''The Monster and the Girl'' is a 1941 American
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
horror film directed by
Stuart Heisler and released by
Paramount Pictures.
Plot
The film revolves around a small-town church organist named Scot Webster (
Philip Terry) attempting to save his sister, Susan (
Ellen Drew
Ellen Drew (born Esther Loretta Ray; November 23, 1914 – December 3, 2003) was an American film actress.
Early life
Drew, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1914, was the daughter of an Irish-born barber. She had a younger brother, Arden. Her ...
) from the clutches of big city gangster W. S. Bruhl (
Paul Lukas
Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film '' Wat ...
). When one of Bruhl's gang members is double-crossed in Bruhl's rented room, and killed by a gunman, the man tosses him the gun and disappears. Scot is tried and executed. A scientist (
George Zucco) salvages his brain and transplants it into a gorilla. Using the strength of his new, bestial body, Webster begins
stalking
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...
the gangsters to exact his revenge.
Cast
Production
''The Monster and the Girl'' was developed under the title of ''Dead On Arrival'' and was written as ''D.O.A.''.
After the release of
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...
's film ''
The Walking Dead'' in 1936, a few films combined genre themes of
crime films
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
and science-fiction horror. These included ''
The Man They Could Not Hang
''The Man They Could Not Hang'' is a 1939 American horror film directed by Nick Grinde from a screenplay by Karl Brown. It stars Boris Karloff as Dr. Henryk Savaard,Stephen Jacobs, ''Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster'', Tomahawk Press 2011 pp. ...
'', ''
Before I Hang
''Before I Hang'' is a 1940 American horror film released by Columbia Pictures, starring Boris Karloff. The film was directed by Nick Grinde (under the working title ''The Wizard of Death'') and was one of several films Karloff starred in under co ...
'', and ''
Black Friday'' all which starred
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...
and featured individuals who return from being dead to exact revenge. ''The Monster and the Girl'' used these themes but applied it to a
monster movie
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under ...
theme for ''The Monster and the Girl''.
The censorship board rejected original story ideas due to the plot dealing with
white slavery
White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the slavery of Europeans, whether by non-Europeans (such as West Asians and North Africans), or by other Europeans (for example naval galley slaves or the Vikings' t ...
and homicide.
The script was changed to imply Susan's entrapment by Munn.
This also changed Susan being forced into
prostitution and working as a bar hostess to pay off the debt for her apartment.
The film went into production in Late July and finished filming in late August 1940.
Release
''The Monster and the Girl'' was distributed theatrically by
Paramount Pictures on February 28, 1941.
After its release, the Milwaukee Film Commission withdrew the film from theaters on the grounds that it was a "white slavery" film.
The ban also stated that it showcased juries as being under gangster control which would make it impossible for justice to be carried out.
''The Monster and the Girl'' was released on Blu-ray by
Scream Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
on June 16, 2020 as the fifth volume in their Universal Horror Collection, along with ''
Captive Wild Woman
''Captive Wild Woman'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Evelyn Ankers, John Carradine, Milburn Stone, and features Acquanetta as Paula, the Ape Woman. The film involves a scientist, Dr. Sigmund Walters, w ...
'', ''
Jungle Woman
''Jungle Woman'' is a 1944 American horror film directed by Reginald LeBorg. The film stars Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds, Lois Collier, Milburn Stone, and Douglass Dumbrille. The film involves Dr. Carl Fletcher who is in ...
'' and ''
Jungle Captive''.
It features an informative audio commentary by Tom Weaver and Steve Kronenberg.
Reception
Blair Davis, author of ''Recovering 1940s Horror Cinema'' described the reception of the film as positive. A review in ''
The Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' calling it "weird and skeery no end" but full of "snappy dialog". The review added that Ellen Drew "depicts stark terror so realistically that I feel she is scheduled to slip into the boot of
Fay Wray
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
". ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "a chiller-diller that will send fans of goose-pimply melodrama from the theaters amply satisfied" and "red meat of the bugaboo ticket buyers".
From retrospective reviews, Craig Butler of
AllMovie declared the film as "definitely one of the strangest pictures ever made", that was still "fairly effective and entertaining little "B" flick—and not one that gets by just on camp value", noting that the stories plot points were ridiculous, but "has some very interesting points, including a mixture of noir and horror which, while not totally successful, offers some rewards" and that "the cast is also much better than one usually finds in horror films of this type".
References
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Monster And The Girl, The
1940s science fiction horror films
1940s American films
1941 films
1941 horror films
Mad scientist films
American monster movies
American black-and-white films
Films directed by Stuart Heisler
Films about gorillas
Films about brain transplants
American science fiction horror films
Paramount Pictures films