THE NEANDERTHAL MAN

Robert Shayne

THE NEANDERTHAL MAN (1953). Director: Ewald Andre Dupont. 

"The restoration of dormant cells of the mind of man."

Professor Clifford Groves (Robert Shayne of The Giant Claw) is either demented or an asshole. He neglects his pretty fiancee, Ruth (Doris Merrick of Sensation Hunters), and is rude to his daughter, Jan (Joyce Terry), while he continues his rather pointless experiments in regression. He has already managed to turn a kitty cat into a sabretooth tiger (although when we see it roaming about the countryside in long shot it seems quite normal), and excoriates a scientific board for not recognizing that the brains of Neanderthal men were as large as modern man's (no one argues that it wasn't Neanderthals who built civilization, wrote Shakespeare's plays, composed Wagner's music and so on). When Groves stupidly injects himself with his formula, he turns into one of the silliest-looking monsters on record and seems mildly upset when he learns that he's killed friends of his while under the influence, so to speak. Which would not make him less culpable in the eyes of the law, although his dumb daughter might disagree.

Doris Merrick and Richard Crane

There have been a lot of mad scientists in horror films, but the one in The Neanderthal Man is one of the stupidest and most immoral. Without her knowledge or permission, Groves drugs the mute maid (Tandra Quinn) and injects her with his formula. (His daughter should be appalled but she still sticks up for him.) Richard Crane plays a scientist who comes to town to investigate reports of the sabretooth; Robert Bray is a rancher and victim; and Beverly Garland -- knocking one out of the ballpark yet again -- is a waitress who witnesses Groves murder her date and who is carried off by him. While the time-lapse photography of Groves' transformation is acceptable, his fright mask and wig are unintentionally hilarious. The true purpose of Groves' ridiculous experiments is never really explained. Robert Shayne's performance is hammy and unmemorable and the direction is completely uninspired. 

Verdict: A regression you can do without. **.