The Monster Maker (1944)

As Good As It Gets

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

1944 was the year in which a hitherto obscure glandular disorder called acromegaly hit the Hollywood mainstream. In the Sherlock Holmes adventure 'The Pearl of Death' a crowd player named Rondo Hatton (1894-1946) who suffered the affliction was promoted to featured billing as the backbreaking Hoxton Creeper and achieved transitory stardom as the only movie monster who didn't require makeup. And it was also a central plot element in 'The Monster Maker'; stored in a bottle in the drugs cabinet of Dr.Markoff bearing a professionally printed label reading "Acromegaly A.5.B2", as if he'd bought it at his local branch of Boots.It was probably tasteless for a mere horror movie to use the authentic condition which in reality afflicted poor Hatton (a picture of whom will show you what a genuine sufferer actually looks like); but the film is nowhere near as sleazy as authorities like Leonard Maltin and the late Denis Gifford made it sound (and that it's provenance as a production of 'Z' budget studio PRC might lead one to expect). J.Carroll Naish and Ralph Morgan are both urbanely professional as the oily Dr Markoff and the concert pianist whose daughter he covets. The acromegalic makeup by Maurice Seiderman (who worked on 'Citizen Kane') is actually not bad (although is wisely not lingered on for too long by director Sam Newfield); and is more convincing than that later worn by Leo G. Carroll when afflicted with the same condition in 'Tarantula'. Oddly enough, cinematographer Robert Cline's name isn't in the credits (at least in the prints posted on YouTube), but he does a fluid and elegant job; as does editor Holbrook N. Todd.Previous IMDb reviewers have pointed up similarities to 'The Raven' (1935); and schlockmeister Herman Cohen in turn probably drew upon youthful memories of this when he produced the laugh-out-loud funny 'Konga' (1961), with which it shares in common a very mad scientist (hilariously overacted in 'Konga' by Michael Gough) with a fondness for injecting serums, a besotted female assistant frustrated by her boss's infatuation with a younger, cuter and blonder girl on whom he forces his creepy attentions to a predictably unenthusiastic response, and a pet gorilla in a cage (who looks as if he's even wearing the same gorilla suit) who he occasionally lets out at night to deal with people who are making a nuisance of themselves.One of the most improbable elements in the film is also one of its strengths. As played by Tala Birell, Markoff's assistant Maxine is a smart, handsome woman who knows her way around a laboratory. But, knowing what he did to the real Markoff and his wife, why is she so besotted with this jerk in the first place? Happily she avoids the fate suffered by lab assistants in most horror movies and survives until the end, seems to take Markoff's death in her stride and hopefully went on to settle down with someone more worthy of her.

For fans of the odd, PRC delivers again. In a sort of a preview of his Al Adamson days, Naish plays an obsessed Dr. Markoff (if you want good care, mark him off) with one thing and one thing only on his mind. Actually, what's interesting about this movie is how the low budget forces the filmmakers to boil all the plot down to it's absolute basics. Why does the not bad looking nurse go for Markoff? Well, nobody ever said human beings made sense. If your looking to get silly, as Bob Dylan once sang, you could hardly do better. Speaking of Dylan, the plot is not unlike his song, "Seven Curses." And what did happen to Steve once the movie was over? He was only trying to be a good employee, which is about the closest to a decent instinct anyone character has in this movie.

A ludicrous, but mildly effective BW 1940s low-rent shocker item, which is more often professionally directed with some stellar acting. The story takes up that mad scientist theme (although in some sequence it seems like the doctor thinks he's some sort of hypnotist --- repeating sentences "You heard nothing"), but lurking underneath the narrative is a deranged and sinister novelty with excellent performances by J Carrol Naish and Ralph Morgan. Outside the obviously risible man in a gorilla suit (which that sub-plot could have been easily discarded) the make-up FX for the disfiguring disease is well-done for its time.A scientist falls for a girl who resembles his dead wife, but she doesn't want his attention. Frustrated by that he turns her famous piano playing father into a monster by injecting him with acromegaly -- a deformity disease. Being a specialist on the disease he's the only one that knows of the cure and uses that to try blackmail him for his daughter in marriage.Everything but the kitchen sink is chucked in, but it never wastes any time and breezes by in no time. It can be talky, but the robust direction can be tight and suspenseful in its manipulative strangle hold. The characters just seem to put themselves in dangerous positions. Although get ready for a drinking game. You'll be amazed by constant use of the word Acromegaly. They must like pronouncing it, as watch how it rolls off their tongues. Acromegaly."The Monster Maker" is sure-footed entertainment.

J Carrol Naish stars as a scientist, Dr. Igor Markoff, obsessed with the daughter of a skilled professional concert pianist, Anthony Lawrence(Ralph Morgan) and will do whatever it takes to have her..including injecting him with acromegaley(..a glandular condition which causes physical distortions of the face, hands, and feet)in a diabolical scheme to force a marriage. His object of desire, Patricia(Wanda McKay), is in love with pop's business manager, Bob Blake(Terry Frost). Working as his assistant is Maxine(Tala Birell), who understands his intentions and longs to have his love towards her. But, Maxine's devotion to Markoff and love go unrequited and she is growing tired and worried regarding his behavior, voicing her concerns, threatening to leave and report his devious actions(..regarding his purposely infecting an innocent man of a rare disease for the sole reason of gaining his daughter in return), with her life in danger as a result..Markoff attempts to murder her by releasing a caged gorilla, and often hypnotizes her when she threatens to expose him. Meanwhile, Pat watches her beloved father fall prey to the acromegaley, at first restless and energetic, suddenly a hideous human monster in an accelerated amount of time. In an ultimate confrontation, Igor will meet his created abomination with Pat following soon after in the hopes that her father will be saved not yet knowing the warped scientist's plan to have her as his own.Cheap, low budget production with Naish is great form as the disturbed Markoff, willing to go to any lengths necessary to claim a woman who reminds him of his late wife. The whole movie is macabre, particularly the back story and what Markoff does to Anthony..Naish's character was an assistant to the real Markoff, killing him in retaliation for adultery with his wife, Fiona, and assuming his identity, taking his work to the United States, along with Maxine, and continuing the acromegaley experiments, perfecting a serum which can regress the disease while also holding a dangerous weapon in liquid form that can also cause it(...Markoff admits to Maxine that he purposely infected Fiona with acromegaley so that no one would want her, the result being that she committed suicide).Naish has really never been recognized as the star that he was, and little modest B-pictures like THE MONSTER MAKER are examples at how commanding he could be. A real talent he had at portraying a number of characters, from a man evolved from an ape in DR RENAULT'S SECRET to a dogged inspector in THE BEAST WITH WITH FIVE FINGERS to a rejected, mistreated hunchback assistant in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. I sadly believe the man perhaps left this mortal coil thinking that he had not left an indelible mark in the genre he starred in for so long..but when those of us discover his work in a film as minor as this, an admiration for him grows exponentially. He absolutely embodies this madman, perfecting the balance between brilliance and madness, all low-key and subtle, never over the top, with a calm voice and unshaken disposition which makes him all the more menacing. The rest of the cast, except for Morgan, soon hardly recognizable under ghastly make-up, are merely adequate..Naish practically carries the movie on his shoulders. I'd recommend this to classic horror buffs who wish to see Naish in his element, while also getting a glimpse at a towering Glenn Strange as a hulking henchman, Steve, who works as Markoff's enforcer.