Maniac (1934)

User Rating:

2.7/10   

Director:

Dwain Esper

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story)
Hildegarde Stadie (writer)

Release Date:

11 September 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He menaced women with weird desires!

Plot:

An ex-vaudeville actor is the assistant to a doctor with Frankenstein aspirations. After murdering the doctor...

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Cat | Disguise | Re Animate | Estranged Wife

Cast

William Woods	...	Don Maxwell (as Bill Woods)
Horace B. Carpenter	...	Dr. Meirschultz
Ted Edwards	...	Buckley
Phyllis Diller	...	Mrs. Buckley
Thea Ramsey	...	Alice Maxwell
Jenny Dark	...	Maizie
Marvelle Andre	...	Marvel (as Marvel Andre)
Celia McCann	...	Jo
John P. Wade	...	Embalmer (as J.P. Wade)
Marian Constance Blackton	...	Neighbor (as Marian Blackton)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Satan	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Sex Maniac

Runtime:

51 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (DVD) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Roadshow Attractions

Trivia:

This film is listed among The 100 Most Amusingly Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE® MOVIE GUIDE.

Goofs:

Continuity: At one point Maxwell chases down a cat and appears to gouge out its eye (the notorious one eyed cat sequence). The cat he chases is clearly solid black in color, but the one eyed cat director Esper used for this gag is not black or even all of one color.

Quotes:

Embalmer: Say, did you see the ?beaut? that come in today.
Other Embalmer: Did I!
Embalmer: She's the one that's got the coroner doin' the night work.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Mau Mau Sex Sex (2001)

Soundtrack:

La Cooca Rocha

Wow. What can I say?

In the 1980s, thanks to the Brothers Medved, "Plan 9" earned the reputation as the worst film of all time. In the 1990s, thanks to MST3K, "Manos, the Hands of Fate" earned the worst film moniker.

Allow me to submit the film "Maniac" as the very worst. This film is so wretched, so fallible, so awful, it's impossible not to have an opinion about it.

"Maniac" is a film of almost no reputation. However, cult film critic Danny Peary called it the very worst. It's easy to see why. "Maniac" has almost no frame of film that is expertly produced. The film is grainy, shots are poorly executed, actors are rendered unseeable by being filmed standing behind test tubes.

"Maniac" easily has the worst acting in any film, from any time, any country. Overacting must have been a prerequisite to being hired for this film. Everyone talks in such an imposing, declaratory style, you'd think you were watching a session of Congress. At least "Plan 9" has professional actors such as Lyle Talbot; at least "Manos" has interesting characterizations. "Maniac" cannot boast any of that, except that actor Horace Carpenter once worked at Biograph with D.W. Griffith. What a comedown for him to be in this film.

Don't get me wrong; the film is a hoot to watch. From the incredible cat's eye scene to the cat fighting to the women fighting with syringes, "Maniac" has it all.

This film, made in 1934, may surprise people with its brief nude scenes. But it was a "roadshow" movie, so it's not really surprising at all. This was the kind of movie that could only be seen in burlesque houses or tent shows. Often, a promoter would put ads about the movie in the local papers, gaining huge interest in the film. The promoter would pitch a tent on the outskirts of town for the screening of the film. The promoter all too often would have to fold the tent and get out of town quickly, trying to avoid local authorities and local moral laws.

Do yourself, do your family, do your community a favor. Rent "Maniac" and see if you don't agree it's the worst ever.

You'll howl, you'll cry, you'll kiss your rental money goodbye!

See! Incredible eye-popping scenes! See! A bevy of chorus beauties! See! Mad scientists go even madder! See! How long you can stand watching it!