Bride of the Monster
A spate of disappearances around the a swamp and local suspicions of a monster has the police mounting a special investigation. Lt. Dick Craig is sent, while his reporter girlfriend Janet follows her own leads. Both end up at the house of Dr. Eric Vornoff, a mysterious scientist who doesn't like visitors. Behind closed doors he has a terrible secret. He alone holds the key to creating a race of atomic supermen, which could take over the world!...
Ed Wood is renowned among cult film circles for making some of the 'world's worst movies'. Bride of the Monster is one of his most famous, and shows what was 'great' about his work! I feel the film's badness has been exaggerated a little over time. In some ways
I find this annoying, like it's not exactly being fair, but in other ways
I don't mind, since this status is part of what led to the renaissance
of Wood's films, and B-movie cult appreciation, so it's hard to be that
annoyed.
The story here is basic, but in the right ways, and gets off to a slightly intriguing start. Much of the mystery is explained early on, with the mad doctor being more of a viewpoint character. While it's not the most in-depth of stories, and probably coulda used a little more oomph, at least it generally makes sense (generally!).
The characters here are fairly basic. Dick and Janet are run-of-the-mill leads, and never behave different from how you expect, but have good moments. Janet's no dope either! Strowski's motives are a bit confusing though. We first see him giving some exposition to the police, and offering them assistance. Then it turns out he's actually a foreign agent looking for Vornoff himself! Which begs the question of why he bothered with the police in the first place. In a change, this foreign power is apologetic to Vornoff, and wish to end his exile and let him study for them. His refusal leads to an attempted threat, followed by a great retort. "I did not come alone." "Neither did I, my dear Strowski".
Dr. Vornoff is the best character in the movie. He's your prototypical mad scientist, with all the right credentials. Foreign accents, lab coat, delusions of world domination, etc. He's also somehow able to smuggle a giant octopus from Europe, to Scotland, then America! Although his efforts at creating atomic supermen always end in failure. I wonder how Strowski heard that Vornoff's experiments were correct after all, when they've never succeeded!
The high point of the film comes with Vornoff's dramatic monologue. It's genuinely good stuff, despite the goofiness. "Home? I have no home. Hunted, despised, living like an animal. The
jungle is my home! And I will show the world that I can be its master! I
will perfect my own race of people! A race of atomic supermen which
will conquer the world!"
This monologue also mirror's Lugosi's own feelings about his homeland. Bela was basically exiled from his own country, which was then taken over by fascist and communist regimes, meaning there was never an opportunity where he felt return was a possibility. Moving when you think about like that!
I find it interesting how Lobo puts his master in the Atomic Maker and operates the machinery. Maybe it's just from rote, by watching Vornoff doing the same, but it could also speak of some higher...not intelligence, but thought in Lobo's mind? Perhaps it also means something that for all his genius, Vernoff was never able to make an atomic man, but Lobo did on his attempt. I'm not one to over-analyse Ed Wood movies, but it does make you think!
The direction is fairly standard, and sets the scene well. Weather is used effectively, with ominous rain and thunder, even if the setting isn't exactly the forsaken jungle hell Vornoff makes it out to be.
The eeffects here are cheesy in a typical b-movie way. There's an obvious stuntman for Lugosi at the end, and no blood or injuries, or even torn clothing when people are shot 5 times. Most memorable is the infamous giant octopus. Rumoured to be a broken prop from another film, it's a hoot. It's not quite as bad as made out to be, but it is still funny watching the actors try their best to flail the tentacles around.
Bride of the Monster is rife with cheesy acting. Leading man Tony McCoy is fairly ok, considering he was a producer's son, and rarely acted in his life. Really I don't think Ed Wood could have asked for much more. Loretta King also does fairly well, and Tor Johnson is always a classic presence. Harvey P. Dunn and Paul Marco are amusing, the former delivering "He tampered in God's domain", one of B-cinema's most enduring lines.
And it's Lugosi who leaves the biggest impression here. Some lines sound a little stilted, but most of his deliveries are crisp and golden. Even in ailing health, he's still got the magic.
Bela Lugosi has died many times throughout his filmography, perhaps more
times than most other actors. But no death scene is as spectacular as
the one he gets here. After being turned into an atomic mutant, he is
attacked by a giant octopus, then struck by lightning, and explodes!
Bride of the Monster is everything you could want from an Ed Wood film. In a way it also feels like his most competent and 'big budget'. Regardless of whether you find it good or bad, you're guaranteed to enjoy it...
Night of the Ghouls
Mysterious sightings of what appear to be ghosts attract the attention of the police, who send special investigator Lt. Dan Bradford. The epicentre of the sightings is where a mad doctor once created monsters, now owned by swami Dr. Acula, who holds seances for well-paying customers. The operation is one big scam, but soon there may be real ghosts roaming the house, looking for human victims...
Night of the Ghouls is a semi-sequel to Bride of the Monster, set in the same house, and even featuring a returning character. This connection really doesn't amount to much, and characters constantly remind us about the mad doctor and his monsters, as if we'd forget if they stopped. Despite this I actually dig the whole approach, of a follow-up in the same world, but about different events.
The film has many hallmarks of Ed Wood, from the idiosyncratic, repetitive, and melodramatic dialogue, to the superfluous showcase of juvenile delinquency (considered a problem in the 50s, one wonders how they'd react if they saw how bad it was nowadays!). We hear the characters' thoughts in one sequence, contradicting what we see, the narrator addresses characters directly, and the lead finds his way around the house by remembering the layout of the old one! Everything culminates in a fun climax, with a spooky twist in the tail for the villains.
Between the goofier sound effects and the villain's pseudonym, it's a little hard to tell how seriously we're supposed to take Night of the Ghouls. It's otherwise a normal picture, but I can't imagine a movie with a villain named Dr. Acula was ever intended to be all serious. It gets downright avant garde in one bizarre scene!
The hero is an opera enthusiast ghost buster cop, which is a good idea for a series! Returning from prior Wood films is Patrolman Kelton, with the funny quote "Monsters! Space people! Mad doctors! They didn't teach me about such
things in the police academy!...Why do I always get picked for these
screwy details all the time?"
The main villain here is 'swami' Dr. Acula. There are also some very real ghosts that show up, namely a woman in black, and Criswell himself! And a bunch of old duffers who really don't look the part. Mad and deformed giant Lobo reappears, miraculously surviving his previous adventure. His role here is sadly underutilised. He doesn't get a lot of screentime, not much to do, and his death is fairly anticlimactic. Poor Lobo doesn't get any respect!
Dr. Acula's clientele are a bunch of dopes. Not only are they gullible, and fooled by the most obvious tricks, but mentions of a prince of darkness doesn't dissuade them from thinking Acula is a perfectly benevolent benefactor. Nor does a fight between a policeman and monster break their attention during a seance. Also amusing is the age gap marriage between an old granny and a 20-something stud, which she acts like is love (yeah right!).
The acting here is ok at best. Duke Moore is an alright leading man. Kenne Duncan kinda resembles Lon Chaney Jr. He's amusingly phoney as a Swami, but this is on purpose. Valda Hansen is nice as his 'ghostly' partner, and Jeannie Stevens is better as the real ghost. Ed Wood regular Criswell turns in a reliably goofy performance as active narrator. And Tor Johnson does well for what his role is, and makes for a fun presence.
The funniest performances are by far the old couple at the beginning. Their histrionics in the police station will have you pissing yourself laughing, and her expression looks less like terror and more like she's grinning. The way the lighting makes her look like a raccoon, she could probably have been a ghost too!
Where the most praise can be given to Night of the Ghouls is in its direction! For all his deficiencies elsewhere, Ed Wood could have a great eye for a shot, and here he excels, perhaps because of the more simple nature of the film. The film looks great in black and white, with a nice balance of 'colour'.
An interesting element to Night of the Ghouls is the repurposed footage. Much of Bradford's investigation of Dr. Acula's house is recycled from an earlier project of Wood's-Short film/TV pilot Final Curtain. It fits pretty seamlessly into the action, which I give credit for. Since Duke Moore was that film's star, that might explain the retcon with his character. Not that Wood was really one to care about continuity anyway.
Night of the Ghouls is a fun little piece of spookiness. Not a good movie in a traditional sense, but most certainly an entertaining one, and one that never overstays its welcome. Alongside its predecessor, it's the epitome of what Ed Wood spent his life making...
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