Man-Made Monster
So this is one of my collection that I haven't seen the full movie for, and I haven't actually watch the digest either. I got a big collection awhile back but haven't gotten around to checking them all out.
That being said, with a title like 'Man-Made Monster', I suspect they were trying to make it sound more Frankenstein-esque. according to the Opening credits, It was based on a story called the Electric Man, which is more descriptive, and I think just as cool. But Frankenstein was the most popular movie monster of the time, so whatever. It stars Lon Cheney Jr, and is Directed by George WaGGner. These two worked together on the "Wolfman" so I figure that makes them the DiNiro-Scoressee of the Universal Horror set.
So the Movie:
It starts with a bus crash where Lon is the only survivor, the others dying of electrocution since the bus hit some electric poles. Coincidentally, Lon is Dynamo Dan, the Electric Man, a side show performer who does simple electricity tricks. some old scientist hires him for some experiments with another scientist. oh, and there's a dog.
So Mad scientist 2 without old mad scientist type 1, straps Lon to a table and zaps him with some large number of Volt and Lon starts to Glow. Lon is also under the Mad Scientist control. how electrocution and Hypnosis are related, I have no Idea.
So Old Scientist shows up and is horrified. Apparently being a mad scientist type doesn't make you a mad scientist, but live and learn. So mad scientist tells Lon to stop Old Scientist from calling the police. and Mad scientist is horrified when Lon kills Old Scientist. What the Hell was Mad Scientist thinking was going to happen. You electrocute a guy and expect him to be delicate. And isn't being a Mad scientist mean you don't mind who gets killed if it stands in the way of your evil plan? Seems like they let anyone be a mad scientist back in those days. pickings must have been pretty slim.
Back to the story, Mad Scientist runs out the door, but because he's holding on to the metal door knob, Lon kills him by grabbing the other side.
And all this time, like 4 or 5 times, they cut to a dog scratching on a door trying to get in. not only does this not drive the story forward, but Old Doc came in one door, Mad Scientist left out another door, Where the hell is this dog? How many doors does this laboratory have?
Anyway, Lon gets out and attacks some folks apparently on a hay ride. the driver gets electrocuted when he hits Lon with a leather horse whip. Yeah, Scientific laws have already been thrown out the window, so why not just go for broke. the Carriage with all the people goes running out of control and is on fire. OK, that was pretty cool.
And the great climax when the police show up. What heroic action do they do to stop the monster? They stand around and watch him randomly get caught up in a barbwire fence and die. And then the F*ing dog show up. what the hell? there are movies about dogs that don't have that much dog in it.
And another thing. Where were the chicks? were there any in the full movie? These movie always have some chick, Daughter of the mad scientist, Fiance, Plucky reporter, anything. and when there is, we usually see them at some point in the digest. this one, nothing.
Lon was definitely the one hit wonder who kept cranking out albums. Kind on like Vanilla Ice.
Ultimately, these were some wussy mad scientists.
Well, until next movie. and hopefully, that one won't have a dog.
