MAN MADE MONSTER (1941) Blu-ray Review

Man Made Monster (1941) d. George Waggner (USA) (59 min)

When Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney Jr.) emerges as the lone survivor after a bus careens into an electrical pylon, Dr. John Lawrence (Samuel S. Hinds) is puzzled until he learns that McCormick is Dynamo Dan,” a carnival performer who regularly runs voltage through his body. The doctor theorizes that Dan might have actually built up an immunity to electricity and suggests that Dan stay with him at his house/laboratory so that further tests can be performed. Dan acquiesces, but Lawrence’s overzealous assistant, Dr. Rigas (Lionel Atwill), secretly bombards him with maximum doses of electricity hoping to create a race of superhuman atomic warriors. Dan grows more and more listless, increasingly dependent on the treatments and subject to Rigas’ will, even murdering Lawrence when the senior doctor threatens to expose the misguided experiments. In a bizarre twist of fate, when the wheels of justice attempt to execute Dan in the electric chair, they unwittingly create an unstoppable weapon capable of mass destruction!

Fool's Views (11/16 – 11/30)

Who is this Chuck Norris person and does he have a flashlight?

Howdy, folks!

Racing toward the 2019 finish line, but still need to recap the magic that was November! In addition to wrapping up our (perhaps ill-advised) Chuck Norris marathon, we also participated in our 15th annual Turkey Day with the good folks over at Kitley’s Krypt. FIFTEEN YEARS OF TURKEY, SUCKAHSSSS….

In all seriousness, I feel extraordinarily grateful to have been there from the beginning (or at least when Jon decided to start sharing the pain after two years of enduring it alone), watching the event evolve from a couple of dudes watching flicks and eating Thanksgiving leftovers to a glorious cavalcade of questionable cinematic adventures and delicious gourmet pizzas! There were 17 different varieties this year, including Miso, Paneer, Chili Dog, Crab Rangoon, Breakfast (meat or veggie), Rueben, The Drunken Billy (spaghetti pizza), Jalapeno Popper, Spinach/Artichoke, Italian Beef, Chorizo/Egg, Huevos Rancheros, Poblano/Corn, Mac and Cheese, Biscuits and Gravy, and Western (BBQ w/ sausage, bacon, onion). Many thanks to the rotating repertory of regulars for making the shared ride so enjoyable, and especially to the Kitleys for indulging our vast appetites for a decade and a half.

In other news, my Code of Silence viewing earlier in the month prompted me to dig deeper into director Andrew Davis’ C.V., splitting time between revisits (The Fugitive, Under Siege) and  previously unviewed fare (Holes, The Guardian). For some reason, he seems to have stopped directing since 2006 – not sure what the story is there since the dude was riding pretty high. Love to have him get back in the chair sooner than later.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!