The Devil Bat (1940)

The kindly Dr. Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) secretly harbors ill will towards the family who runs the company he makes chemicals for. He sold them his cold cream formula and made them a fortune but he was paid only ten grand. So, what’s the best way to get back at them? Why, by breeding giant bats who attack people wearing a particular aftershave lotion, of course. If only there was a wise cracking newspaper reporter to help solve this mystery.

The above might seem like spoilers, but most of it was in the opening scrawl. Besides, what idiot puts their faith in the kindly Dr. Lugosi? The family gives Carruthers a $5000 gift as a surprise thank you but that doesn’t cool his vengeance. By that way, that’d be a cool $91k today.

This poorly conceived low budget mess was actually a financial success. It’s lack of budget is evident with every scene. There were only a handful of set pieces and characters arrive at them as needed with no travel time. Something like GoT season 7. The astroturf garden set is where all the attacks happen and Bela’s laboratory had dungeon wallpaper. Bela pulls an invisible lever to enter the secret part of his laboratory. It’s quite amusing when you notice it.

Despite itself, there is a fair bit of atmosphere here. The over convoluted revenge plan can only be laughed at just like Bela being a kindly midwestern doctor. Short and sweet, The Devil Bat is far from Bela’s worst. AMRU 2.5.

“Now, rub it on the tender part of your neck.”

Strangler of the Swamp (1946)

The ghost of the bayou ferryman, executed for a murder he did not commit, haunts the swamp. Before he died he cursed everyone responsible and their descendants. When people turn up strangled, the old wives know who is responsible. Pretty and strong willed Maria, grand daughter of a strangled, returns to her old town to take the now vacant job of ferry-person. She doesn’t buy into any of this superstitious nonsense. Know who else doesn’t? Young Chris (Blake Edwards - Yes, THAT Blake Edwards) who also returns to town and strikes up a fancy for pretty and strong willed Maria.

The entirety of this no-budget thriller takes place in three locations: The ferryman’s cabin, the ferry itself, and rich Chris’ rich dad’s fancy house. They spoke of other places, but we don’t get to see them. Sets cost cash, you know. Blake Edwards used to be an actor, apparently. He did a lot of uncredited background work before becoming one of the best writers in history. Charles the Merciless Middleton played the haunted ferryman.

Short and atmospheric, Strangler of the Swamp isn’t bad for what it is. What it is, however, is somewhat dull and predictable. AMRU 2.5.

Detour (1945)

My buddy Leo recommended Detour as a good noir film and a great example of making a good movie on a very low budget. Roger Ebert said of this movie ".. shot in six days, filled with technical errors and ham-handed narrative, starring a man who can only pout and a woman who can only sneer...", yet goes on to call it "an embodiment of the guilty soul of film noir." Yes, this low budget, poorly made piece of trash is a film classic. Go figure.

Al (Tom Neal) is a grumpy night club musician engaged to marry singer Sue (Claudia Drake), when she tells him instead she is going to go make it big in Hollywood. He stays behind to be all grumpy. When he gets a ten dollar tip, he decides he will sell his stuff and hitchhike across country to be with her.

Out of cash and losing hope, he is picked up by Charles Haskell, who befriends him. His luck turns bad and his trip takes, ahem, a detour.

I won't spoil anything, but the story takes a number of twists and turns. Neal narrates the story in flashback and what Ebert said about ham-handed is dead on. The acting was bad, the script was weak, and the lack of budget was plainly visible on the screen. This is a perfect example of making a bad movie that turns out to be a fairly good movie. And, I don't mean that like how Plan 9 became a "good" movie. Plan 9 is good because how bad it is. Detour is good despite how bad it is.

As far as what I said about the low budget being plainly visible, most of the movie was in either a hotel room or in the director's personal car in front of a rear projection screen. Most of the other shots were done in empty rooms or public places. One scene is done in almost complete fog, another is at a "night club" where we see the singer, a microphone, an the silhouette of three horns players behind her. That's it. I think film development might have been the biggest expense.

Let's talk about Tom Neal. His angry and violent behavior led him to be essentially blackballed in Hollywood. His roles became smaller and smaller. When he killed his third wife, his career was over. He served six years. He died of heart failure at age 58. His son, Tom Neal Jr, has one acting credit, the forgettable 1992 remake of Detour.

I liked the movie, even though the film quality was rather bad. It falls very close to being a story about everything going wrong for someone, but it does say something about what happens when bad decisions are combined with bad luck. My kids were only momentarily interested, but it held mine. AMRU 3.

The Monster Maker (1944)

What is it with old movies and caged apes? Did gorillas touch a nerve with the moviegoers back then?

The plot is simple. A creepy old doctor sees a hot chick at a piano concert. She is the very image of his dearly departed wife. So, what's a mad scientist to do? How about send her flowers and letters. And if 'oll dad says a word of complaint, infect him with a disease that slowly turns him into a monster! Sounds like a plan of success.

Irony strikes when Dad goes to the doctor and is refered to a specialist, namely Creepy Mad Doctor. Gosh, I wonder what he wants in return for curing him?

I knew J. Carrol Naish was in the movie, but I wasn't sure where. He was good in Dr. Renault's Secret (starring as the secret, himself) and I was curious to see him in another role. I popped on my blackberry, browsed to IMDB and .... holy crap! He's the Mad Doctor! Subhuman brute to evil scientist. Nice range!

Fair acting and dialog. Not altogether bad. Clearly a low budget movie, but not without it's charm. Pleasantly short. AMRU 3. Oh, yea, and the doctor had a caged ape. Not sure why.

Dead Men Walk (1943)

The Evil Elwyn Clayton is dead, murdered by his twin brother, the good doctor Lloyd Clayton. But evil doesn't stay dead long. Elwyn rises, with help from his faithful servant Zolarr, as a Vampire! Dr. Clayton's niece Gayle, played by the hot Mary Carlisle, is in danger. She is to be married to the wooden Dr. Bently, but o'll dad has plans to make her his vampire servant.

After Dr. Clayton realizes his Evil brother is a vampire, he knows he must find the body during the daytime and burn it. He does everything he can, including searching the entire town for the body. No, wait. Everything EXCEPT actually search for the body. Instead he just rubs his chin. Until the end, that is, when he searches for it AT NIGHT! Way to go, Doctor Action.

This film has a lot going for it. George Zucco as both Claytons, the hot Mary Carlisle in the last movie of her career, and even Dwight Frye (Dracula's Renfield) as Zolarr. Less than seven months after this film came out, Dwight would be dead, another happy customer of the Christian Science Healthcare Plan. One wonders if health concerns explain his muted performance. Fern Emmett, looking like a simple minded and good intentioned Elmira Gulch, was a crazy townswoman who knew Elwyn had risen. Three and a half years later, she too would be dead.

The story was fair, the script ok, the setting good. Why was the movie so ... flat? First might be the quality of this public domain film. The contrast seemed a little weak. A good filmmaker can do wonders with black and white, shadows and highlights. See The Day The Earth Stood Still. This movie didn't have any of that. A black screen is good for dark, brooding dialog, but no good for fight scenes. I also think it could have been edited a little better.

What it was truly missing was a proper score. A good score goes a long way to build suspense and creepiness. The score was a total dud.

I fell asleep during parts of Dead Men Walk, so I watched it again online, skipping the parts I saw. I wanted to like this movie, but I never felt involved with the characters. George Zucco was great, but his vampire fell flat. Put a proper soundtrack on this film and clean it up, and you'd have a real good movie. I wanted to give it a 3, but as it is now, the best I can do is a 2.5.

Watch it here.