THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

Dennis Moore and Linda Stirling

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (15-chapter Republic serial/1945). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred C. Brannon. Colorized. 

A malevolent visitor from Mars who is inexplicably called the "Purple Monster" (Roy Barcroft) kills scientist Cyrus Layton (James Craven), and inhabits his corpse -- when he isn't in his own body -- as he goes about his deadly business. His main goal is to steal an interplanetary jet plane that will get him back to Mars so he can lead a major invasion force. Working against him are Layton's niece, Sheila (Linda Stirling, and agent Craig Foster (Dennis Moore). Working with the Purple Monster are would-be extortionist Hodge Garrett (Bud Geary) and -- briefly -- the Martian witch Marcia (Mary Moore), who tries to throw Sheila off of a cliff. 

Dennis Moore in a death trap

The Purple Monster Strikes is another lively Republic cliffhanger that moves at a breakneck pace, has an exciting musical score that bolsters every scene, action-packed fisticuffs in which every bit of furniture is broken as the antagonists literally hurl themselves at each other, and some memorable cliffhangers. Foster nearly falls to his death when a ladder is toppled in chapter one; a car in a garage plummets down onto the hero in chapter eight; and a clever phone trap has Foster nearly punctured by sharp rods when iron bars come down from the ceiling. Meanwhile Sheila nearly drowns when she falls into a room through a trapdoor, a room that rapidly fills with rushing water. 

Roy Barcroft and Bud Geary

However, if you're expecting logic be warned that it is not in great supply in this serial. For instance, in the aforementioned sequence there is simply no reason why a kindly professor would have such a secret room under the floor in his laboratory. The whole business with Tony (Anthony Warde), a supposedly blind associate of Garrett's, doesn't make much sense. The actors go through their paces with professionalism, although Stirling mostly seems bored. Handsome Moore is a stalwart hero, however. Craven and Barcroft show why they were both much in demand for serial action. John Davidson appears a couple of times as the Emperor of Mars, as does Ken Terrell as another bad guy. Stuntman and actor Bud Geary had nearly 300 credits in serials, westerns, and other types of movies, generally playing nasty gunsels. 

Verdict: Fun cliffhanger from Republic! ***. 

CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN*JUNGLE WOMAN*JUNGLE CAPTIVE

Paula Dupree, the Ape Woman

CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943). Director: Edward Dmytryck.

JUNGLE WOMAN (1944). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE (1945). Director: Harold Young. 

In Captive Wild Woman, the first in the Paula the Ape Woman trilogy, Beth Colman (Evelyn Ankers) puts her neurotic sister Dorothy (Martha Vickers) in the care of glandular expert Dr. Sigmund Walters (John Carradine). Walkers turns out to be a deranged murderer who hits upon the utterly insane idea of using Dorothy's glandular extracts to inject into the big female gorilla Cheela (Ray Corrigan) in order to change her species! Before long, Cheela is looking like a rather attractive if exotic human female. But she retains her animal instincts. She is able to assist Beth's boyfriend, Fred (Milburn Stone), a lion tamer, when one of his feline charges gets out of line, and also develops an intense jealousy over his relationship with Beth. 

Acquanetta as Paula

Captive Wild Woman is a completely absurd horror film with enough holes in it to sink an ocean liner. Nobody ever wonders why Paula never utters a word, for instance. (The film is only an hour long, but even so!) Director Dmytryck keeps things moving, the film is well edited -- with Clyde Beatty (from The Big Cage) standing in for Stone in the long shots -- and there's plenty of animal action, if not quite enough of the murderous ape woman. This was Acquanetta's third film (out of only eleven), and she was not Hispanic as suggested but probably African-American, born Mildred Davenport of Philadelphia. 

Richard Davis and Acquanetta

Paula returned in the first sequel, Jungle Woman, which also featured Acquanetta in the title role. Dr. Fletcher (J. Carrol Naish), intrigued by the ape Cheela, who apparently died saving Fred at the end of the last film, claims her body and discovers a spark of life in her. Before too long Cheela disappears, and Paula returns, fuzzy-headed and initially incommunicative, although she begins to speak when she catches sight of Bob (Richard Davis), the attractive fiance of Fletcher's daughter, Joan (Lois Collier). Joan ignites Paula's jealousy and the gorilla girl begins to stalk her, attacking her when she's out on the lake in a canoe and trying to break into her cabin. Paula claims the good doctor is abusing her and wants Bob to take her away, and she isn't pleased when he refuses. Jungle Woman is the rare sequel that is better than the original, with a more interesting storyline, much more action, and much more of our delightfully dangerous title character. Evelyn Ankers and Milburn Stone reprise their roles but don't have much to do with the main plot this time. Douglass Dumbrille and Pierre Watkin have small supporting roles. Richard Davis was a handsome, adept actor but he only appeared in two films, this and Hat Check Honey. An intriguing aspect of the movie is when it is suggested that Paula was originally a human being who was turned into an ape (then back again), along the lines of "The Island of Dr. Moreau," but although this is mentioned by Fred it isn't followed up on. 

Vicky Lane as the unfortunate Paula

The Jungle Captive is the last film in the trilogy. This time the scientist who brings Paula the Ape Woman back to life is Mr. Stendahl (Otto Kruger), an evil son-of-a-gun who even uses his pretty assistant Ann's (Amelita Ward) blood to help revive the hairy Paula Dupree. Rondo Hatton, with his sad, sensitive face, plays a brutal assistant of Stendahl's, Moloch, who develops a soft spot for Ann. Vicky Lane replaces Acquanetta as Paula Dupree (Lane appeared in one TV episode after this and then left show biz). In her Ape Woman make up Lane looks more like a wolf woman. The script gives her very little to do. Jerome Cowan plays Inspector Harrigan, who is investigating the theft of the Ape Woman's body from the morgue and the murder of one of the attendants, while Phil Brown is Ann's co-worker and fiance. This is the last and least of the Ape Woman films, only proving that Universal had no clue as to how to handle the character, completely failing to exploit any of the Ape Woman's distinct possibilities. The actors do their best with fifth-rate material.

Verdict: Captive Wild Woman: Farfetched but fun enough. **1/2.

              Jungle Woman: Some real suspense in this. ***. 

              The Jungle Captive: Disappointing to say the least. *1/2.  

FOG ISLAND

Formidable adversaries: Atwill; Zucco

FOG ISLAND (1945). Director: Terry O. Morse. Colorized.

Leo Grainer (George Zucco) has a lot to be ticked off about. He believes he spent time in jail because he was framed by certain associates. He also believes that one of those associates murdered his wife. He now lives on an isolated island with his stepdaughter, Gail (Sharon Douglas), and invites all of the suspects there. For their own reasons -- including the possibility of finding a treasure cache -- they all agree. The guests include Ritchfield (Lionel Atwill of Lady in the Death House); fortune teller Emiline (Jacqueline deWit); Grainer's former secretary, Sylvia (Veda Ann Borg of Naked Gun); Doc Kingsley (Ian Keith), who was in jail with Grainer; Kavanaugh (Jerome Cowan of Black Zoo); and others. As the fog rolls in -- and in and in -- people start dying one by one. 

Sharon Douglas and John Whitney

The best -- and best-acted -- scenes have to do with Zucco and Atwill, two excellent performers who make the most out of weak material. Their scenes together are too brief to amount to much, however, and the rest of the creaky movie takes a while to really get going. John Whitney plays a love interest for Gail, who is pretty miserable to him for most of the running time. At the conclusion the picture is enlivened by a death trap sequence in which several of the characters are trapped in a locked underground chamber that is rapidly filling with water. Otherwise this is not that memorable a movie. 

Verdict: The fog machines on the sound stage were working overtime! **1/4. 

FEDERAL OPERATOR 99

Lorna Gray and George J. Lewis

FEDERAL OPERATOR 99 (12-chapter Republic serial/1945). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Richard Cherwin; Yakima Canutt. Colorized. 

Two determined men are out to get one another. On on side is crime lord Jim Belmont (George J. Lewis of Radar Patrol vs. Spy King) -- with his female partner Rita Parker (Lorna Gray of Flying G-Men) -- and on the other is Jerry Blake (Marten Lamont), aka Federal Operator 99, who is out to stymie everyone of his schemes with the help of feisty "secretary" Joyce Kingston (Helen Talbot). Jim is supposedly a great lover of classical music, but the only piece he ever plays is "Moonlight Sonata." In addition to Rita, he's got Farrell (Hal Taliaferro) and other gunsels working for him, while Jerry has agent Fred Martin (William Stevens). 

Jerry (Marten Lamont) in disguise

Federal Operator 99 is practically a textbook case of how a cliffhanger serial should be handled. The actors play with enthusiasm, the stunt work and fight scenes (with virtually every stick of furniture being smashed) are excellent, there are several outstanding cliffhangers, and the exciting pace never flags. Poor Joyce is nearly cremated at one point, and has a huge propeller heading in her direction at another. Jerry is caught in a room with bars and fiery flame jets and engages in lively fisticuffs with Tom Steele (who plays several roles). There's a highly suspenseful business involving a bomb at a barn door. Joyce and Rita have a "catfight" in the cab of a speeding truck, with the former throwing the latter out on her keister. And there's a thrilling climax in an abandoned theater where our villains come to their richly-deserved fates. This version is colorized and eliminates the opening and closing credits of each chapter. Sometimes we see our heroes escaping a doom trap before we see the trap itself, but this is a minor problem.  

Verdict: Outstanding serial is great fun and even better in color. ***1/2.  

G. I. HONEYMOON

Peter Cookson and Gale Storm

G. I. HONEYMOON (1945). Director: Phil Karlstein (Phil Karlson). 

Ann (Gale Storm of Gambling Daughters) and Lt. Bob Gordon (Peter Cookson) get married but things keep conspiring to keep them apart. They wind up renting an apartment in a place that was once a gambling casino -- leading to further complications -- and Ann incurs the wrath of the owner, Ace Renaldo (Jerome Cowan), when she manages to get a train compartment away from him via a little flirting and subterfuge. Renaldo makes certain the Military Police are informed that the place is off limits when Bob has a whole bunch of superior officers over for a cocktail party. Alleged pandemonium results. 

Gale Storm and Frank Jenks

The main strength of G.I. Honeymoon is the acting from the entire cast. Even in these early days Storm was an old pro, and Cookson displays his usual charm and adeptness. Cowan gives another excellent performance, and Frank Jenks (of The She Creature) scores a bullseye as Cowan's associate, "Blubber" Malloy. Arline Judge, Virginia Brissac (of The Mysterious Mr. M), and Jonathan Hale are also on hand and are also good, along with an uncredited actor who plays the love-smitten "Casanova." Although there are a few laughs in the film, there just aren't enough of them, with the picture coming off more as busy and frenetic than hilarious. From Monogram studios, of course.

Verdict: Just misses being a really funny movie. **1/4. 

THE MONSTER AND THE APE

The robot "monster"

THE MONSTER AND THE APE (15 chapter Columbia serial/1945. Director: Howard Bretherton. Colorized.

Professor Arnold (Ralph Morgan) has invented a robot which he calls the Metalogen Man after a material used in its construction. A colleague, Professor Ernst (George Macready of Steve Canyon), covets the robot for himself and uses his trained gorilla, Thor (Ray Corrigan), to get it, and thus begins a battle of wills and counter-strategies between opposing factions to get the robot back,  keep it out of Ernst's hands, and stay away from the paws of the mighty Thor and Ernst's nasty henchmen. Working on the side of justice along with Prof. Arnold are Ken Morgan (Robert Lowery of Sensation Hunters), Arnold's daughter, Babs (Carole Mathews of Assignment Redhead), and the lovably bumbling assistant Flash (Willie Best).  

George Macready consults with gunsels 

The Monster and the Ape is a fair-to-middling Columbia serial with a few interesting elements, such as the fact that the bad guys have an extra entrance to Ernst's HQ via a tunnel in the back of Thor's cage in the Municipal Zoo (yes, when he's not out killing people Thor stays in the zoo!). There are some more than decent cliffhangers, such as the bit with a conveyer belt that leads into an incinerator, and an even better sequence with walls closing in on our hero. Although he's as professional in this claptrap as he is in almost everything, Macready is an odd choice for this material, certainly not a career highpoint such as Paths of Glory. It's amusing that when Ernest disguises himself he doesn't disguise his voice -- surely even ten-year-olds would have wondered about that! Willie Best is forced to play the cowardly fool, as usual, but he is quite adept as Flash. 

Verdict: If you can't get enough apes and robots! **1/4. 

SENSATION HUNTERS (1945)

Doris Merrick and Robert Lowery

SENSATION HUNTERS (aka Club Paradise/1945). Director: Christy Cabanne.

Julie Rogers (Doris Merrick) has an unpleasant home situation with a grumpy father (Byron Foulger), drunk brother, pregnant sister-in-law and so on, but she does have a sympathetic boyfriend in aspiring musician Ray (Eddie Quillan). But things go awry when Ray takes her gambling and the joint is raided, resulting in Julie being thrown out of the house. She goes to work as a dancer at a dumpy gin mill called the Paradise Club. As Ray rises in the world and gets his own band, Julie becomes hung up on a good-for-nothing heel and gambler named Danny Burke (Robert Lowery), but this relationship may only lead to tragedy. 

Constance Worth and Lowery

Sensation Hunters could easily be sub-titled "When Good Girls Go Bad Due to Bad Guys." At 62 minutes the film certainly moves fast, but it could have used a lot more character development. Lowery is okay in the thankless and generic role of the good-looking creep who essentially lives off of women and has little back story. Doris Merrick's part is also under-written, but she does get across the confusion and desperation of her character. Constance Worth of G-Men vs the Black Dragon is excellent as Irene, the lady who runs the Paradise Club and is also carrying a torch for Danny. Wanda McKay of Roaring City scores as Helen, Julie's alleged friend who romances Ray and then goes after Danny herself. Isabel Jewell plays a singer at the Paradise who has seen better days, and Nestor Paiva is a loan shark who is after Danny for money. This is the second of two films that Monogram Studios released with the title of Sensation Hunters. Robert Lowery was the second screen Batman. 

Verdict: Not as sensational as you might hope. **. 

DANGEROUS PARTNERS

James Craig and Signe Hasso

DANGEROUS PARTNERS (1945). Director: Edward L. Cahn. Colorized.

After a plane crash Carola Ballister (Signe Hasso) discovers that one of the passengers, Kingby (Edmund Gwenn), has in his possession four wills naming him the beneficiary of one million dollars each. Carola teams up with shady lawyer Jeff Caighn (James Craig of Flying G-Men) and the two form a shaky partnership, even after learning that one of the people leaving money to Kingby has been murdered. The couple set out to contact the other three people and hope they will hand over to them the bonds that are in their possession, but Kingby has no intention of sitting still for this ...  

Signe Hasso and Edmund Gwenn

Dangerous Partners is, frankly, a confusing and unsatisfying bit of film noir, although it has some good moments and good acting. Leading man Craig is notable as the lawyer, but Signe Hasso doesn't really make the most compelling of femme fatales. Part of the problem is her odd looks; the rest is a performance that never really comes alive, although she is competent. The picture is stolen by Edmund Gwenn, playing against type as a nasty and murderous Nazi. Audrey Totter and Mabel Paige also have small roles. Throughout the movie we come to know Jeff and Carola as rather unpleasant people, so their abrupt switch to relative decency at the end -- especially where Jeff is concerned -- isn't very convincing. Director Edward L. Cahn never manages to build up much suspense. Cahn also directed the zesty Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake. Photographed by Karl Freund. 

Verdict: Half-baked film noir. **1/4. 

Verdict: 

MANHUNT OF MYSTERY ISLAND

Roy Barcroft as Captain Mephisto

MANHUNT OF MYSTERY ISLAND (15 chapter Republic serial/1945.)  Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Wallace Grissell, and Yakima Canutt. 

Professor Forrest (Forrest Taylor), who is working on a special device, is kidnapped by a man calling himself Captain Mephisto (Roy Barcroft of The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm). Mephisto wants the professor to weaponize his device so that he can use it to rule the world. Forrest's daughter, Claire (Linda Stirling of The Crimson Ghost), and detective Lance Reardon (Richard Bailey) manage to trace the professor to Mystery Island, a former penal colony and stronghold of a pirate (also named Mephisto) that is now owned by four businessmen. Mephisto, a descendant of the original, is actually one of those four men, but he uses a special transformation chair to turn himself into an exact duplicate of the long-dead pirate. Thus, Mephisto always knows the couple's plans ahead of time ... 

Richard Bailey and Linda Stirling

Manhunt of Mystery Island is a terrific, fast-paced and exciting Republic serial, with one excellent cliffhanger after another. There is a splendid bit in chapter seven in which Reardon, engaging in fisticuffs in a skyscraper, saves himself after being punched out of a window by grabbing onto a firehose! Chapter eleven features a thrilling fight between Mephisto and Reardon on shaky wooden platforms built high above the water's edge. There's a rope bridge that is deliberately snapped, plunging the couple to near doom in chapter thirteen. Not to mention our hero being trapped under a wine press, cornered by a destructive ray that threatens to parboil him, caught in a small chamber filling with gas, and so on. The acting in the movie may be merely serviceable, but no one watches these things for great acting. 

Verdict: Suspenseful, intriguing and often thrilling Republic cliffhanger. ***1/4.  

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

Linda Stirling and Dennis Moore

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (15 chapter Republic serial/1945). Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennett and Fred C. Brannon.

A man from  Mars (Ray Barcroft), the first wave of an invasion force and who calls himself the "Purple Monster," kills Dr. Layton (James Craven) and periodically takes over his body to use in his nefarious schemes. (Apparently his animating the corpse of Dr. Layton also prevents obvious decomposition.) Unaware that her uncle is actually a Martian invader, Layton's niece Sheila (Linda Stirling) and her associate, Craig (Dennis Moore), an insurance investigator, find themselves persistently in deadly conflict with the Purple Monster and a variety of earth gangsters headed by a man named Garrett (Bud Geary).

Dennis Moore about to be incinerated

The Monster first wants the rocket ship invented by Layton, then goes after a deadly "annihilator," as well as a Dimensional Magnet and a Stabilizer. Naturally Craig and Sheila do their best to keep these weapons out of the hands of the Monster and his men. At one point the Monster brings in a female Martian named Marcia (Mary Moore), who kills and takes over the body of poor Helen (Rosemonde James), a scientist's assistant who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sheila and the Martian witch have a "cat fight" on top of a cliff that doesn't go well for Marcia in chapter twelve. The Monster reports to the Emperor of Mars (John Davidson), who isn't certain that Barcroft is the right man for the job.

James Craven and Dennis Moore

The Purple Monster Strikes is full of lively fight scenes and a variety of cliffhangers. Sheila is almost shot into space inside a rocket in chapter one. Craig nearly falls off a ladder between two buildings when it totters and crashes into a wall in chapter two. There is a watery death trap for Sheila in chapter six and Craig is nearly squashed by a falling auto hanging on an overhead pulley in chapter eight. A moving wall pushes Craig towards bars lined with spikes in chapter ten. Dennis Moore is swell as Craig and has one of the best voices of any leading man. Stirling is decorative and reasonably adept as well. Craven and Barcroft are enthusiastic supporting players. There is no scene showing Sheila's remorse when she learns that her uncle has been dead all this time! Craven played a scientist who forms an alliance with an invading Martian in the later Flying Disc Man from Mars.

Verdict: Crazy but lots of action and fun. ***. 

THE HIDDEN EYE

Edward Arnold

THE HIDDEN EYE (1945). Director: Richard Whorf. 

Jean Hamptom (Frances Rafferty of Public Defender) is engaged to Barry Gifford (Paul Langton), but their marriage may be delayed by murders in the family. Now you would think two murders would be enough for Jean to seek the help of blind friend Duncan Maclain (Edward Arnold), who happens to be a private eye, but she waits until three of her relatives -- elderly uncles in general -- are gone before she goes to see him. Each body is found with the same note, and the room is full of the same perfume. Naturally Barry is under suspicion as a potential fortune hunter, but there is one other suspect, lawyer Phillip Treadway (Ray Collins). When his antagonist realizes that Maclain is on the right track, his seeing eye German Shepherd, Friday, is kidnapped. 

Rafferty, Collins, Langton

This is the second of two MGM films starring Arnold as Maclain, and it's nearly as bad as the first one, Eyes in the Night. This sequel is at least more of a nominal murder mystery, but as there's only one serious suspect one can't say this has much suspense to it. The culprit is revealed halfway through the running time and the rest is a lot of uninteresting running around. At least Maclain gets involved in a rather ferocious fist fight at the very end that temporarily wakes the viewer up from their stupor. The cast is game, and Arnold, always an excellent actor, proves as charismatic as ever, but this material is way beneath him. Byron Foulger [Lady in the Death House], Morris Amkrum [Earth vs. the Flying Saucers] and Arthur Space are also in the cast. 

Verdict: This short-lived detective series was done in by very poor scripts. **. 

THE TIGER WOMAN (1945)

Kane Richmond

THE TIGER WOMAN (1945). Director: Philip Ford. 

Private eye Jerry Devery (Kane Richmond) is contacted by a pretty singer at the tony Tiger Club named Sharon Winslow (Adele Mara). Sharon is afraid that something might happen to her husband, the club's co-owner, because of gambling debts, but she also confesses that she is in love with her husband's partner, Steve Mason (Richard Fraser). Sharon and Steve find Mr. Winslow's dead body along with a suicide note, and Steve decides to burn the note so that he can collect on his partner's insurance. Now even the police are sure it was murder -- and maybe it really was. Devery discovers a suspect, Rosie (Donia Bussey), who had a grudge against Winslow and she is arrested, but are things as neatly sewn up as Devery thinks? 

Adele Mara and Richard Fraser

Based on a play, The Tiger Woman -- not to be confused with the cliffhanger serial of the same name -- comes off like an interesting pastiche of various private eye novels. There are no major surprises in the plot but there are some twists and turns along the way and the flick is entertaining. It also features an especially ruthless and sociopathic villainess. Kane Richmond plays the private eye in the insouciant style that was nearly obligatory during the period, and he's perfectly okay on that level. Adele Mara doesn't have to do much but look good, alternately purring and snarling, but she is also okay. Richard Fraser and Donia Bussey offer adept supporting performances, and Cy Kendall [Lady in the Death House] is more than adequate as the fat Inspector Leggett. Although Leggett amd Devery eventually unravel the clues in the case, they generally don't come off as especially intelligent investigators. From Republic Pictures.

Verdict: Private eye pastiche from Republic. **3/4.