Man Made Monster
by George Waggner
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Product details
Actor: Anne Nagel, Frank Albertson, Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney Jr., Samuel S. HindsDirector: George Waggner
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Release Date: 1997-09-16
Audience Rating: Unrated
Publisher: Universal Studios
Studio: Universal Studios
VHS Movie Reviews of Man Made Monster
Movie Review: A FORGOTTEN NEAR CLASSIC! THIS IS AVAILABLE ON DVD!
Summary: 4 Stars
'Man Made Monster' is one of those little talked about gems from the Universal archives. Lon Chaney Jr. does what he does best and plays another very unfortunate soul who gets the short end of the stick. This is a good solid reworking of the Frankenstein idea with and few changes here and there. Chaney Jr. will never be remembered for being the brilliant actor his father was as in this film, his acting skills are good, but there as subtle as a heart attack as he goes from "happy go lucky all around good guy" to a walking zombie. In his defense, this film is very short(59 minutes)and there isn't much time to get fancy! No matter.....as it's always been a favorite of mine and I'm glad it's available now on DVD on 'Universal Horror' a 5 films set of old Universal classics. Look for it as a Best Buy exclusive for a limited time only.Movie Review: Underrated Chaney Vehicle
Summary: 3 Stars
One of Lon Chaney Jr.'s best horror vehicles, "Man Made Monster" (1941) holds up surprisingly well for a B-movie quickie. Clocking in at 59 minutes, the film benefits from Chaney's sympathetic portrayal of the electrically-charged "Dynamo Dan." Lionel Atwill lends effective "mad doctor" support and director George Waggner keeps the proceedings moving at a good clip. It's an underrated Universal chiller worth seeking out.Movie Review: Universal Studios Horror Tale With Tragic Lead Character
Summary: 4 Stars
Universal Studios, long considered the leaders in Hollywood horror story telling had this genre almost to themselves in the 1940's and with the war in Europe looming closer the demand for escapist entertainment based on tales of mystery, horror and suspense became immense. In among the werewolfs, mummies and Frankenstein monsters, they created some stories that really stood on their own and 1941's "Man Made Monster", was one such effort. It has a most interesting premise that while containing the usual horror/suspense elements also manages to inject tragedy into its story giving it an interesting slant. Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the title character here and despite his often limited acting ability he had a unique ability to breathe great pathos and sympathy into his characters as evidenced in his best efforts such as "Of Mice And Men", and "The Wolf Man". His character in "Man Made Monster", is in a similiar vein and within the confines of this story he makes the most of it.
Based on the short story "The Electric Man", by H.J. Esses and Sid Schwartz, Lon Chaney Jr, plays "Dynamo" Dan McCormick a carnival performer who as the story begins survives an horrific bus smash that sees the bus crash into some power lines electrocuting and killing everyone except Dan. His survival is due to the fact that his carnival act involves him supposedly defying electric shocks which have gradually made him immune to the effects of electricity. Dan becomes a celebrity as a result of his brush with death and when he leaves the hospital he is asked to come and work at the laboratory of Dr. John Lawrence (Samuel S. Hinds). Dr. lawrence is curious to know the secret of why Dan has built up this resistance to electricy. However Dan arouses the interest of Dr. Lawrence's collegue, the brilliant but unstable Dr. Paul Rigas (Lionel Atwill), who has his own secret ideas for where his research on Dan is to go. Dr. Rigas has an insane plan to create a master race of men that will follow only his orders and will be able to control the world because of their control of electricity. With Dr. Lawrence away at a conference Dr. Rigas begins to give Dan massive doses of electrical current that make him dependant on them to keep going and which gradually turn Dan into a walking robot following only Dr. Rigas' orders. Dr. Lawrences neice June (Anne Nagel), begins to get suspicious of the treatments and things come to a head when Dr. Lawrence returns and confronts his collegue over his insane scheme. Dr. Rigas has Dan kill Dr. Lawrence and when the police arrive Dan is charged with murder. June with the help of her fiance reporter Mark (Frank Albertson), sets out to prove Dan innocent. Dan is however convicted of murder but breaks out of the prison when the execution is due to take place. Now reduced to a glowing electrical monster with only a short time to live Dan heads back to the laboratory and kills Dr. Rigas just as he is about to murder the suspicious June. Carrying her off Dan senses his life is ebbing away and as the police close in he expires after contact with a metal wire fence thus ending the mad experiment of Dr. Rigas' to use him as a human guinea pig.
Universal Studios had a unique way in being able to make these "B", productions have a far more polished look and feel to them than you would expect. Having seasoned movie veterans of the likes of Lionel Atwill and Lon Chaney on board certainly helped and both actors here in "Man Made Monster", played the type of characters for which both are best remembered. Atwill always excelled at playing sinister mad scientists while Chaney specialised in victim types that tended to always arouse the audience's sympathy. Despite the often limited budget films both had to work in they always delivered reliable and sincere performances. Lon Chaney in particular playing the victim of Lionel Atwill's mad scheme really evokes audience pity and he handles very well the scenes were his overall condition deteriorates as a result of the massive doses of elecricity he is subjected to. Chaney's performance in this little horror effort really paved the way for his best remembered role later that same year in the classic "The Wolf Man". Supporting performances in "Man Made Monster', serve the situation just right with Samuel S. Hinds as Dr. Lawrence and "B", movie actress Anne Nagel as June doing good work within the obvious limitations of their characters. The direction by George Waggner is spot on for this type of effort and since "Man Made Monster", has a running time of only 61 minutes he wisely keeps the character development down to a minimum and instead concentrates on keeping the unfolding action moving at a reasonably fast pace. Atmosphere and special effects wise "Man Made Monster", is a very satisfactory effort for its time. The effects of the electric currents gradually taking over Dan's body turning him into a glowing mass are really quite stunning for the time and are remarkable for turning Lon Chaney's previously lovable lump of a man into a quite frightening monster that is capable of killing anyone he touches. The laboratory that the mad Dr. Rigas works in is your classic Universal Studios mad scientist lab full of strange exquipment, flashing lights and weird substances and the scenes where Dan ungoes the mad doctor's experiments are still quite disturbing to watch even today.
Being a big fan of these 1940's Universal Studios horror efforts I'm always prepared to look past their often obviously limited budgets to be able to enjoy the sincere care and effort that most often was expended on them. While "Man Made Monster", in terms of production qualities and special effects isn't in the same league as for example "The Wolf Man", it more than holds it's own as a respectable little horror effort that is sure to keep the viewers interest up through its relatively short running time. Horror greats Lionel Atwill and Lon Chaney together in the one feature will always guarantee an interesting viewing experience and the combined villainy and tragedy of their two performances here make "Man Made Monster", an essential part of the film collection of any fan of horror from Hollywood's golden age of such efforts. Enjoy!
Movie Review: A True Horror Classic
Summary: 4 Stars
Chaney plays a man who is immune to electricity. He is turned into a monster by a mad doctor and goes on a rampage escaping from prison and killing the Doctor and the prison wardon. A great movie for halloweenMovie Review: Classic 1940s horror/thriller
Summary: 3 Stars
Man Made Monster is an excellent example of Universal Studios' work during the 1940s. This neat little B picture has great mood and art design, some good special effects, and excellent performances by Lon Chaney Jr. in another of his sympathetic parts, and Lionel Atwill playing another of his (almost) over-the-top mad doctor roles. Highly recommended.
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