Man Made Monster Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive

U.S.A. | 1941 Directed by George Waggner Starring Lionel Atwill Lon Chaney, Jr. Anne Nagel B&W | 60 Min.| Not Rated Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC/ 2-disc set) Universal Home Video

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8     8   10 = Highest Rating   Guest Review by Troy Howarth

• From the Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive • DVD Rating is for entire set

A mad scientist (Lionel Atwill) uses a good-natured sideshow performer (Lon Chaney, Jr.) as a human guinea pig in his experiments with electricity...     Reportedly conceived as a vehicle for Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Man Made Monster finally emerged as Lon Chaney, Jr's, first proper intro to the horror genre. Shot quickly and inexpensively in 1941, it emerged just shortly before the same year's The Wolf Man cemented his reputation as one of the genre's staple performers. The story actually bears some passing similarity to an earlier Karloff/Lugosi picture — The Invisible Ray (1936) — so while it would have been nice to see them reteamed once again, the feeling of déjà vu may have been somewhat overwhelming.     Director George Waggner, who also directed The Wolf Man and produced several other Universal horrors of the period (notably The Ghost of Frankenstein and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man), makes ample use of his credo that horror should always go hand in hand with pathos. The role of "Dynamo" Dan McCormick is perfect for the lovably awkward Chaney — eager to please, not exactly an Einstein but full of heart. As Dan undergoes experimentation at the perverse hands of Dr. Rigas (a plum role for Atwill), the audience can't help but identify with him; if there is a key factor Chaney had to his advantage over the likes of Karloff or Lugosi, it's his ability to evoke the Everyman in the audience. The transformation of Dan from a vibrant and fun-loving young man to a literal shell pulsing with electricity works as well as it does precisely because Chaney and Waggner insist on keeping sight of Dan's humanity — rather than reduce him to a literal killing machine (ironically, a major problem with Chaney's cracks at the Frankenstein Monster and the mummy, Kharis), the film goes to great pains to keep the audience continually on his side.     Of course, pathos is all well and good, but this is a horror movie — and a horror movie needs a strong villain with plenty of charisma. Lionel Atwill, needless to say, fills the role grandly. One of the very few performers associated with the genre who never walked through a role or overplayed it so ripely as to reduce it to caricature, Atwill clearly relishes the assignment at hand; he conveys the necessary intelligence (it always helps to have somebody credible as a research scientist) but adds a layer of Sadean glee to his characterization in the bargain. One of his best moments is his incredulous reaction when a colleague (Samuel S. Hinds) accuses him of destroying Dan for the sake of an experiment — he truly convinces the audience that his motivations were, in his own twisted mind, for the greater good. In addition to Atwill and Chaney, the film benefits from a strong supporting cast: Hinds is excellent as Atwill's benevolent partner, while Anne Nagel and Frank Albertson make one of the most appealing and believable romantic teams in a horror film of this vintage; earlier Universal horrors were sometimes marred by the sappy non-acting of, say, David Manners and Helen Chandler, here Nagel and Albertson bring their roles to life and have plenty of fun with their playful verbal sparring.     Clocking in at a super-lean 60 minutes, the film doesn't have much opportunity to get particularly deep, nor does it need to. Under Waggner's expert direction, the film hits all the necessary plot points without feeling rushed or under developed. The Wolf Man may be the bigger and more popular of the two Chaney/Waggner debut horrors, but it's arguable that Man Made Monster is more successful on the whole.

Released for the first time on DVD as part of the Best Buy exclusive Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive set, Man Made Monster emerges looking as good as can be expected. The source print is very clean — apart from some minor speckling, there are no real defects to note. Black levels are deep, whites are clean, and there's plenty of detail and variety in the gray scale. The mono soundtrack is also in good shape, with clear dialogue and plenty of presence afforded to the music score. Sadly, there are no extras. 10/15/07

NOTE The two-disc, five film Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive also contains The Black Cat and Horror Island (both 1941), Night Monster (1942) and Captive Wild Woman (1943). While availability was limited strictly to Best Buy stores for nearly two years, the set is finally scheduled for market-wide release on September 15, 2009.

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