A real rarity, certainly in England, is George Sherman's THE LADY AND THE MONSTER which is an adaption of Curt Siodmak's sci-fi novel "Donovan's Brain" which has been filmed twice since; first as DONOVAN'S BRAIN in the Fifties and then as VENGEANCE in the Sixties. Sherman's version is probably the least of the three but need not be dismissed out of hand. It's biggest drawbacks are Vera Hruba Ralston as the heroine and that even a 86 minutes it drags a bit in the middle. On the plus side is the atmospheric photography which gives the film a film noir flavor and the nice laboratory sets. Richard Arlen is quite effective as the doctor who becomes possessed by the brain of a dead millionaire although it is easy to see why Arlen had descended into B-movies by this time. The biggest plus that the film has is the presence of Erich Von Stroheim as the obsessive Dr.Mueller. Von Stroheim was probably, by his own estimation, slumming when he made this movie for Republic but it really doesn't show in his performance. He is one of those actors who can totally dominate any scene he is in and can lift a routine movie beyond its own expectations.If you are a horror movie fan or simply a collector of curiousities then THE LADY AND THE MONSTER is worth a look. Rating **Monday, 29 October 2007
THE LADY AND THE MONSTER (1944)
A real rarity, certainly in England, is George Sherman's THE LADY AND THE MONSTER which is an adaption of Curt Siodmak's sci-fi novel "Donovan's Brain" which has been filmed twice since; first as DONOVAN'S BRAIN in the Fifties and then as VENGEANCE in the Sixties. Sherman's version is probably the least of the three but need not be dismissed out of hand. It's biggest drawbacks are Vera Hruba Ralston as the heroine and that even a 86 minutes it drags a bit in the middle. On the plus side is the atmospheric photography which gives the film a film noir flavor and the nice laboratory sets. Richard Arlen is quite effective as the doctor who becomes possessed by the brain of a dead millionaire although it is easy to see why Arlen had descended into B-movies by this time. The biggest plus that the film has is the presence of Erich Von Stroheim as the obsessive Dr.Mueller. Von Stroheim was probably, by his own estimation, slumming when he made this movie for Republic but it really doesn't show in his performance. He is one of those actors who can totally dominate any scene he is in and can lift a routine movie beyond its own expectations.If you are a horror movie fan or simply a collector of curiousities then THE LADY AND THE MONSTER is worth a look. Rating **
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Yes, I also must admit to preferring Donovan's Brain -- and it has Nancy Davis in it! I heard tell that after making DONOVAN'S BRAIN, Nancy Davis was so tired of brains that she married Ronald Reagan so she'd never be troubled with brains again.
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