The Monster and the Girl *** (1941, Paul Lukas, Ellen Drew, Joseph Calleia, George Zucco, Robert Paige, Rod Cameron, Phillip Terry) – Classic Movie Review 11,609

Director Stuart Heisler’s 1940 Paramount black-and-white horror film The Monster and the Girl is an interesting mixture of social melodrama and horror, combining the white slavery film and monster movie, with a sharp gear change half way. And there is an early approach to the human gorilla theme.

Gangsters in a white slavery ring force a girl (Ellen Drew) into prostitution, and, when her framed brother (Phillip Terry) is unjustly executed, his brain is transplanted by mad scientist (George Zucco) into the body of a gorilla, with the usual expected scary results.

Small-town church organist Scot Webster (Philip Terry) tries to save his sister Susan (Ellen Drew) from big-city gangster W S Bruhl (Paul Lukas). But then Scot is tried and executed for the murder of one of Bruhl’s gang. However, Dr Perry (George Zucco) transplants his brain into a gorilla, which stalks the gangsters for revenge.

This short (65 minutes) support shocker is silly and predictable but weirdly involving, and certainly worth a watch for its curiosity value, unintentional laughs and for the cast.

The cast are Ellen Drew as Susan Webster, Robert Paige as Larry Reed, Paul Lukas as W S Bruhl, Joseph Calleia as ‘Deacon’, Onslow Stevens as J Stanley McMasters, George Zucco as Dr Perry, Rod Cameron as Sam Daniels, Phillip Terry as Scot Webster, Marc Lawrence as Sleeper, Gerald Mohr as Munn, Bud Jamison as Jim, Emory Parnell as Policeman, Tom Dugan, Minor Watson, Willard Robertson, Abner Biberman, Edward Van Sloan and Emma Dunn.

Paramount decided to get in on the Universal horror revival of the late 1930s but it is not their natural territory and it proved a rare excursion for them into monster movies.

The script had to be changed after the censorship board rejected original story ideas dealing with white slavery and homicide.

It was shot from late July to late August 1940, and released on February 28, 1941.

Boris Karloff starred in four films that combined crime and science-fiction: The Walking Dead in 1936, The Man They Could Not Hang, Before I Hang and Black Friday. The Monster and the Girl used these themes and applied them to a monster movie.

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,609

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/