Night Monster (1942)

Director:

Ford Beebe

Writer:

Clarence Upson Young (writer)

Release Date:

20 October 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What kind of a thing is it?

Plot:

Kurt Ingston, a rich recluse, invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion in the swamps as one by one they meet horrible deaths.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Mansion | Butler | Murder | Swamp

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Bela Lugosi	...	Rolf
Lionel Atwill	...	Dr. King
Leif Erickson	...	Laurie (the chauffeur)
Irene Hervey	...	Dr. Lynne Harper
Ralph Morgan	...	Kurt Ingston
Don Porter	...	Dick Baldwin
Nils Asther	...	Agor Singh
Fay Helm	...	Margaret Ingston
Frank Reicher	...	Dr. Timmons
Doris Lloyd	...	Sarah Judd (the housekeeper)
Francis Pierlot	...	Dr. Phipps
Robert Homans	...	Constable Cap Beggs
Janet Shaw	...	Milly Carson (the maid)
Eddy Waller	...	Jed Harmon
Cyril Delevanti	...	Torque (the gatekeeper)

Also Known As:

House of Mystery (UK)

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8719)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: Dick's pipe when he and Dr Harker are driving to the mansion.

Quotes:

Sarah Judd: [trapped in burning room] Unlock that door you fool! Do you want to die?
Margaret Ingston: Yes! You and Kurt don't deserve to live, and I don't want to!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Night Monster (1942) (#1.8)" (1979)

Odd-Ball Universal Fare

During the 1940's decade, Universal Pictures attempted to continue making horror films as they did the previous decade but did try to re-invent and package them a bit differently. Their financial success never mirrored that of its earliest successes, but films like The Night Monster showed that they still had the wherewithal to make classic, good horror yarns. This film is different from most Universal horror films for a number of reasons. Yes, Bela Lugois and Lionel Atwill are in the film. Lugosi is yet again wasted playing a butler - a role I sometimes tire of seeing him relegated to for a man of his considerable talents. Atwill does better as a pompous(can he be any other way?) doctor called with two other doctors to the home of the rich man their medicine was not able to save - he was now paralyzed from the waist down. Ralph Morgan plays the crippled man hosting the doctors, another doctor called in by his sister who believes she is crazy, a hypnotist, and a couple of other servants who act and expect better than their positions might suggest. Swirling around this is a series of murders, secretive looks and discussions, and the sighting by several of a monster that comes out at night. The Night Monster is really more of a mystery than a true horror film though the eerie, foggy atmosphere helps convey significant menace. The story isn't really particularly hard to figure out, but all the actors do a very good job playing their roles. Bela is really wasted unfortunately. He certainly could have been better utilized. Atwill as always is very, very smart and clever as he delivers his dialog. Frank Reicher, of King Kong fame, gives a nice turn as a fellow doctor caught in some terrible plot. While maybe not one of Universal's brightest stars, The Night Monster is a good, entertaining film.