The Lady and the Monster

A short way into this film I realized that it is the same film that remade as "Donovan's Brain" (with Lew Ayers)--a very good movie. "The Lady and the Monster" is the original version of this story but based on the title you'd never know it--after all, there really is no monster in the film and it's not exactly a horror film...not exactly.

Erich Von Stroheim of all people plays the lead in this film. He's a not exactly mad scientist who has weird theories about keeping a brain alive after death--on the other hand, he sure ain't normal! He is a guardian for a rather hysterical young lady who is a bad actress (Vera Ralston--who was apparently sleeping with the head of the studio). And, he has an assistant (Richard Arlen) who can't make up his mind about the ethics of Von Stroheim's work.

One day, an actual human subject falls into Von Stroheim's lap, so to speak. There was an accident and he was called in to treat the victims--one of which was a rich and powerful man, Mr. Donovan. He and Arlen 'borrow' the brain when Donovan dies--unethical, sure, but probably not a bad thing...or is it?! The experiment turns out to be a great success--the brain is kept alive for many days. However, something weird happens--the brain begins to show amazing powers--powers to control Arlen and Von Stroheim!

As I said above, this isn't exactly a horror film. While it has some elements, the story is a but more understated and the scientists aren't quite mad enough to qualify it as a horror film. I think of it more as 'horror lite'. I enjoyed the film, for the most part, but also think the film needed a bit more polish and a few changes. The biggest problem was Ralston's character. Throughout much of the early part of the film she seemed really high-strung and went on and on about how horrible Von Stroheim was---even though he hadn't really done anything yet! It just made little sense--nor did her usual bizarre delivery of her lines. Apart from that the film was good but did seem to meander a bit here and there. As a result, and I RARELY say this, I really think the remake was a better film--and with a much more appropriate title.

This amazing little Republic Pictures movie is awesome, because crazy, fun, incredible, thanks a lot to Erich Von Stroheim's presence in a role that seemed to have been made for him. And as far as I know this is the only science fiction movie that director George Sherman offered us. Maybe it is a shame, because it's not so bad for a western dude. I don't compare it with Felix Feist's DONOVAN'S BRAIN, because this kind of topic is not really my cup of tea, so I won't give my opinion to say which is the best. Both movies are from a Curt Siodmak's novel. Watch it mainly for Von Stroheim's character. But not only.

1944's "The Lady and the Monster" was among the few Republic examples of the horror genre (serials and outdoor pictures were their bread and butter), unfortunately tainted by the godawful presence of Czech skating star Vera Hruba Ralston, sweetheart and later bride of studio president Herbert J. Yates, who spent 14 years spending extravagant amounts on her box office failures until the Poverty Row outfit finally collapsed at the same time as RKO. This was the first of three adaptations of the 1942 novel "Donovan's Brain," the first penned by screenwriter Curt Siodmak, so popular that he conceived a 1968 sequel called "Hauser's Memory," earning its lone adaptation as a 1970 TV movie, followed by 1991's "Gabriel's Body." The original title graced the 1953 version with Lew Ayres, while the second remake, 1962's British-German "Vengeance," was branded "The Brain" for American audiences. Yates only decided on the final moniker to signify Vera's importance to this initial screen version (no relation to George Zucco's "The Monster and the Girl"), shooting titles including "The Monster," "The Monster's Castle," "The Monster and the Lady," and "The Brute" (a later reissue earned yet another title, "The Tiger Man"). When cutting away from the intrigue to return to her attractive yet superfluous character the film only grinds to a halt, spending the entire first half on exposition before finally getting down to business. Erich von Stroheim enjoys one of his best remembered leading roles as Dr. Franz Mueller, whose isolated home outside Phoenix is an impressive castle where he conducts experiments on the brains of animals to see how long they survive when the body is deceased. Just as he and assistant Patrick Cory (Richard Arlen) pine for the use of a human specimen a nearby plane crash claims the life of renowned financier William H. Donovan, perhaps the most distinguished brain that any mab lab could want, pronounced dead by the local coroner to allow easier access to what lies inside the skull. Only at the midway point do we finally receive the novel's plot in more detail, Cory (the actual protagonist on the written page) encouraged by Mueller to continue the experiment through a telepathic link, sending the unwitting guinea pig west to Los Angeles to try to free a convicted killer from federal prison. Also taking an interest in Cory's every move are Donovan's scheming attorney (Sidney Blackmer) and faithless wife (Helen Vinson), left penniless by her husband's cleverness, multiple bank accounts set up only by an odd signature. The mystery holds up until the finale, where Cory explains all in a sadly perfunctory dialogue session, Mueller receiving his comeuppance from an unexpected source.

Let's start with the great things. Direction and cinematography are top notch. Pacing is great, exciting. Fantastic Gothic atmosphere at the Castle. Set design and construction were superb; not just the stupendous Gothic castle and mad scientist laboratory, but the creamy art-deco nightclub straight out of a Fred Astaire/Busby Berkeley musical, and the fancy lawyer's office that oozed money. Gorgeous matte paintings and model work. Specialized lighting effects were used liberally and effectively. Good job to all those technicians on all their hard work.

Now to the bad things. Putting aside the way-out concept, I can accept that. After all, this is a science fiction story. But some of the writing is just atrocious. Badly phrased dialog abounds. And why a Gothic castle in the Arizona desert? What was that all about? And ye Gods, Vera Hruba Ralston is just a TERRIBLE actress. I don't see the appeal at all. She's not even really THAT pretty. Richard Arlen is a little stiff. Erich Von Stroheim is awesome at what he does, but certainly no one will ever praise him for his versatile range as an actor.

Yes, much less effective and respectable than the 1953 version, "Donovan's Brain." Check that one out first if you haven't seen it. This movie is a fun little low budget genre flick that does have some advantages to it, but it's certainly not hall of fame material.

Prof. Franz Mueller (Erich Von Stroheim) is experimenting with keeping the human brain alive after death. A nearby plane crash gives him the perfect test subject in a dying man named Donovan. Mueller and his assistant, Dr. Cory (Richard Arlen) plop Donovan's brain into a tank full of chemicals and strange, unexpected things start happening.

As you might have noticed, this is the original version of the story that would become the 1950's sci-fi classic, DONOVAN'S BRAIN by Curt Siodmak. Personally, I prefer this version, since it has a deeper story and more interesting characters. After all, it's hard to beat Von Stroheim practicing mad science!...