Stop me if you've heard this one before: Eccentric rich man dies. His daughter, the usual spineless whining creature we have to accept as our heroine, returns home with her fiancé, a condescending douche we have to accept as our hero. Soon, someone tries to kill her. Is it the only person with an alibi? Or the "killer ape" (this time not a man in a gorilla costume, but a pitiable chimpanzee) who is somehow able to escape from his cage in the cellar? The audience of the 30s was probably as unsurprised by the "mystery's" solution as the modern viewer.
The most interesting thing I can say about The Monster Walks is that it stands at a stylistic crossroad between silent movie and talking picture. It's obvious how much director and cast stilled struggled with the new technology, the few arresting moments are silent and look and feel as if they belong in a different and wordless film. Most of the time, the film is just kind of dull and very slow.
Warning: Contains demeaning black "comic relief"!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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