Review of Man-Made Monster (1941) by Scott W — 26 Aug 2010

Lon Chaney, Jr., delivers one of his better career performances as a former sideshow attraction that acquires immunity to electricity in writer & director George Waggnerâ??s compelling but tragic horror movie â??Man-Made Monster.

â?? Ill-fated protagonist â??Dynamoâ?? Dan McCormick survives multiple attempts by the state to fry him in the electric chair for the murder of one of Americaâ??s foremost scientists. Subsequently, McCormick escapes from the death chamber and sets out to find the devious dastard who turned him into a homocidal maniac.

This atmospheric Universal Picturesâ?? release qualifies as an above-average chiller with Lionel Atwill surpassing himself as the mad scientist who conducts unethical experiments on our unsuspecting hero.

Waggner himself acquired a reputation as a maestro of horror movies. Indeed, later that year in 1941, Waggner collaborated later with Chaney on their most memorable project â??The Wolf Man,â?? another saga about a considerate man whose life is destroyed by tragedy.

What sets â??Man-Made Monsterâ?? apart from the typical, run-of-the-mill, B-horror chiller is that Waggner conjures up a sympathetic hero, and Chaney, Jr., makes the guy into a charismatic figure. No, the hero isnâ??t very swift, but he is a cheerful sort who intends nobody harm.

Waggner gets a lot of mileage out of the relationship between Chaney, Jr., and a pet dog. "Man-Made Monster" marked the first time that Chaney, Jr., appeared in a horror movie as the monster.

On the other hand, the mad scientist that Lionel Atwill plays is so incredibly despicable that you enjoy it when he suffers his comeuppance at Chaney, Jr.â??s hands. At this point, the hero is so charged up that his arms and head glow with electricity.

Eventually, he learns to don a rubber suit to conserve his electricity. Samuel S. Hinds is terrific, too, as the well-meaning doctor who persuades Chaney, Jr.â??s character to serve as a guinea pig for their experiences.

Of course, the benevolent Dr. Lawrence (Samuel S. Hinds) doesnâ??t want to take advantage of our likeable hero, but mad scientist Dr. Rigas (Lionel Atwill) displays no such qualms. Waggner paces this economical, 59-minute saga so that the suspense gradually builds after Dr.

Rigas takes over the experiments with Chaney, Jr.â??sâ?? character. A peripheral romance smolders in the background between a newspaper reporter and Dr. Lawrenceâ??s secretary. Not only did Waggner helm this entertaining horror film, but he also penned the screenplay under a nom de plume.

Waggner derived the film from a story H.J. Essex, Sid Schwartz, and Len Golas. Later, Waggner went on to helm the better-than-average â??Horror Islandâ?? with Dick Foran.