''Return of the Ape Man'' is a 1944 American film distributed by

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

."Three Good Returns on Next Week's Bill at the Strand" (''Lewiston Journal Magazine Section'', June 17, 1944, p.A–5)
/ref> It was directed by

Philip Rosen Philip E. Rosen (May 8, 1888 – October 22, 1951) was an American film director and cinematographer. He directed more than 140 films between 1915 and 1949. He was born in Marienburg, German Empire (now, Malbork, Poland), grew up in Mac ...

with top-billed star

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

and supporting actors

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

George Zucco George Zucco (11 January 1886 – 27 May 1960) was a British character actor who appeared in plays and 96 films, mostly American-made, during a career spanning over two decades, from the 1920s to 1951. In his films, he often played a suave ...

(see note in the Production section),

Frank Moran Francis Charles Moran (18 March 1887 – 14 December 1967) was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25-year film career. Sports career Born ...

, Judith Gibson and Michael Ames.

Plot

Two professors find a prehistoric

caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as "simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin Bo ...

frozen in ice during an Arctic expedition. Professor Dexter (Bela Lugosi) and Professor John Gilmore (John Carradine) bring the frozen exhibit back home and soon devise a plan. They want to implant a more evolved brain into the caveman, with hopes of being able to control and utilize him.

Cast

as Professor Dexter *

as Professor John Gilmore *

and

as Ape Man * Judith Gibson as Anne * Michael Ames as Steve * Mary Currier as Mrs. Gilmore * Ed Chandler as Sergeant * Ernie Adams as Tramp :;Uncredited *

George Eldredge George Edwin Eldredge (September 10, 1898 – March 12, 1977) was an American actor who appeared in over 180 movies during a career that stretched from the 1930s to the early 1960s. He also had a prolific television career during the 1950 ...

as Patrolman on beat *

Horace B. Carpenter Horace B. Carpenter (January 31, 1875 – May 21, 1945) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 330 films between 1914 and 1946. He also directed 15 films between 1925 and 1934. Born in Grand Rapids, ...

as Theater watchman

Production

The working title for the film was 'Revenge of the Ape Man'. Production took place early in October 1943 and the film was released on 24 June 1944.

Cast notes

Credits for the role of the Ape Man

George Zucco is co-credited on screen and in the publicity, along with Moran, as having played the Ape Man. At the onset of the laboratory scene where Prof. Dexter (Lugosi) and Gilmore (Carradine) are preparing to melt the

free from the block of ice, Zucco is shown in the Ape Man makeup - albeit briefly. Zucco's prominent nose, as well as his injured and withered left arm/hand (from a WWI injury) are clearly visible facing the camera. The shot (lasting only a few seconds in total) then switches away from the Ape Man. When it returns again to the same shot, Moran has replaced Zucco. The producers later explained Zucco became ill during the filming and kept his footage as a cost-saving measure while using Moran as a replacement actor for the remainder of the film.

Other

Frank Leigh Frank Leigh (18 April 1876 – 9 May 1948) was a British stage and film actor.Goble p. 232 Biography Born in London in 1876, Leigh settled in Hollywood and became a leading man during the silent era. Following the introduction of sound, his ro ...

is also credited by certain modern sources for the character of Long Shot.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Return Of The Ape Man 1944 films 1944 horror films American horror films American black-and-white films Monogram Pictures films Films directed by Phil Rosen Films about cavemen 1940s English-language films 1940s American films