The Mad Monster
Encyclopedia
The Mad Monster is an American horror film
released in 1942
by P.R.C. (Producers Releasing Corporation
), a Poverty Row
studio. The film, a B-movie
shot in black and white, features a mad scientist
and a werewolf
as the main characters. Directed by Sam Newfield
and written by Fred Myton, the film—Poverty Row's only Werewolf movie—stars George Zucco, Glen Strange and Anne Nagel. Its running time is 77 minutes and it was featured in an episode of the cult classic TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000
" in 1989
.
The story begins on a fog-bound moonlight night in a swamp; a wolf howls. The scene shifts to the nearby laboratory of Dr. Lorenzo Cameron (George Zucco
), who draws blood from a caged wolf. Secured to a table is Dr. Cameron's simpleminded but strong gardener, Petro (Glenn Strange
), who is to be the doctor's subject in an experiment. Dr. Cameron injects a serum made from a wolf's blood into the cooperative Petro, who loses consciousness, grows fur and fangs, and awakens after he has completely turned into a wolf man.
Dr. Cameron then turns to an empty table and visualizes his former colleagues sitting there—four professors who ridiculed his theory that transfusions of wolf blood could be used to give a human being wolf-like traits. He recalls how the scientific community, the press and the public joined in a resounding chorus of ridicule, which cost Cameron his position at the University.
Addressing the spectral professors, Cameron declares, "Right now, we're at war. At war with an enemy that produces a horde that strikes with a ferocious fanaticism". Cameron proposes giving wolf man traits to the army to help with the war. When the professors scoff, Cameron says that his proposal matters no longer; he is now going to have his wolf man kill his former colleagues. Cameron then administers an antidote to Petro that transforms him back into a human; Petro remembers nothing.
The following night, Cameron turns Petro into a wolf and sends him to the swamp. Before the night is over Petro has entered a nearby home and killed a little girl. When Cameron hears of the child's fate, he knows his formula works. He turns to his real priority which is destroying the scientists who ruined his career. The rest of the film involves Cameron setting up elaborate scenarios in which Petro is alone with each scientist when he becomes a wolf. The more he does this the more Petro's transformations into a wolf man become unpredictable.
Cameron's daughter Lenora (Anne Nagel
) is romantically involved with Tom Gregory (Johnny Downs
), a newspaper reporter who is investigating the death of the little girl. As the professors are killed off one by one, Gregory begins to suspect that Cameron is behind the slayings.
The principals are in the Cameron home when a thunderstorm begins and a bolt of lightning sets Cameron's laboratory on fire. Lenora and Tom escape from the house after encountering Petro in wolf form. Petro turns on Cameron and kills him, just before the fire brings the house down on both of them.
The story takes place in a non urban country area filled with fog, howling wolves, swamps and uneducated, superstitious country people who live in simple homes. Dr. Cameron lives and does his work in a house that is opulent and at the same time Gothic. The house has a retro Medieval look which includes large doors and a mason stonewalled secret room in which Cameron uses as a laboratory. Tom Gregory refers to the house as a "Haunted Castle". A nearby town in which one of the Cameron's intended victims lives is called Ashton. A conversation between Gregory and a police officer after the mans murder suggests that the town is not very near. No city is ever named and we never learn where in the country any of these places are.
The clothes, cars, and telephones suggest that the story takes place in the then present of the 1940s. The film does not make it clear exactly which year or any precise date in which the story takes place.
folklore is downplayed, and the word "werewolf" is mentioned in the film only by an old country woman. In one scene Cameron does refer to him as a wolf man and says Petro has wolf like traits from the transfusion. In another scene a still human Petro tells Lenora that voices from the swamp are telling him to do something terrible. In still another scene Petro seems to be bulletproof. These two seemingly supernatural
events go unexplained.
In wolf form, Petro has a beetled brow and long neat hair. He has a beard but no mustache. Other physical traits include large fangs and hair on the back of his hands. Petro wears the same overalls he wears in human form.
released in 1942. Cry of the Werewolf
was the next werewolf themed motion picture to be released. Next, There was a werewolf in The Return of the Vampire
. Both of these films were released in 1944. In 1946 there was the film She-Wolf of London. There were other human to animal transformation films released in the 1940s, such as Cat People and 1943's Captive Wild Woman
. Of course there is still the classic film with Lon Chaney Jr. as the tormented human/animal in The Wolf man.
The reason for the popularity of such stories in that era is unclear. What is clear is that man into animal stories are a noted part of that era's popular culture. It is also clear that The Mad Monster was a typical product of its time.
2.The Encyclopedia of Monsters by Jeff Rovin. Published by Facts on file co 1989
3.The Monster Show, revised edition by David J.Skal.new edition co.2001
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
released in 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
by P.R.C. (Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was one of the more lower-end Hollywood film studios on Poverty Row from the late '30s to the mid-'40s. PRC, as it was commonly known, made low-budget B-movies for the lower-half of a double bill. A few of its films have gained a respectable reputation over the...
), a Poverty Row
Poverty Row
Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of small and mostly short-lived B movie studios...
studio. The film, a B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
shot in black and white, features a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
and a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
as the main characters. Directed by Sam Newfield
Sam Newfield
Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American B-movie director, with over 250 feature films to his credit, and a large number of shorts, training films, industrial films, TV episodes, and pretty much anything anyone would pay him for...
and written by Fred Myton, the film—Poverty Row's only Werewolf movie—stars George Zucco, Glen Strange and Anne Nagel. Its running time is 77 minutes and it was featured in an episode of the cult classic TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
" in 1989
1989 in television
For the American TV schedule, see: 1989–90 United States network television schedule.The year 1989 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1989.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
.
Plot
The plot involves a scientist who has been discredited by his peers. He attempts to kill them off after he develops a secret formula that transforms his gardener into a murderous wolf man.The story begins on a fog-bound moonlight night in a swamp; a wolf howls. The scene shifts to the nearby laboratory of Dr. Lorenzo Cameron (George Zucco
George Zucco
George Desylla Zucco was an English character actor who appeared, almost always in supporting roles, in 96 films during a career spanning two decades, from 1931 to 1951. He is fondly remembered for his roles in classic horror films.-Early life:Zucco was born in Manchester, England...
), who draws blood from a caged wolf. Secured to a table is Dr. Cameron's simpleminded but strong gardener, Petro (Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange was an American actor who appeared mostly in Western films. He is best known for playing the Frankenstein Monster in three Universal films during the 1940s and for his role as Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series...
), who is to be the doctor's subject in an experiment. Dr. Cameron injects a serum made from a wolf's blood into the cooperative Petro, who loses consciousness, grows fur and fangs, and awakens after he has completely turned into a wolf man.
Dr. Cameron then turns to an empty table and visualizes his former colleagues sitting there—four professors who ridiculed his theory that transfusions of wolf blood could be used to give a human being wolf-like traits. He recalls how the scientific community, the press and the public joined in a resounding chorus of ridicule, which cost Cameron his position at the University.
Addressing the spectral professors, Cameron declares, "Right now, we're at war. At war with an enemy that produces a horde that strikes with a ferocious fanaticism". Cameron proposes giving wolf man traits to the army to help with the war. When the professors scoff, Cameron says that his proposal matters no longer; he is now going to have his wolf man kill his former colleagues. Cameron then administers an antidote to Petro that transforms him back into a human; Petro remembers nothing.
The following night, Cameron turns Petro into a wolf and sends him to the swamp. Before the night is over Petro has entered a nearby home and killed a little girl. When Cameron hears of the child's fate, he knows his formula works. He turns to his real priority which is destroying the scientists who ruined his career. The rest of the film involves Cameron setting up elaborate scenarios in which Petro is alone with each scientist when he becomes a wolf. The more he does this the more Petro's transformations into a wolf man become unpredictable.
Cameron's daughter Lenora (Anne Nagel
Anne Nagel
Anne Nagel was an American actress. She played in adventures, mysteries, and comedies for twenty-five years. She also appeared in television series in the 1950s.-Career:...
) is romantically involved with Tom Gregory (Johnny Downs
Johnny Downs
Johnny Downs was an American actor. Son of a Naval aviator, he was taken to Hollywood in 1921 when his father was transferred to the San Diego naval base. He began his career as a child actor, most notably playing Johnny in the Our Gang short series from 1923 to 1926...
), a newspaper reporter who is investigating the death of the little girl. As the professors are killed off one by one, Gregory begins to suspect that Cameron is behind the slayings.
The principals are in the Cameron home when a thunderstorm begins and a bolt of lightning sets Cameron's laboratory on fire. Lenora and Tom escape from the house after encountering Petro in wolf form. Petro turns on Cameron and kills him, just before the fire brings the house down on both of them.
Setting
Cameron's reference to being at war against a fanatical adversary specifies no particular war and the subject is never mentioned again.The story takes place in a non urban country area filled with fog, howling wolves, swamps and uneducated, superstitious country people who live in simple homes. Dr. Cameron lives and does his work in a house that is opulent and at the same time Gothic. The house has a retro Medieval look which includes large doors and a mason stonewalled secret room in which Cameron uses as a laboratory. Tom Gregory refers to the house as a "Haunted Castle". A nearby town in which one of the Cameron's intended victims lives is called Ashton. A conversation between Gregory and a police officer after the mans murder suggests that the town is not very near. No city is ever named and we never learn where in the country any of these places are.
The clothes, cars, and telephones suggest that the story takes place in the then present of the 1940s. The film does not make it clear exactly which year or any precise date in which the story takes place.
Description of the monster
Petro is a chemically mutated human who becomes a werewolf because of a process of blood transfusion and injection. WerewolfWerewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
folklore is downplayed, and the word "werewolf" is mentioned in the film only by an old country woman. In one scene Cameron does refer to him as a wolf man and says Petro has wolf like traits from the transfusion. In another scene a still human Petro tells Lenora that voices from the swamp are telling him to do something terrible. In still another scene Petro seems to be bulletproof. These two seemingly supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
events go unexplained.
In wolf form, Petro has a beetled brow and long neat hair. He has a beard but no mustache. Other physical traits include large fangs and hair on the back of his hands. Petro wears the same overalls he wears in human form.
Other 1940s man into animal films
Man into animal stories were popular in the 1940s. There were films such as Pinocchio, which showed boys turning into donkeys. In addition to The Mad Monster other films featuring the Werewolf that were released during the 1940s include The Undying MonsterThe Undying Monster
The Undying Monster is a 1942 horror and mystery film, also known as The Hammond Mystery, featuring a werewolf as the primary antagonist...
released in 1942. Cry of the Werewolf
Cry of the Werewolf
Cry of the Werewolf, also known as Daughter of the Werewolf, is a 1944 film starring Nina Foch, based on a story by Griffin Jay and directed by Henry Levin.-Plot summary:...
was the next werewolf themed motion picture to be released. Next, There was a werewolf in The Return of the Vampire
The Return of the Vampire
The Return of the Vampire is a horror film released in 1944 by Columbia Pictures. It is in black and white, and describes an Englishwoman's two encounters with a vampire...
. Both of these films were released in 1944. In 1946 there was the film She-Wolf of London. There were other human to animal transformation films released in the 1940s, such as Cat People and 1943's Captive Wild Woman
Captive Wild Woman
Captive Wild Woman is a sci-fi horror film, starring John Carradine, Milburn Stone, Evelyn Ankers, and Acquanetta. It was released by Universal Pictures and was directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Plot:...
. Of course there is still the classic film with Lon Chaney Jr. as the tormented human/animal in The Wolf man.
The reason for the popularity of such stories in that era is unclear. What is clear is that man into animal stories are a noted part of that era's popular culture. It is also clear that The Mad Monster was a typical product of its time.
Sources
1.The Mad Monster DVD2.The Encyclopedia of Monsters by Jeff Rovin. Published by Facts on file co 1989
3.The Monster Show, revised edition by David J.Skal.new edition co.2001