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. **. 

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. **.