Paramount's Brain Surgery: The Monster and The Girl (1941)
Stuff I
would have thought censorable abounds in this half-measure of a Paramount horror film, a latter portion of 65 minutes
focused on man-to-ape braintransplanting (how can this ever be a practical
idea?). Heroine Ellen Drew is meanwhile forced into prostitution (unspoke, but
clearly understood), and the avenging ape, formerly a brother protecting
Ellen's honor a laBill Hart, goes about one-by-one-ing of the gang that
sullied her. Revenge murder was frowned upon by Code monitors, but here
endorsed thanks to instrument of death being simian rather than human, plus
guarantee he/it will be treed and done for by Monster's end. Pretty good after
blueprint of 1936's The Walking Dead, wherein Karloff was resurrected to settle
scores. What's fun too is a death house scene where scientist George Zucco
scans cells for brain donation, shopping among the condemned by courtesy Edward
Van Sloan, a warden who'd know plenty from value of a fresh brain. The Monster
and The Girl comes courtesy Universal's Vault Series, quality OK, but a fresh
transfer, like for gorilla brain placement, would have been nice.
Always great hearing from reader "Griff" --- here he e-mails in about "The Monster and The Girl" plus the Galveston flood at the St. Louis World's Fair:
Dear John:
What I recall best about THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL -- other than it being a relatively rare Paramount horror movie, of course -- is the sterling, even inspiringly loyal performance by Skipper the Dog. I kid you not. I am frequently resistant to the appeal of many celluloid thespian hounds, but Skipper here had the right stuff. To say more about this would tend to spoil the picture's convoluted plot for those who have never seen it.
I wasn't aware this was finally out on dvd. Is it one of those Amazon MODs -- I can never get an updated list of these -- or is it part of a different series?
Regards, -- Griff
P.S. My family much appreciated your detective work on Margaret O'Brien's reference to seeing the "Galveston Flood" in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. Whenever I see the picture, I scratch my head a little at this point. I know a lot about the flood, but I have no idea what Tootie's talking about -- what could the gore-obsessed little girl have just seen? Thanks to Greenbriar, mystery solved. Man, I'd love to have seen that diorama. And the rest of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. My real "time machine" fantasy is to visit the 1939 New York World's Fair...
I remember seeing THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL as a mid-afternoon weekday filler back in the 60's. Even my youthful, less-than-worldly brain doped out the trade Ellen Drew was plying. Always thought it a shame mad doctor Karloff tackled all the really noble scientific pursuits (artificial heart, artificial blood, suspended animation, cure for polio, etc.) while Zucco and Lugosi got stuck forever changing out brains between men and men in gorilla suits. Love the ad for the Ellen Drew double feature. In fact, love Ellen Drew... and more specifically, Ellen Drew's mouth. A tad bigger and closer to the nose than those of average 1940's starlets. She was pretty wonderful, always a big plus to the production at hand whether the director was Preston Sturges or Bill Castle.
2 Comments:
Always great hearing from reader "Griff" --- here he e-mails in about "The Monster and The Girl" plus the Galveston flood at the St. Louis World's Fair:
Dear John:
What I recall best about THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL -- other than it being a relatively rare Paramount horror movie, of course -- is the sterling, even inspiringly loyal performance by Skipper the Dog. I kid you not. I am frequently resistant to the appeal of many celluloid thespian hounds, but Skipper here had the right stuff. To say more about this would tend to spoil the picture's convoluted plot for those who have never seen it.
I wasn't aware this was finally out on dvd. Is it one of those Amazon MODs -- I can never get an updated list of these -- or is it part of a different series?
Regards,
-- Griff
P.S. My family much appreciated your detective work on Margaret O'Brien's reference to seeing the "Galveston Flood" in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. Whenever I see the picture, I scratch my head a little at this point. I know a lot about the flood, but I have no idea what Tootie's talking about -- what could the gore-obsessed little girl have just seen? Thanks to Greenbriar, mystery solved. Man, I'd love to have seen that diorama. And the rest of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. My real "time machine" fantasy is to visit the 1939 New York World's Fair...
I remember seeing THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL as a mid-afternoon weekday filler back in the 60's. Even my youthful, less-than-worldly brain doped out the trade Ellen Drew was plying. Always thought it a shame mad doctor Karloff tackled all the really noble scientific pursuits (artificial heart, artificial blood, suspended animation, cure for polio, etc.) while Zucco and Lugosi got stuck forever changing out brains between men and men in gorilla suits. Love the ad for the Ellen Drew double feature. In fact, love Ellen Drew... and more specifically, Ellen Drew's mouth. A tad bigger and closer to the nose than those of average 1940's starlets. She was pretty wonderful, always a big plus to the production at hand whether the director was Preston Sturges or Bill Castle.
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