The Spider Woman Strikes Back not a bad late Universal horror

 

I've been watching the free Internet Universal Monsters Channel of late (Xfinity 4135) and in between some dull and boring 21st century horror flicks, the UMC shows a healthy selection of the vintage Universal horror movies. Universal's run peaked in the mid '40s and the films essentially were better produced and written "poverty-row" horror types. They were on their last legs.

A lot of these mid '40s films are on the UMC. I had never seen 1946's The Spider Woman Strikes Back. But I'm a fan of Gale Sondergaard, who was pretty good in a couple of Universal Sherlock Holmes films. This film is 59 minutes and I wasn't expecting much. It's a slight film with a kind of "let's-wrap-things-up-quickly finale." However, it was a pleasant surprise: a not bad film with a good plot, fine acting and a generally creepy, suspenseful pace. And it also has the disfigured Rondo Hatton, Universal's dying horror star of the mid '40s. (Hatton suffered from acromegaly). 

The plot: Sondergaard is Zenobia Dollard, a reclusive blind woman living in a mansion. Hatton is her scary looking mute servant, Mario. Starlet Brenda Joyce (also Jane in the Tarzan movies) is hired as Zenobia's assistant. Zenobia's had other assistants who have mysteriously left service. Although Mario takes some getting used to, things start well between the trio. But Joyce, (whose character is named Jean Kingsley) begins to have excessive fatigue, and sleeps too much.

What's happening is Zenobia (who is not blind) is siphoning blood out of Jean nightly, with Mario as her assistant. She feeds the blood to toxic plants, which eventually pollutes the milk. Cows are dying. Area residents get ill. The community is in an uproar wondering why this is happening. I don't want to give away the final reel. Other characters include Jean's boyfriend, Kirby Grant (Hal Wentley), who does some sleuthing for his beloved. Along with other townspeople, they begin to tighten the noose on Zenobia and Mario.

Sondergaard is excellent in the film, with a chilly politeness and solicitude that is increasingly sinister. Hatton was a poor actor, but in this film, he seems to show -- in his own way -- sympathy for Jean. He doesn't want her to die like the other assistants.

Sondergaard had previously played The Spider Woman in a Sherlock Holmes Universal mystery, matching wits with Basil Rathbone. Obviously, producers played on that in The Spider Woman Strikes Back. But they are not the same character, and there are few spiders in the film. The sharp dialogue and pacing provide tension, particularly when Jean is in the large mansion, at the mercy of Xenobia and Mario.

The film plays like a longer version of a superb TV show along the lines of Thriller, Night Gallery, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, or The Twilight Zone. It's largely ignored now although there was a recent Blu Ray release. It must have pleased viewers as a B feature in the late 40s.

Universal was soon to end their horror production. It became Universal International and made a string of flops until Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein became a bit hit. As mentioned, the Universal B horrors are tighter and more disciplined than Poverty-Row films. But it's the chaotic, slapdash scripts of films such as The Corpse Vanishes or The Ape Man that make these cheapie films more popular today; not to mention the iconic Bela Lugosi starring in many.

But give The Spider Woman Strikes Back a viewing. I'll wager you'll enjoy it. You can watch the Universal Monster Channel here.

-- Doug Gibson

The Brute Man was disowned by its creator Universal

By Doug Gibson

I love the 15 golden years of Universal Studio horror films, starting with Dracula and adding Frankenstein, Igor, The Wolf Man, two Mummies, various Invisible humans and assorted mad scientists, creatures and tortured professionals (think Inner Sanctum). But the final film of the genre, "The Brute Man," stinks. 

Rondo Hatton was a truly tragic figure. Universal's last "monster," he was "The Creeper," except he didn't creep. He more or less staggered. He suffered from acromegaly, which disfigured his face and badly affected his health. In fact, he died of a heart attack a couple of months after "The Brute Man" wrapped at Universal. It was eventually sold to Producers Releasing Company, not due to quality; Universal, in the midst of a merger, was shedding its B-film productions. 

"The Brute Man" involves a series of murders committed by "The Creeper," an ugly, tall figure who apparently can slither through the city and kill at will. The police, doing nothing, are badgered by the mayor to catch the Creeper. Meanwhile, in a risible plot development, the Creeper orders groceries to his shack by the waterfront and then kills the delivery boy when he gets too curious. 

Finally, the police gather that The Creeper is an embittered former college football star who was disfigured in a lab accident. He's getting revenge on his ex-college pals whom he blames for his predicament. One of the ex-pals is wealthy Clifford Scott, played by Tom Neal. Now, Neal is usually an interesting actor to watch; anyone who has seen "Detour" or "Bowery at Midnight" can see he has some screen presence. But not in this film. Befitting the boring story and drab direction from Jean Yarbrough, Neal is a bore sans charisma who is killed by The Creeper.

Meanwhile, in what film historian Tom Weaver has correctly tagged as a grotesque homage/parody to the superb "Bride of Frankenstein," the Creeper becomes infatuated with a beautiful blind piano instructor, played by minor starlet Jane Adams, (best known for being a hunchback nurse killed by mad doctor Onslow Stevens in "House of Dracula.") Despite the Creeper's declarations that he's wanted by the cops, Adams invites him to visit her as often as he can. Also, for a little while, the Creeper is unaware she's blind ...

Eventually, The Creeper" kills a pawnbroker and gives the blind woman, named Helen Paige, diamonds to pay for an operation to restore her sight. Naturally, when she tries to redeem them, the police inform her they are stolen. (This is as boring to write as it was to watch).

Eventually, the languid cops use Helen, having her publicly confess-- via the press -- that she knows who The Creeper is. (Why they wouldn't keep it secret and wait for another Creeper visit, when he wouldn't be angry and ready to kill, is beyond me.) Anyway, the Creeper learns that Helen "turned" on him and hurries to her apartment to kill her. There, he's intercepted by the police and captured. End of story.

"The Brute Man" runs under an hour. It's strikingly underscores how Universal's chiller Bs deteriorated in the last couple of years, with Spider Woman and The Creeper. Everyone attacks Rondo Hatton for his poor performance, and it is bad. He whines rather than talks and his attacks are poorly staged. But has anyone considered that poor Rondo Hatton was in the final months of his life. He was dying! I'm sure he could use the money in the final few years of his life but the use of him as The Creeper is creepy and exploitative.

Ironically, Hatton's grotesque visage has become very iconic. The now defunct Cult Movies magazine used it on its cover for years and the Monster Kid Classic Board, or whatever it's called, has annual "Rondo" awards for excellence in the genre. I supposed the iconic status of Hatton justifies using his face today, and I don't doubt the good will or sincerity of the fans today. But it still seems like one more bit of exploitation toward a man who suffered from a truly tragic disease that caused him great pain during his life. If any screen visage should honor excellence in the genre, it should be Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera. Watch "The Brute Man" below, via MST3K.

'The Brute Man' marked a pathetic end to Universal's golden age of horror

By Doug Gibson

I love the 15 golden years of Universal Studio horror films, starting with Dracula and adding Frankenstein, Igor, The Wolf Man, two Mummies, various Invisible humans and assorted mad scientists, creatures and tortured professionals (think Inner Sanctum). But the final film of the genre, "The Brute Man," stinks. 

Rondo Hatton was a truly tragic figure. Universal's last "monster," he was "The Creeper," except he didn't creep. He more or less staggered. He suffered from acromegaly, which disfigured his face and badly affected his health. In fact, he died of a heart attack a couple of months after "The Brute Man" wrapped at Universal. It was eventually sold to Producers Releasing Company, not due to quality; Universal, in the midst of a merger, was shedding its B-film productions. 

"The Brute Man" involves a series of murders committed by "The Creeper," an ugly, tall figure who apparently can slither through the city and kill at will. The police, doing nothing, are badgered by the mayor to catch the Creeper. Meanwhile, in a risible plot development, the Creeper orders groceries to his shack by the waterfront and then kills the delivery boy when he gets too curious. 

Finally, the police gather that The Creeper is an embittered former college football star who was disfigured in a lab accident. He's getting revenge on his ex-college pals whom he blames for his predicament. One of the ex-pals is wealthy Clifford Scott, played by Tom Neal. Now, Neal is usually an interesting actor to watch; anyone who has seen "Detour" or "Bowery at Midnight" can see he has some screen presence. But not in this film. Befitting the boring story and drab direction from Jean Yarbrough, Neal is a bore sans charisma who is killed by The Creeper.

Meanwhile, in what film historian Tom Weaver has correctly tagged as a grotesque homage/parody to the superb "Bride of Frankenstein," the Creeper becomes infatuated with a beautiful blind piano instructor, played by minor starlet Jane Adams, (best known for being a hunchback nurse killed by mad doctor Onslow Stevens in "House of Dracula.") Despite the Creeper's declarations that he's wanted by the cops, Adams invites him to visit her as often as he can. Also, for a little while, the Creeper is unaware she's blind ...

Eventually, The Creepe" kills a pawnbroker and gives the blind woman, named Helen Paige, diamonds to pay for an operation to restore her sight. Naturally, when she tries to redeem them, the police inform her they are stolen. (This is as boring to write as it was to watch).

Eventually, the languid cops use Helen, having her publicly confess-- via the press -- that she knows who The Creeper is. (Why they wouldn't keep it secret and wait for another Creeper visit, when he wouldn't be angry and ready to kill, is beyond me.) Anyway, the Creeper learns that Helen "turned" on him and hurries to her apartment to kill her. There, he's intercepted by the police and captured. End of story.

"The Brute Man" runs under an hour. It's strikingly underscores how Universal's chiller Bs deteriorated in the last couple of years, with Spider Woman and The Creeper. Everyone attacks Rondo Hatton for his poor performance, and it is bad. He whines rather than talks and his attacks are poorly staged. But has anyone considered that poor Rondo Hatton was in the final months of his life. He was dying! I'm sure he could use the money in the final few years of his life but the use of him as The Creeper is creepy and exploitative.

Ironically, Hatton's grotesque visage has become very iconic. The now defunct Cult Movies magazine used it on its cover for years and the Monster Kid Classic Board, or whatever it's called, has annual "Rondo" awards for excellence in the genre. I supposed the iconic status of Hatton justifies using his face today, and I don't doubt the good will or sincerity of the fans today. But it still seems like one more bit of exploitation toward a man who suffered from a truly tragic disease that caused him great pain during his life. If any screen visage should honor excellence in the genre, it should be Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera. Watch "The Brute Man" below, via MST3K.