Man Made Monster
1941 Directed by George Waggner
Synopsis
The most amazing monster the world has ever known.
Mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.
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Lon Chaney Jr finds himself at the mercy of Lionel Atwill's megalomaniacal mad scientist in this 59 minute Universal monster pot-boiler. Chaney goes from cheerful carnival worker who's friendly with dogs, to downcast addict dependent on shots of glow-in-the-dark electricity that also make him prey to Atwill's hypnotic suggestion ... after which not even Corky the performing dog (the true star of the film, if truth be told … he gets far more screen time than anybody else) will go anywhere near him, which only makes poor old Chaney look even sadder. It's pretty mediocre fare but enjoyable enough as something to pass the time at the end of the day, before bed. Atwill is, of course, terrific and gets some great lines. Particularly enjoyable is the way he enthusiastically agrees every time some worthy so-and-so tells him he’s mad!
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Nothing at all surprising just a passable Universal B picture. Glow-in-the-dark Lon Chaney is really not scary but I did like his big galoot character early on. Anne Nagel is also engaging and reminded me a lot of Ida Lupino.
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Lon Chaney Jr finds himself at the mercy of Lionel Atwill's megalomaniacal mad scientist in this 59 minute Universal monster pot-boiler. Chaney goes from cheerful carnival worker who's friendly with dogs, to downcast addict dependent on shots of glow-in-the-dark electricity that also make him prey to Atwill's hypnotic suggestion ... after which not even Corky the performing dog (the true star of the film, if truth be told … he gets far more screen time than anybody else) will go anywhere near him, which only makes poor old Chaney look even sadder. It's pretty mediocre fare but enjoyable enough as something to pass the time at the end of the day, before bed. Atwill is, of course, terrific and gets some great lines. Particularly enjoyable is the way he enthusiastically agrees every time some worthy so-and-so tells him he’s mad!
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It’s not one of Universal’s best programmers, but this adequate entry with Lon Chaney Jr as a circus performer who is turned into an “electric man” via a mad scientist’s doses of voltage boasts some nice cinematography and performances despite the juvenile plotline. It also appears to be a parable about addiction, which should have rung true for Chaney at the time.
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This is the film that brought both Lon Chaney Jr. and George Waggner into the Universal Horror mix. After this they would both immediately move to THE WOLF MAN as their next assignment. It's too bad this is a Frankenstein wannabe mess. This is more a story of Medical-test patient abuse as Dr. Rigas (Lionel Atwell) kept subjecting poor Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney Jr.) to massive doses of pure electricity. Eventually Dan starts to glow and becomes.... Dan. Can we get a Monster name for this guy? Dan McCormick just doesn't sell T-Shirts and Movie Posters very well. Eventually Dan kills everyone he touches and is accused of murder. Then we do a trial and sentencing, blah-blah-blah.. all, of course,…