audiences of the time much preferred "Little Mary" to her more mature roles and so, to please her fans, Pickford concocted Little Annie Rooney and it was a huge hit.

Pickford (then in her early thirties) plays the rambuctious preteen daughter of an Irish cop. The dirst act of the movie plays like an episode of Hal Roaches Little Rascals with Pickford's multi-ethnic gang battling fiercely with their rivals. However, there is trouble at home. Annie's older brother is hanging out with a grown-up gang, a groups of ne'er do wells who have pretentions of being big city gangsters.

Meanwhile, Annie developes a crush on the big brother of her arch-rival. William Haines is appealing as Pickford's "grown-up" love interest (Haines was 25 at the time) Pickford's leading mean in the teens were often stodgy and boring next to her spunkiness and it is nice for her to play against a leading man who is equally energetic.

As is usualy for a Pickford film, tragedy strikes and she is forced to save the day in the nick of time.

This is not one of Pickford's best films but it is a very good one, showing her doing what she did best, NOT acting her age. The supporting cast is good although some of the ethnic stereotypes can cause some uncomfortable moments for modern audiences. And Annie's father is forced to speak (via intertitles) in a distractingly Lucky-Charms-Leprachaun-style Irish accent.

The climax is a bit too sappy but Pickford knew her audience expected happy endings and delivered accordingly. These are really the only flaws in an otherwise charming movie.

The same cannot be said for the disc packaging. While the print quality is pretty good (though, as another reviewer mentioned, a scene is repeated for no reason) the soundtrack is highly inappropriate. It was the 30's reissue soundtrack for the D.W. Griffith film "Way Down East" which, with it's themes of marriage and blizzards, utilized the wedding march as well as wintery tunes. This was fine for WDE but it is just terrible when played along with Little Annie Rooney.

Budget discs often cobble together soundtracks out of classical records and I would almost prefer it to this. I can only suggest that viewers turn the movie music down and put on a CD or have a musical friend or relative play along with the movie.

In conclusion, this is a fun, but not brilliant, later Pickford vehicle that delivers all the humor, sentiment and energy Pickford fans can expect. The movie is better than it's packaging.

BUY IT IF- You're a Pickford fan
You like silent comedy
You want an entertaining, light, old movie

YOU WON'T LIKE IT IF- You're into heavy drama
You don't like sentimental movies

Good film, good print, poor score
Little Annie Rooney is a fine Mary Pickford film. She plays a young girl growing up in a rough neighbourhood. The film starts with gang warfare erupting between the kids of the area. These scenes are played mainly for humour even if the missiles they throw at each other are bottles and bricks. No one is seriously hurt and the fighting is good-natured. Pickford does well in this rough-and-tumble battle and shows the tomboy character that is present in many of her films. She can hold her own with any boy and is not about to back down from a challenge. The fighting amongst the slum children is contrasted, in the film, with the more serious and dangerous world of the adult gangster. Annie Rooney is on the brink of growing up and falls for a gangster played by William Haines. But the path of her romance is far from smooth as the film mixes comedy, sentiment and heartbreak in equal measures.

Mary Pickford was in her thirties when she played Annie Rooney, but she could still be convincing playing a young girl. This is partly because she was so small. She is about the same size as the other kids and the adults tower over her. More importantly however, it is her acting which allows the viewer to believe that she really is still a child. The convention of adults playing children has passed into history and it may take some modern viewers a while to get used to it. But once you accept the convention, Pickford's charm and vitality sweeps you along and makes the story engaging, poignant and entertaining. Pickford's role in this film was not limited to acting. The story is credited to one Katherine Hennessey, but this "writer" was Pickford's grandmother who died in 1904. It was Mary who actually wrote the story.

The DVD of Little Annie Rooney is from Terra Entertainment a company which I had not heard of before in connection with silent films. The DVD has a few faults, but on the whole is a reasonable effort and worth the price. The film seems to be complete and the picture quality is very good. The print is in black and white and has very little in the way of apparent damage. The images are clear and sharp with lots of detail. Unfortunately one brief scene, lasting about a minute and a half, is inexplicably repeated. This is a pity as it rather spoils what is a fairly crucial scene in the film. However the worst thing about this DVD is the score. The sound quality is pretty horrible. It sounds like snatches of music from old records, played on a gramophone. At times this music works well, but it does not carefully follow the action of the film and thus it can be extremely inappropriate. For example during a tense part of the film the score plays "Jingle Bells". I'm glad I bought this DVD, as Little Annie Rooney is a very good Pickford film and the DVD's faults did not spoil my enjoyment of it too much. It has to be said though, that there are better Mary Pickford DVDs available than this one. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The East Side Kids meet Bela Lugosi again!
The East Side Kids (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sammy Morrison, Bobby Stone, Billy Benedict, Stanley Clements) meet Bela Lugosi (Dracula [1931]) again! They met him before as "Nardo" in SPOOKS RUN WILD" (1941). This is the second East Side Kids film William Beaudine has directed since CLANCY STREET BOYS (1943). William Beaudine believes in one takes only if it can be done. It was not rare for an East Side Kid film to be done in six days. Boy did he keep a "one-take" this time! Bela thought he would have some fun. The scene where Bela Lugosi is inside the painting and sneezes the offensive word, "s***", was the first take. So Beaudine left it in the film. The plot this time: Jack (Rick Vallin) is going to marry Betty (Ava Gardner) and they have bought a huge house two miles out in the country from the subway. Later, the agent tells him, the house next door is haunted. Mugg's (Leo Gorcey) gets word that the Katzman's mob (an in-joke to producer, Stan Katzman) will crash the wedding. Bela Lugosi as "Emil" is in town. He doesn't want Jack to have that house on Elm Street. Even Emil's assistant tells him the house next door is haunted. The assistant gives him some cash and a business card to call to close the deal. Of course, he will not. Later, the boys find the card on the floor. The boys decide to decorate Jack's new house , but they go by the number on the card and go to the haunted house instead. They don't know the mistake they made. Watch the fun begin with the boys and Bela Lugosi. This is Bobby Jordan's last appearance with the East Side Kids until BOWERY CHAMPS (1944). Then re-joined them for the Bowery Boys films. The next films in the series: Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943), MILLION DOLLAR KID (1944).

Have to love em!
The East Side Kids/Dead End Kids/Bowery Boys did it again. All your favorite guys are back again for some more fun. If you like Abbott & Costello...The Three Stooges....or The Little Rascals/Our Gang then your going to like these guys. Its fun for the whole family, good viewing you can trust with the kids. Add Bela Lugosi and a little old time spooky fun. Its good to finally see an almost forgotten piece of film history restored thanks to our friend Loyd Kaufman at Troma Studios.

East Side Kids vs. Nazi madmen
Thoroughly inane and forgettable mystery-comedy only worth watching if you are either a fan of so-bad-its-good type of movies and/or Ava Gardner. Beautiful Gardner plays a pre-stardom role as Betty, a sweet young thing who for some unexplained reason is kidnapped by a band of Nazis. The East Side Kids star as the inept group of local toughs who accidentally discover an abandoned house is harboring Nazi saboteurs plotting a takeover--so it is up to them to save Betty and the day! I suppose the misleading title is alluding to the villians and Bela Lugosi as their ringleader (in a thankless part) as the "ghosts," because there certainly are no spooks in this story, apart from the chills our bumbling "heroes" encounter and misinterpret as supernatural in origin. Lighthearted fluff which is entertaining enough if you have nothing better to do (as in my case) and is helped considerably by Gardner's magnetism, breezy pacing, and most of all--the movie's not taking itself seriously.

The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi, Again.
Don't be fooled by the title. Ghosts have nothing to do with this movie. This is another encounter of our hapless heroes with the dark master of the poverty row horror film. This time the East Side Kids find Bela and his gang of Nazi spies occupying a local "haunted" house. These little low budget comedies don't pretend to be any more than they are. This film has the added attraction of a very young Ava Gardner in the unlikely role of Huntz Hall's sister. Bela Lugosi had become a low-budget standby at this point in his career. The East Side Kids, if not lovable, are tolerable in small doses. Due to a misunderstanding that is worthy of the Three Stooges, the boys mistake the deserted house for a honeymoon cottage that needs a good cleaning and decorating. The spooky manse has secret panels, revolving bookcases, paintings with moving eyes, and mysterious people creeping around. The mild thrills and chills are suitable for family viewing. There are a few low brow chuckles, but The East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi had better luck with the earlier "Spooks Run Wild," reviewed elsewhere in Amazon.com. Adjust your expectations accordingly. ;-) ... Read more

Reviews (6)

"I warn you. It's frightening."
That's the warning Dr. James Brewster's medical colleague gives Brewster's sister - - a ghost-hunting psychic - - before she sees Brewster changed into the Ape Man. It's also a warning for us. This is not one of Lugosi's better films. It's barely a step up from what he did with Ed Wood. But in one scene Lugosi evokes more pity than anything in Dracula.

Brewster (the filmmakers should have changed the character's name when they got Lugosi to play the part) injects himself with serum from living victims' spinal columns. (I saw the movie two days ago and I've already forgotten why he needs it.)

We watch Bela Lugosi, by this time fighting drug addiction in real life, shoot up. Then, even through bad monkey makeup, we see the shame and horror on his face as he realizes what he has become.

"I can't fight it," he says.

There's one other interesting thing in the movie. Low-budget pictures made during World War II dealt more explicitly with the fact of men going off to fight than ostensibly better movies with bigger stars. In Holiday Inn (1942) everyone wears dinner clothes and dances and drinks champagne on the Broadway Homefront, while in The Ape Man (1943) the cliché girl photog razzes the cliché cynical reporter about being 4-F (in one month he'll be Seaman Cyncial Reporter and kick Tojo's butt).

The last scene makes it clear the producers had no respect for themselves or their audience. Most of the movie is unspeakably bad. But if you get a chance, watch the first half hour to see one truthful moment with Bela Lugosi.

Uniquely silly Forties horror.
The only thing that saves this effort from a one-star rating is its enjoyable silliness, which is pretty extreme even for poverty row Forties horror flicks. This time, Bela Lugosi is "Dr. Brewster" (yet another Anglo-Saxon name for the exotic Hungarian!), whose unholy experiments with apes have given him a face-encircling beard, a slouching gait, and a tendency to sleep in a cage with his pet gorilla. He needs fresh spinal fluid (human only, please) to restore him to normal, so many complications ensue. His only ally is his sympathetic sister (Minerva Urecal), who addresses him as "you poor boy!" (Lugosi was about 60 at the time.) The film was aparently not even intended to be taken seriously, which is its one small saving grace. Even Lugosi is not as charismatic as usual.

A classic by Beaudine & Katzman.
A Monogram/Banner classic co-produced by Sam Katzman and directed by the one and only William Beaudine. Bela Lugosi is Dr. Brewster who has experimented with spinal fluids from a gorilla on himself. He is now slowly transforming to an ape himself and starts to regret what he has done. So Dr. Brewster and his pet gorilla (!) goes out killing people to get human spinal fluid so he can be cured. This is just as stupid as it sounds, and the film has a total lack of logic. But it's a fun and entertaining movie if you are into the genre of old horrors from the 40's. Well worth a look.

Bela Lugosi goes ape!
Here we have the local mad-scientist and gland expert (Bela Lugosi) working in his basement lab on his latest project. It seems while doing the usual mad-scientist thing of tampering in God's domain, he injected himself with some vaguely defined ape fluid. The ape stuff had some very unfortunate side-effects. Bela now goes around all hunched over, and wearing whiskers and a wig (both very phony). He swings his arms as he walks and mingles words with occasional grunts. Tragically, the only way he can stand upright as a man is to take injections of human spinal fluid. The only way to get human spinal fluid is to render humans inanimate (i.e., dead). The beneficial effect of the injections has become distressingly temporary; it doesn't last long enough for Bela to get rid of the whiskers and wig. Bela has taken to sleeping in the same cramped cage as Mr. Gorilla, his lab animal companion. The sexual overtones of this we won't even discuss.

This low-budget thriller is a good example of bad acting and unintended laughs. Bela Lugosi made some truly classic horror films, but this clunker isn't one of them. Lugosi and his gorilla pal lurking in doorways and alleys remind one of a simian version of Abbott and Costello. Bela is tall and slender while Mr. Gorilla is short and chubby. The snappy dialogue of the newspaper people is meant to be witty, but gets tiresome instead. The WWII jokes hopelessly date the film. The mysterious skinny guy wearing the goofy hat is a silly plot-twist gimmick that emphasizes the poor quality of the story. It's possible that dedicated Bela Lugosi fans or die-hard fans of old horror movies will find value in this movie. The recommended way for anyone else to view this movie is to use it as a "so dumb it's funny" party tape. Just be sure there has been sufficient imbibing of your favorite beverage to dull the senses.

Bela Lugousi needs a shave!!!!!
I really enjoyed Bela in this wacky but still good horror flick. I thought the end was the stupidist part where you find out who the mysterious man is. But other than that it was very good.4 1/2 stars ... Read more

Reviews (8)

William Beaudine Made Over 500 Films. This Is One Of Them.
This is an amazing film. It is the last film ever made by William "One Shot" Beaudine, and was a real resume killer for almost everyone in the cast as well. This is the sequel to "Billy The Kid Versus Dracula" (Beaudine's second to last film) which starred John Carradine. Carradine said that "Billy The Kid Versus Dracula" was the worst movie he ever made. That is saying something coming from John Carradine. Now imagine that this film is the sequel. I have seen both, and I think that "Billy The Kid Versus Dracula" is marginally worse, but I can't imagine seeing these on a double bill, which is how they were typically shown.

The thing that makes this DVD special is the commentary track by Joe Bob Briggs. Joe Bob is a genius in his own right, and is super knowledgeable about any type of Grade B movies. Here he gives us the rundown of the cast and location history, and points out continuity gaffes which are so numerous that some of them would probably escape notice due to sheer volume without his help.

In the film Jesse and his gang have a rendezvous with fate with Dr. Frankenstein's granddaughter (Yeah, I know the title is inaccurate. It isn't the only thing in the film, either.) There are several subplots, most of which don't make sense, and possibly the single most stupefying ending in cinema history. The only thing really well done here is Igor's skull scar. Prepare yourself to laugh at everything else.

I watched the film without the commentary once, and with the commentary once. My advice is to just watch it with the commentary. Joe Bob makes sure you listen in whenever anything important happens (which isn't often) and provides plot summation throughout the film anyhow. Another reason is that sometimes the sound is poor and some of the cast (especially Narda Onyx and Estrelita) have bad accents and diction problems.

The movie gets five stars with Joe Bob's commentary turned on. With the commentary turned off it would get two simply as a lifetime achievement award for William Beaudine.

Great movie? No. Great commentary? Of course!
I can't speak for anyone else, but I bought this DVD solely for the Joe Bob Briggs commentary. I would watch him late at night on MonsterVision and always thought he was hilarious, and could also improve a film by interjecting interesting facts about it. He's a very well educated and talented writer and has a fantastic screen and voice presence. That makes him great on stuff like this.

"The stuff" in question... isn't so good. I love schlocky B-movies as much as the next person, but Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter beats the original Frankenstein's Daughter in the dull department- and that's saying a LOT. I couldn't imagine watching the whole thing without Briggs funny and enlightening commentary. Buy this if you're a fan of the film of Briggs, but if you're expecting a classic horror or western movie- search elsewhere.

The other half of the "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula" twin bill
I think it is safe to say that more people have heard about "Billy the Kid versus Dracula," the 1966 drive-in flick that had John Carradine hamming it up as the vampire count who is involved in a love triangle with the infamous American outlaw suddenly turned good guy, than have actually seen the film. But somehow I managed to remain ignorant of "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter," made by the same writer (Carl K. Hittleman) and same director (William Beaudine) that same year (1966). Part of the reason that this film has seeped through the cracks of pop culture history is that it lacks the redeeming campy nature of the other film, which was at least laughably bad. This one will just make you wince.

"Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" flips the situation of "Billy the Kid versus Dracula" with the cowboy coming to the monster this time around. Jesse James (John Lupton) is being pursued by Marhsal MacPhee (Jim Davis; that is right, Jock Ewing himself), so he hides out in Baron Frankenstein's hacienda, which is now being run by his granddaughter Maria (Narda Onyx) and her brother Rudolph (Steven Geray), both of whom have pretty bad fake German accents. She is a chip off the old mad scientist's block, and promptly turns Jesse's less than intelligent sidekick, Hank Tracy (Cal Bolder), into a bald zombie now named Igor. She has been experimenting with brain transplants on the local young boys and that has not been working out so well.

Believe it or not "historically" this film takes place between the disastrous James gang attempt to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota and Jesse's death (Jesse even calls himself "Mr. Howard"). There is also the Wild Bunch, led by Butch Curry, so that a large part of this film is a relatively straightforward western. It is only when Hank needs a doctor that Jesse ends up over at the Frankenstein place; however, I defy you to explain why Juanita (Estelita Rodriquez) would take anybody back there now that she has finally succeeded in getting away from the crazy sibling tag team. This film is literally a collision between these two genres, like Hittleman wrote two scripts for two different genres and then mixed them together.

If for some reason you feel compelled to watch this film, then I would strongly suggest you check out the DVD version, which benefits from being presented by Joe Bob Briggs. That alone has got to double the entertainment value of watching "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter." If you decided to do a drive-in double feature by screening both this one and "Billy the Kid versus Dracula," the order in which you view the two films is pretty much irrelevant (i.e., I have no opinion on which order would either provide the most fun or result in the least amount of harm to your cinematic sensibilities).

"Blazing Saddles" Meets "Young Frankenstein"
Maria Frankenstein and her brother Rudolph have fled from Vienna, and have relocated to an abandoned mission in Arizona. Maria is trying to create the perfect zombie slave by replacing a man's brain with an artificial brain, but her experiments have all been failures. Maybe that's because her brother is opposed to the idea, and keeps injecting her patients with poison. Jesse James and his partner Hank Tracy join another outlaw gang to rob a stagecoach. Hank, a dimwitted, muscular giant, gets shot in the process. Jesse and Hank manage to escape and, along their travels, meet up with a peasant girl named Juanita. With her help, they make it to Doctor Frankenstein's place.

Drooling over the hulk Hank, the good Doctor operates on him to remove the bullet, and later operates on him to remove his brain. She successfully transplants the artificial brain, and renames her creation Igor. The first thing Maria does is to order Igor to kill her brother before Rudolph can inject him with poison. When Juanita and Jesse arrive on the scene, Maria orders Igor to kill Juanita. Unbeknownst to her, the big lug is sweet on Juanita. In the grand tradition of Frankenstein movies, the creation disobeys orders and kills its creator. After Igor kills Maria, he attacks his partner in crime. Juanita shoots Igor dead before he can kill Jesse James. Some may criticize this movie because of the basic incompatibility of the Western and horror movie genres, or because of its absurd plot. Still others will point to the bargain basement sets, the corny dialogue and the wooden acting. As for myself, I gave this movie five stars because it's so bad it's good!

Ouch! This movie's bad!
I purchased this movie just to see how campy it would be and it was terrible. I can't believe that William Beaudine (Producer) actually thought that this flick would sell? Anyway, I thought it would be fun but, it was one big waste of time...

Two thumbs down. Purchase it only if you must but, I wanted it for my collection. ... Read more