Creeping Horror

From the vaults of Universal come four more tales of terror, featuring once again an array of ‘genre stars’ – this time Lionell Atwill, Bela Lugosi and Rondo Hatton to name but a few. Available for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, this 2-Disc set will no doubt delight and scare connoisseurs of vintage horror plus, the first print run (2000 copies) will be presented in Limited Edition O-card Slipcase with Collectors Booklet!

The first two films both feature the at one time revered English stage actor Lionel Atwill (from Broadway to Universal Horrors) who was indeed a very busy movie star in the 30's. 1933 was another good year for Atwill and MURDERS IN THE ZOO (dir. A. Edward Sutherland) was made shortly after the classic 'Mystery of the Wax Museum'. Here we see the bullnecked Atwill playing yet another psycho, namely wealthy, ruthless (these two traits often go together) and passionate big-game hunter Eric Gorman, who also happens to be a zoologist. It is only too clear from the sensational beginning as to what kind of man Gorman is when on a jungle expedition, he sews another man's lips together whilst uttering: “He'll never kiss another man's wife”… leaving the poor sod, who dared to kiss his wife, to die defenceless in the jungle, with the rest of the party too intimidated to interfere. Of course, Gorman is far more interested in wild animals than in his wife Evelyn (Kathleen Burke) who feels trapped in her loveless marriage – nonetheless, he is as possessive and jealous towards her as he is with everything else. Whilst returning to the States on a ship, the unhappy Evelyn begins a romance with a certain Roger Hewitt (John Lodge) but we know that his days are numbered when Gorman gets wind of the affair…

Enter top-billed Charlie Ruggles as sharp-cracking press agent Peter Yates (who also provides the comic relief thanks to his phobia of almost every animal in the zoo!) who comes up with a great idea for the zoo’s spectacular launch party (exhibiting Gorman's exotic finds, among them a deadly green mamba). Yates’ idea is to have the town's dignitaries invited to a luxurious dinner amid the caged wild animals but disaster strikes when Roger Hewitt is bitten by the escaped mamba and promptly snuffs it. It really is quite ingenious how the mad Gorman achieves this 'accident’. Handsome reptile expert Dr. Jack Woodford (Western legend Randolph Scott) is the unfortunate scapegoat when the dastardly Gorman tries to blame him for the accident though Evelyn, devastated over Yates’ untimely death, has an inkling as to who the real culprit is… and promptly pays with her life for her suspicion during the film’s most infamous scene… oh, that little wooden bridge over an open crocodile pond is just begging for a nasty accident (never in a million years would any zoo have a crocodile pond like this one). Thanks to Dr. Woodwards’ feisty assistant cum love interest Jerry Evans (Gail Patrick), Gorman will get his much-deserved comeuppance. Although not the greatest or most original of plots, Atwill is at his best here, though those suffering from a phobia of snakes may want to think twice before watching this fast-moving thriller.

Next up is NIGHT MONSTER from 1942 (dir. Ford Beebe), boasting Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill in the lead roles. True that the two actors were the biggest names but at the time this B-feature was made both their careers were on a downward slide. The film was sold on their names presumably - but in truth this is a bit of a con as Lugosi's part of the slightly sinister butler Rolf is secondary and Atwill is not around for too long. The actual leading parts are played by Ralph Morgan as the reclusive, wheelchair-bound and respectable Curt Ingston, and Leif Ericsson as lecherous chauffeur Laurie. Ingston has invited three illustrious surgeons to his mansion; all who were trying to cure him when his paralysis kicked in, resulting in the loss of limbs. They are Dr. King (Lionel Atwill), Dr. Phipps (Francis Pierlot) and Dr. Timmons (Frank Reicher). Another guest is female psychiatrist Dr. Lynn Harper (Irene Harvey) who has been secretly summoned by Margaret Ingston (Fay Helm), Curt’s sister who is apparently rather mad and mentally disturbed. To round off this motley crew is butler Rolf (Lugosi) who is always in a bad mood no matter what (it must have been the part), mannish housekeeper Miss Sarah Judd (Doris Lloyd), and old hunchback Torque (Cyril Delavanti) whose task it is to decide who is allowed to enter the estate and who is not.

Finally, there is mystery writer Dick Baldwin (Don Porter) who finds himself in the Ingston mansion after Dr. Harper’s car broke down near a swamp (never offer a lift to strangers) and Eastern mystic Agor Singh (Swedish actor Nils Asther playing a turbaned Asian). As soon as we lay eyes on this fellow we know that this is no ordinary man. During dinner, Curt Ingston accuses the three assembled doctors again of being responsible for his appalling condition due to their ineptitude and invites the guests to witness a ‘miracle’ of sorts, that is to say Agor Singh succeeding in the physical materialization of a life-size skeleton which appears before everyone’s eyes and without that proverbial safety net - but why does it hold a tray with a bloodied hand? It is what Agor has to say that is particularly intriguing because he claims that by sheer willpower, a man who has lost his limbs can ‘conjure’ them back (but at what price?). This is a vital clue to the mystery which soon sees the body count rising…. The film is nicely lit and is soaked in atmosphere - but it is also rather similar (especially with regards to the regrowth of lost limbs) to the earlier and much stronger 1932 Atwill vehicle 'Dr X'.

The third movie is HORROR ISLAND from 1941 (now, there is a film which is definitely soaked in atmosphere!), directed by George Waggner and which benefits from the electric on-screen chemistry of its two stars Dick Foran and Peggy Moran. Oh, and did I mention that this entertaining whodunnit has it all? A mysterious phantom – check! Ghosts – check! A creepy castle – check! Murder most foul – check! A buried pirate treasure – check! A little romance – check! But let’s not get carried away and start at the beginning, to be more precise somewhere on the Florida coast where Princeton University graduate Bill Martin (Dick Foran) has the dubious pleasure of being the proud owner of a small and nearby island called ‘Morgan’s Island’. The entire lot is pretty useless and Bill, a ‘landlubber’ who is involved in various money-making schemes (not that he ever earns much of a crust) likes nothing better than coming up with new plans, usually assisted by ‘Stuff’ Oliver (Fuzzy Knight), his best mate and compadre in crime. One of the on-going jokes throughout the film is that various debt collectors are always after Bill, who usually pretends to be a relative of his who doesn’t now where Bill is… However, Bill’s bad luck seems to take a turn for the better when, by coincidence, he makes the acquaintance of Tobias Clump (Leo Carrillo) – a peg-legged old sailor who had just been pushed into the water by a mysterious, black-clad Phantom (Foy Van Dolsen) because he was after a treasure map which Tobias had on him. Unfortunately for the Phantom, the map ripped during Tobias’ fall and now each has half of the map.

After Bill fishes the old salty sea dog out of the water he realises that the map is apparently a treasure map that once belonged to notorious pirate Sir Henry Morgan and – would you believe it – the treasure is supposed to be buried on Morgan Island! Of course, Bill immediately dismisses his cousin George Martin’s (John Eldredge) offer to purchase the island for $20,000… only to regret it a short time later when the apparent treasure map turns out to be a fake. Fear not, Bill has already worked out his next master plan: advertise a (fake) treasure hunt for hapless tourists on Morgan Island! Before the plan can be put into action, however, Bill gets caught up in a traffic collision when fabulously wealthy Wendy Creighton (Peggy Moran), accompanied by her toy boy Thurman Coldwater (Lewis Howard) crashes into Bill – or was it the other way around? As part of the ‘settlement’ Bill offers Wendy an opportunity to come along on the treasure hunt and even promises her a huge chunk of money (knowing full well the map is a fake). However, once the boat – complete with several tourists – is chartered, both he and Stuff Oliver get a lot more than they bargained for… and the Phantom is the least of their worries…

Last up is this reviewer's favourite of the lot: HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946), directed by prolific journeyman and B-feature king Jean Yarbrough from a screenplay by the prolific George Bricker. Here we have Martin Kosleck as misunderstood sculptor Marcel De Lange, living in near poverty with nothing but a cat for company with whom he shares his meagre supply of food (although he does have a pretty large studio for someone who is broke). His Cubist work is actually 'very futuristic' and possibly Dali-inspired. Well, not everything is relative but art certainly is (how much would you have paid for Tracy Emin's ‘My Bed’?). It appears that some reasonably wealthy collector has agreed to purchase one of Marcel's works but unsure as to how good the piece is, he brings top art critic F. Holmes Harmon (Alan Napier) along. Harmon is a cynical, nasty piece of work (rare to see the extraordinarily tall English actor playing a role like this) who promptly denounces the artwork as “tripe”, thus preventing any sale. If this isn't bad enough, the following day he also writes a scathing review of Marcel's work. Devastated and bitter, Marcel, who was relying on the sale, heads for the river to commit suicide when he encounters someone attempting to climb out of the river. The ‘someone’ in question is none other than notorious spine-breaking murderer ‘The Creeper’ (played by the unfortunate Rondo Hatton, who was once described as the best-looking boy in his college before he developed an extreme case of acromegaly in later years, making him more look like a Neanderthal). Marcel helps him out of the river, takes him home and a friendship begins. Two lost souls thrown together by chance. When Marcel tells the Creeper about the situation that has befallen him, he promptly decides to avenge the hurt his new (and only friend) has had to endure mainly as a result of Harmon's review.

Meanwhile, female reporter Joan Medford (Virginia Gray) pays the loathsome Harmon a visit, hoping to persuade him to take it easy on her artist boyfriend Stephen Morrow's (Robert Lowery) work. Harmon (also a lech) invites her out to dinner (doubtless with an unsavoury motive) and shortly afterwards comes to a sticky end. The police suspect the boyfriend as a result of yet another career threatening review penned by Harmon. It is now down to our roving reporter to see justice done but little does she know the danger she’ll find herself in after a visit to Marcel’s studio where he is working on his ‘greatest piece’ yet: a bust of the Creeper's hideously malformed head. Director Yarbrough keeps the pace up nicely here. It would be only too easy to see Peter Lorre and George Sanders in the De Lange and Harmon roles but both Kosleck and Napier are fine. As for poor Rondo Hatton... whether or not he actually had any ability as an actor doesn't really come into it as he was once described as “The only monster who went home and didn't have to take his make up off” (Hatton died the next year after making one more film with Yarbrough).

Additional Bonus Features include Optional English SDH, audio commentaries, stills galleries plus trailers for ‘Night Monster’ and ‘Murder in the Zoo’.