It's been said that the addition of Horror icon Boris Karloff to any cast made even the most insane premise watchable ... and it kinda/sorta sounds like that may've been the case with The Ape.
Released on this day in the United States back in 1940, The Ape was directed by William Nigh. As for Nigh's record, I'm familiar with it mostly because he was involved in the Mr. Wong film series of which Karloff also starred as the chief detective solving crimes wherever bad deeds were committed. Nigh's name is also attached to such other genre entries as 1942's The Strange Case Of Doctor Rx and 1943's The Ghost And The Guest. He may not have anything else of significant note except for the fact that I believe he had a handful of pictures wherein he directed his cast alongside a man in an ape costume ... convenient indeed since this flick was centered around one of those dangerous creatures.
As for the story?
According to information on IMDB.com, the script is tied to a stage play written by Adam Shirk. (Shirk's name brings up a few items on the movie website but nothing quite like The Ape.) The play shows adapted for the screen by Curt Siodmak and Richard Carroll. While I'm not as familiar with Carroll's name, I do recognize Siodmak's. In fact, he's got some fabulous genre credentials, including work on such projects as F.P.1 Doesn't Answer (1932), Transatlantic Tunnel (1935), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), Black Friday (1940), The Invisible Woman (1940), The Wolf Man (1941), Invisible Agent (1942), Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943), I Walked With A Zombie (1943), Son Of Dracula (1943), The Lady And The Monster (1944), House Of Frankenstein (1944), The Beast With Five Fingers (1946), Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), Bride Of The Gorilla (1951), The Magnetic Monster (1953), Riders To The Stars (1954), Creature With The Atom Brain (1955), Captain Fathom (1955), Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers (1956), Curucu - Beast Of The Amazon (1956), Tales Of Frankenstein (1958), 13 Demon Street, The Brain (1962), The Devil's Messenger (1962), Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace (1962), and Hauser's Memory (1970). See what I mean? An inspection of the writer's illustrious record should alone encourage folks that The Ape might be worth a passing look.
Here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape has broken out of its cage, and is terrorizing towns people."
As for the screen talent, The Ape stars Boris Karloff's along with such others as Maris Wrixon, Gene O'Donnell, Dorothy Vaughan, Gertrude Hoffman, and Henry Hall in prominent roles.
Sadly, I don't see a great deal of information available on the project, and the overall critical assessment of it is a bit low. On IMDB.com, the feature presently scores below 5.0 (on its 10.0 scale) with one user suggesting that Karloff's participation might be the only saving grace to the whole monkey business.
-- EZ
Editor's Note:
I did a quick search over on the Information Superhighway, and it does appear that The Ape has been more fondly remembered by customers of Amazon.com; in fact, the picture has a few pretty solid user reviews. The project did apparently have a fairly recent release from Kino Lorber (2020) -- one that includes two commentary tracks -- so I'm posting a link below should anyone be interested in heading over there and picking up a copy. As always: buyer beware. This isn't an endorsement ... just think of it as helpful information for those inclined.
Released on this day in the United States back in 1940, The Ape was directed by William Nigh. As for Nigh's record, I'm familiar with it mostly because he was involved in the Mr. Wong film series of which Karloff also starred as the chief detective solving crimes wherever bad deeds were committed. Nigh's name is also attached to such other genre entries as 1942's The Strange Case Of Doctor Rx and 1943's The Ghost And The Guest. He may not have anything else of significant note except for the fact that I believe he had a handful of pictures wherein he directed his cast alongside a man in an ape costume ... convenient indeed since this flick was centered around one of those dangerous creatures.
As for the story?
According to information on IMDB.com, the script is tied to a stage play written by Adam Shirk. (Shirk's name brings up a few items on the movie website but nothing quite like The Ape.) The play shows adapted for the screen by Curt Siodmak and Richard Carroll. While I'm not as familiar with Carroll's name, I do recognize Siodmak's. In fact, he's got some fabulous genre credentials, including work on such projects as F.P.1 Doesn't Answer (1932), Transatlantic Tunnel (1935), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), Black Friday (1940), The Invisible Woman (1940), The Wolf Man (1941), Invisible Agent (1942), Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943), I Walked With A Zombie (1943), Son Of Dracula (1943), The Lady And The Monster (1944), House Of Frankenstein (1944), The Beast With Five Fingers (1946), Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949), Bride Of The Gorilla (1951), The Magnetic Monster (1953), Riders To The Stars (1954), Creature With The Atom Brain (1955), Captain Fathom (1955), Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers (1956), Curucu - Beast Of The Amazon (1956), Tales Of Frankenstein (1958), 13 Demon Street, The Brain (1962), The Devil's Messenger (1962), Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace (1962), and Hauser's Memory (1970). See what I mean? An inspection of the writer's illustrious record should alone encourage folks that The Ape might be worth a passing look.
Here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:
"Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape has broken out of its cage, and is terrorizing towns people."
As for the screen talent, The Ape stars Boris Karloff's along with such others as Maris Wrixon, Gene O'Donnell, Dorothy Vaughan, Gertrude Hoffman, and Henry Hall in prominent roles.
Sadly, I don't see a great deal of information available on the project, and the overall critical assessment of it is a bit low. On IMDB.com, the feature presently scores below 5.0 (on its 10.0 scale) with one user suggesting that Karloff's participation might be the only saving grace to the whole monkey business.
-- EZ
Editor's Note:
I did a quick search over on the Information Superhighway, and it does appear that The Ape has been more fondly remembered by customers of Amazon.com; in fact, the picture has a few pretty solid user reviews. The project did apparently have a fairly recent release from Kino Lorber (2020) -- one that includes two commentary tracks -- so I'm posting a link below should anyone be interested in heading over there and picking up a copy. As always: buyer beware. This isn't an endorsement ... just think of it as helpful information for those inclined.
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