By Doug Gibson
“Murders in the Zoo” is a largely forgotten fairly large-budget
Paramount film from 1933. It merits far more attention. Like its Paramount
predecessor, the better-known “Island of Lost Souls,: it has scenes of sadism
and pain that are unique for its era. Film critic Leonard Maltin has called the
film “astonishingly grisly.” In any event, it’s a great tale and well worth
owning.
The opening scene is a shocker. A man, Taylor, is being
calmly tortured by Lionel Atwill’s character, who comments that he’ll never
kiss another man’s wife again. Taylor is left in the jungle, presumably to die
due to the elements or wild animals. Hands tied behind his back, he staggers
forward. As he turns his face, the camera reveals that his lips have been sewn
shut!
The film involves a sadistic, psychopathic millionaire
sportsman named Eric Gorman, played very well by Atwill, who murders men who
display a romantic interest in his wife, Evelyn, played by Kathleen Burke (the
panther woman in “… Lost Souls.” The
murdered man, we learn, had kissed – in jest – Evelyn. Gorman announces that he
has disappeared.
Gorman returns from the Indo-China region with many wild
animals that are put in a financially struggling zoo. The principals there
include Professor Evans (Harry Beresford), his pretty daughter Jerry Evans
(Gail Patrick), and her romantic interest, Dr. Jack Woodford (played by future cowboy
films star Randolph Scott). Meanwhile, Evelyn, despite her brutish husband, is
engaged in an adulterous affair with playboy John Lodge, played by Roger
Hewitt. Also thrown into the plot for comic relief is alcoholic public
relations man Peter Yates, played by Charlie Ruggles, a popular comedy player of
that era. In fact, Ruggles is top-billed!?
More murders occur prior to the climax. It’s interesting to
see films other than “… Lost Souls” that feature the iconic, beautiful Burke, and
she’s not a sympathetic character. Nevertheless, the audience cares about her
fate because her husband is a world-class movie villain. Atwill’s pursuit of
Burke’s Evelyn from their home to the zoo, where he throws her, alive, over a
bridge with alligators below is chilling.
By far the most interesting character is Atwill. He is
absolutely superb portraying a combination of intimidation, strength and
cruelty. Picture a combination of Leslie Bank’s Zaroff in “The Most Dangerous
Game” and Lee J. Cobb’s Johnny Friendly in “On the Waterfront.” A merciless
character, he sees his wife as his possession. Atwill’s Gorman is also cunning,
able to change his personalities and facial expressions on a whim to to his
advantages and desires. The scene where he demands sex from his unwilling,
repulsed wife is macabre.
Atwill’s performance is worthy of Lon Chaney’s best
silent offerings and it would have been interesting to have seen Chaney in the
role. Scott is semi-bland as the ultimate hero who gets the girl but it’s fun
to see him in a non-cowboy role.
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