Lesser Universal horror film that has a few things going for it despite its faults. John Carradine plays a mad scientist working on glandular research who comes up with the brilliant idea of transforming a female gorilla into a human. The result is Paula Dupree (Acquanetta), who gets a job with lion tamer Fred Mason (Milburn Stone) because the animals seem afraid of her. Paula develops feelings for Fred and when she sees him embrace his girlfriend Beth (Evelyn Ankers), she "hulks out" and returns to ape form.
Exotic-looking Acquanetta found herself cast in several roles like this. Not surprisingly, her career was very brief. She looks cute but doesn't say a line in the entire movie and is ultimately forgettable. Evelyn Ankers appears in one of her many girlfriend roles she did at the time. At least here she gets to be heroic and save her sister from becoming another ape woman. That's famous animal trainer Clyde Beatty in all of the lion taming stock footage. Amusingly, Milburn Stone was given this role because he resembled Beatty enough from behind to fit the stock footage. He's fine though he never was leading man material. That brings us to the real star of the movie, the great John Carradine. He's the best part as the nefarious Dr. Sigmund Walters, one of those wicked old horror movie scientists who dismisses pesky notions of morality and silly things like law to perform experiments on people in the pursuit of the great god Science. Carradine was no Karloff, Zucco, or Atwill but he could play roles like this in his sleep and quite well.
As I said, this is one of the lesser Universal horrors and perhaps the first clunker of their second horror cycle. The plot could have been made to work with more focus on the villainous Carradine and maybe more screen time for the ape woman. But unfortunately someone had a jones on for Clyde Beatty and all that circus stuff so that goes on forever. Still, it's a short B mad scientist movie with someone in a gorilla suit and lots of stock footage of lions and tigers. I seriously doubt it will kill you to spend an hour on it.
Exotic-looking Acquanetta found herself cast in several roles like this. Not surprisingly, her career was very brief. She looks cute but doesn't say a line in the entire movie and is ultimately forgettable. Evelyn Ankers appears in one of her many girlfriend roles she did at the time. At least here she gets to be heroic and save her sister from becoming another ape woman. That's famous animal trainer Clyde Beatty in all of the lion taming stock footage. Amusingly, Milburn Stone was given this role because he resembled Beatty enough from behind to fit the stock footage. He's fine though he never was leading man material. That brings us to the real star of the movie, the great John Carradine. He's the best part as the nefarious Dr. Sigmund Walters, one of those wicked old horror movie scientists who dismisses pesky notions of morality and silly things like law to perform experiments on people in the pursuit of the great god Science. Carradine was no Karloff, Zucco, or Atwill but he could play roles like this in his sleep and quite well.
As I said, this is one of the lesser Universal horrors and perhaps the first clunker of their second horror cycle. The plot could have been made to work with more focus on the villainous Carradine and maybe more screen time for the ape woman. But unfortunately someone had a jones on for Clyde Beatty and all that circus stuff so that goes on forever. Still, it's a short B mad scientist movie with someone in a gorilla suit and lots of stock footage of lions and tigers. I seriously doubt it will kill you to spend an hour on it.