Son of Ingagi (1940)

Boring

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The acting in this movie is really good.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

*Spoiler/plot- Son of Ingagi, 1940. A young couple invites a town recluse to their wedding and the rich women recluse is greatly touched and gives the woman a locket from her deceased father as a wedding present. The plot reveals that rich women recluse is a scientist that has been to Africa and returned with secret golden treasure. Her dark past catches up with her and several crooks try to steal her gold. And she is aided by her basement dwelling 'man monster' who politely disposes of the doctor's trouble makers. The doctor dies and leaves her home to the young couple in her will with the monster in residence. More mysterious happenings occur. The attention of the police is called.*Special Stars- Laura Bowman, Alfred Grant, Daisy Bufford, Spencer Williams, The Four Toppers.*Theme- Good deeds often follow good people. *Trivia/location/goofs- B & W. All black cast. The title is a tribute to a previously made film 'Ingagai' made in 1930 with a all black cast. Look for the 'SACK' seal of excellence at the beginning and ending of the film.*Emotion- An interesting and usual horror film due to it's subject matter, date of production, and ensemble cast members. The story is very simple with simple production values of the war period and low budget. The monster is very elementary and some 'Amos and Andy talking to himself in times of fear' dialog of the police detective is surprisingly, but very dated. Not a bad film, just a represented film of the black segment of film production for exhibition in black theaters.

Up to the 1950s, small studios made films for consumption in black movie houses across America. Given that these movies were never shown to mixed audiences, their audiences were rather small and their production values even smaller. For the most part, these films lack the polish and professional acting you'd find in other contemporary films--though there are a few exceptions. "Son of Ingagi" is an exception--but not in a good way. It manages to be significantly WORSE than the average black-produced film of its day and my score of 2 might just be a bit charitable.This film is supposed to be a horror film--much like the low-budget stuff being released by PRC and Monogram. However, given the budget is even LESS than that of these poverty row production companies, the film never elicits any chills or thrills, only giggles.It begins with a young couple getting married. Soon after the wedding, a strange old lady doctor comes to visit the bride (who, by the way, is the worst actor in the film...by far) and wish her well in her new marriage. In the following scene, you see the Doc at home and she has some sort of ape-man living in her home that she brought back from Africa. Despite having lived with her peacefully for MANY years, the ape-dude ends up killing her and others. The young couple then inherit the home and killings continue. The idiot police send their #1 idiot (Spencer Williams of "Amos 'n Andy" fame) to solve the crime though he isn't much good. Eventually, the man of the house rescues his bride (who the monster just kidnapped) and destroys the creature. However, there is so little energy and excitement that you really won't care....just laugh! While this isn't quite as bad as an Ed Wood film, it is close. The acting and writing were pretty bad and the film is, unfortunately, rather dull. The only good reasons to watch it are if you like watching bad movies or you want to see an example of black cinema. Other than that, stay clear.

"A newlywed couple is visited by a mysterious doctor that claims she has some important information to pass along to the bride. Shortly after the bride meets with the doctor, the doctor dies and ends up leaving the estate to the bride. When the couple arrives at the doctor's home to take up residence, the newlyweds discover the doctor has left more than an estate to them," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.An awful film, notable for a couple of reasons. The musical numbers performed by "The Four Toppers" are nicely done. And, you do a good look at Spencer Williams, who wrote the story and has a featured on-screen role (as Nelson). In the early 1950s, Mr. Williams became an "overnight sensation" when he was picked to play the latter half of the popular "Amos 'n Andy" radio comedy team, transferred to TV.** Son of Ingagi (1940) Richard C. Kahn ~ Alfred Grant, Daisy Bufford, Spencer Williams

SON OF INGAGI (1940) is a rare horror film. One of the films by Zack Williams, a black film artist who made films with an all black cast, for the black audiences. (This was in the days before Denzel washington, Sidney Portier, James Earl Jones, the days you never saw a black man in the heroic lead in a film.) The real treat of the movie is the nasty old witch that lives in a little house. All she has to do is bang a low-toned gong and the big giant, who sleeps on hay, wakes up and beats the old woman's enemies to a frazzle. A rare piece of film history, and a lot of fun.