Susan Webster (Ellen Drew) is a nice girl from a small town. Looking for something better in life she travels to New York City to look for a job. Her luck is bad. There are no jobs available. She meets a man named Larry Reed (Robert Paige). They have a whirlwind courtship. Susan writes to her brother Scot (Phillip Terry) about her new love. Larry and Susan get married. At least Susan thinks she is getting married. They end up at what is supposed to be a wedding celebration.
The next morning Susan wakes up to find that she is not married but is now in the clutches of a man named Munn (Gerald Mohr). Munn is a gangster. Larry Reed turns out to be a procurer of women for a white slavery ring. Susan is forced into prostitution. Munn reports to W. S. Bruhl (Paul Lukas). He is the head of the prostitution ring. Among his other henchmen are Sleeper (Marc Lawrence) and Deacon (Joseph Calleia).
When Scot hears what happened to Susan he tries to get her out of the ring. Looking for Larry Reed he confronts Bruhl. Bruhl is currently having an issue with another gangster named Wade Stanton. Bruhl tells Scot to go to Wade’s hotel room later to discuss it. As directed Scot arrives at the appropriate time and knocks on the door. When Wade answers the door he is shot by Munn from an alcove. Munn tosses the gun and it lands near Scot. Scot picks it up by reflex and is seen by witnesses. Scot is arrested and put on trial. Susan tries to come to his defense but it is no use. Scot is found guilty and sentenced to death. When he is taken out of the courtroom Scot swears vengeance on all those in the prostitution ring.
Dr. Perry (George Zucco) visits Scot in jail. He is doing experiments on the brain and wants Scot to allow him to use his. Scot agrees to let Dr. Perry have his body after the execution. Perry transplants Scot’s brain into a gorilla. The operation works except for one thing. Perry thinks he is making a smarter gorilla. What really happens is that Scot’s brain is still functioning based on Scot’s memory. Scot is aware that he is now in a gorilla’s body. The gorilla is Scot magnified. The first thing Scot gorilla does is break out of his cage. With his new strength he heads out looking for Bruhl and his gang to get his revenge.
“The Monster and the Girl” AKA “The Avenging Brain” AKA “D.O.A.” was released in 1941 and was directed by Stuart Heisler. The movie is one of Paramount Pictures “B” films. This Paramount feature was licensed by Universal during the fifties. It is now part of the Universal Vault Series.
It has been referred to as a schizophrenic movie. Part crime drama part horror movie. It starts as a white slavery film and morphs into a gorilla movie. Cool. The first half of the film is very much noirish in its delivery and tone. It’s also rather slow paced and at times a little confusing when it comes to the introduction of a few characters. I blame that on the editing. For those that like gangster films the drawbacks of that part of the movie may be worth it. For those that like horror movies the last half is worth the wait.
Once you get to the half way mark things change dramatically. First off is George Zucco, the king of mad scientists, although here he is a little more reserved. The second half of the film was not only better than the first half, it was better than a lot of other “B” movies I’ve seen. The guy in the gorilla suit, does a great job as the gorilla. He walks and acts like a gorilla, but his eyes show an intelligence that overrides his simian nature.
Another aspect of the film that I liked was George’s pet dog Skipper. He is only seen once in the first half of the movie. He has a habit of holding George’s hat in his mouth when he wants to go fishing with George. When Skipper sees the gorilla he knows it is George and does the same little habit. Then he begins following George the gorilla as he silently moves around the city.
Milwaukee banned it for showing white slavery and that juries could be corrupted by crime bosses. The guy in the gorilla suit is Charles Gemora. Gemora was a makeup artist who, on the side, did gorilla, bear and alien duty when required.
At only sixty-four minutes it’s a short movie but a fun one. The blending of the genres and styles is not without its flaws but it certainly makes the film quite memorable. Although not totally obscure it is not well known. The title makes it sound campy but I found it to be very believable, as far as gorilla horror movies go.