User reviews

"The Monster Walks" is a very old and very cheap haunted-house mystery thriller without much mystery. Yet, considering the budget and the experience cast & crew members disposed of, this probably isn't such a bad movie after all. I'm sure that fans of early horror films will definitely detect a lot of charm and goodwill in this typical story about a wealthy daughter that is targeted for murder upon returning to her parental house for the regulation of her dead father's inheritance. Ruth has always been petrified by her father's pet-ape and, although safely caged in the basement, some malicious persons uses the animal to scare her senseless. Rex Lease is her all-knowing doctor/boyfriend who investigates the strange nightly events and eventually reveals the true culprit. Maybe the plot-twists would have intrigued me more if the actual climax wasn't stupidly mentioned on the DVD-box, but I still can't say the script is very complex or effectively misleading. There are one or two decent suspense-moments but overall this is a dull and unexciting poverty row movie. All the lovely clichés of 30's horror cinema are there, though, like the exaggeratedly polite servants, the seemly endless thunderstorm outside the castle and the black chauffeur-guy who simultaneously serves as the comic relief. This is an okay film as long as you don't expect to see another "The Old Dark House".

Ever since the literary origins of the horror genre, stories about old dark houses have haunted the dreams of horror fans across the globe. Like in literature, cinema adopted this kind of stories quickly and this Gothic branch of horror was early explored by the filmmakers. Among the earliest movies of this kind in the "sound era", is this little known Gothic film by Frank R. Strayer starring no one else but Mischa Auer (whom years later would achieve fame and recognition as a comedian) in a creepy and very dark role.

The film is about the death of a millionaire scientist, and the subsequent reading of his will. Among them are his young daughter Ruth (Vera Reynolds), his brother Robert (Sheldon Lewis) and his two servants, Mrs. Emma Turg (Martha Mattox) and her son Hanss (Mischa Auer). After the reading of the will, mysterious events begin to happen as it seems that a killer is after those more benefited by the scientist' will. This kind of plot is nowadays a cliché, but in its day it was still fresh and a favorite both among the audience and among the writers.

Made just 5 years after the first sound movie, "The Monster Walks" is a stylistically a film that still retains some features from silent films. It is one of the first works of writer Robert Ellis (who would achieve fame writing the Charlie Chan films), more exactly, his first talkie; and sadly, it shows, as it feels too stagy for its own sake. However, Ellis' love for mystery is present and while clichéd, the plot is well developed and shows why he became a master of the genre.

Strayer's direction is also a bit restrained, as if he was experimenting with the new technology. Strayer builds up his film with care and at a very slow pace, and while his lack of expertise is obvious, it's interesting to see the steps that lead to his far superior "The Vampire Bat" and "The Ghost Walks", and eventually to his highly successful "Blondie" series. It is also worth to point out that he gave both Mischa Auer and Willie Best one of their first opportunities in the business.

The acting is a mixed bag of extremes, with some members of the cast being excellent while others give rather poor performances. Mischa Auer is without a doubt among the former and while he is more recognized as a comedian, he pulls off a role clearly inspired by Lugosi and Karloff's performances on the Universal films of 1931. Martha Mattox is equally impressive as his mother but is definitely Wilie Best (under the racist pseudonym of "Sleep 'n' Eat") who steals the show with his great talent for comedy. The rest of the cast is less impressive, and while Rex Lease makes a good lead, Vera Reynolds' over the top melodrama (probably another element from silent films) is a bit annoying and distracting.

Like most films done on the Poverty Row, "The Monster Walks" suffers of a terribly low-budget and even lower production values. The old dark house scenery becomes repetitive and modern viewers may be bored by this old style of film-making. The over the top acting of some members of the cast may also be another distraction that hurts the film, but the biggest problem lays on the fact that nowadays the plot is neither original nor interesting. This last detail is definitely not the film's fault, but viewers are to be warned.

"The Monster Walks" is not a classic, and definitely not a very good film, but it is a great chance to watch how film-making was evolving as it features the early work of four great artists of the 40s and how they learned the business. As a novelty, this film is very rewarding and a nice chance to watch non-Universal horror of the origins of film. 5/10

It is surprising how many "old dark house" movies there were back in the early days of talking pictures. It seems like every independent, Poverty Row studio made their fair share. Some are actually quite good even after all these years. I am about to talk about one of them. Stop me if you've heard this one before: a rich, reclusive, eccentric man passes away and his relatives gather for the reading of the will. What? You've heard this one already? Stick with me, it gets good. The dead mans brother (Sheldon Lewis, the Clutching Hand himself in a surprisingly subdued performance) is confined to a wheelchair and the servants (Martha Mattox, best remembered from THE CAT AND THE CANARY, 1927 and Mischa Auer later to costar in CONDEMNED TO LIVE, 1935) are the creepiest characters you ever saw. The family attorney (Sidney Bracy) is acting mighty suspicious too. Along comes the dead man's daughter (Vera Reynolds) who seems to be the only likable member of the family. With her comes her fiancee (Rex Lease, taking a break from westerns) and his chauffeur (Sleep n' Eat who later went back to his real name, Willie Best). Also in the house is Yogi, a large chimp whom the doctor used for experiments. Everyone in the house gets a chance to say "His death was so sudden!" so right away we are ready for foul play to be mentioned. Like all houses in this genre there are lots of secret passageways but at least this time the killer does not skulk around in a cloak and black hood. It looks like the killer is Yogi the chimp. Ah, but things are not always what they seem to be! Before the 65 minute running time is over we learn about secret love affairs, children, murder plots, bribery and madness. Sadly the weakest point in the movie is the heroine herself. It hardly takes more than a clap of thunder or a shadow to start her screaming "Take me away from here!" to her fiancee. Willie Best steals many scenes with his on-the-money delivery of many great lines. When informed that his room is in the basement near Yogi's cage he responds "Well get me an umbrella and I'll sleep on the roof." Once we know there is a killer loose in the house Willie is asked if he left his gun in the glovebox of the car and he replies "No sir, it's right here!" and pulls it from his pocket. Mischa Auer is quite effective as a menacing presence but he later abandoned drama and became quite a successful comedian. Sheldon Lewis gets much more to do in this movie than he does in THE PHANTOM (1931) where he does a retread of his old Clutching Hand character. Okay so the movie is old and the plot is nothing we have not seen before; this is still a fun movie and worth catching if you are studying early talkies or if you just want something to enjoy.

It was a dark and stormy night with constant cannon fire in the distance, with the wind scratching a wax record somewhere out of scene. OK the quality of the picture is not Oscar material but hey, this was 1932. At least now I know where H&B got all the gags for the Scooby Doo cartoons. As mentioned in most of the other comments this is a typical Haunted House movie, with only one or two real surprises. There is even the maniac monkey thrown in as with countless other "horror" movies of the era. Were chimps really that scary back then???? The acting is worthy of any community playhouse, I kept looking for the script cards Hanns was reading off of. And I was shocked to learn Hanns actually had musical talent - kinda... sorta... OK not really. But I did manage to make it through this movie in one setting without going comatose, but I did find myself quoting Vera at least once or twice during the movie, "Oh Ted, take me away!".

This would be a decent creaky old dark house movie if it wasn't for the acting and over acting. Basically a prodigal daughter returns to her home when her father dies for the reading of the will. The servants are weird, the uncle is in a wheel chair, an abused chimp is in a cage in the basement and there are secret passages through the house. This is low budget film from the early days of sound and it seem like it. There is little background noise and no music which more times than not slows things down. Worse is the acting which seems to have been done in some odd experimental style. Misha Auer, seen in later films with a pronounced accent seems almost not to have one. His performance is very odd, especially when compared to later films. Interesting here you get to see just how big and imposing man he was. The movie is painfully slow and probably would have put me to sleep had I been just sitting and watching the film. This is not a film to recommend unless you have insomnia. Its an interesting film as a curio but isn't remarkable and the plotting is truly run of the mill. There are better ways to spend your time.

Treating this horror film as anything but camp and you will agree it's one of the worst films ever made. The acting is wooden, the writing amateurish (with leading lady, Vera Reynolds, saying to her fiancé, Rex Lease, "Oh Ted, take me away" at least five times, whenever something disturbing happens), and the production values poor. As a horror film by today's standards it's totally laughable, but in 1932 it was intended to scare audiences. You see a wall picture move, revealing a hole (gasp! someone is watching). You see a furry arm come through the headboard and threaten an unsuspecting sleeper. And there's a caged ape in the basement that may or may not know how to get out of his cage. (He's called an ape but is obviously a chimpanzee.) Willie Best, annoying billed as "Sleep N' Eat," provides the intended comedy relief and is as good as usual, but don't expect too much from anyone else. See it with a group and you'll all have some fun.

Forgetful Filmmakers Dept.: Lawyer Sidney Bracy is billed onscreen as "Herbert Wilkes." But in the will he reads, he is referred to as "William Wilkes."

This is a typical "Old House" film of the early 30's, but one of the "shabbier" ones. I beg to disagree with the other reviewer, but this film isn't THAT bad. Don't forget that when this film came out, the "weird events" that took place in this film (living eyes in pictures, a screaming gorilla) were NEW -- not old, worn cliches! I think that this film does admirably in creating a "creepy atmosphere", & it's interesting to see Micha Auer in a "creepy" role. An "oddity"....but, not bad!

A wealthy man dies, causing his family and lawyer to reunite in his home and have his will be read. Who will get the money? While the natural answer would be his only child, daughter Ruth (Vera Reynolds), two factors make this a bit more complicated. First, a chimpanzee that has a violent streak and a dislike for Ruth. Second, the possibility that an illegitimate child may exist and be living in the house.

The actual plot of this film is not very exciting and you may have to work to keep your interest. Stories of an inheritance being fought over by family members is nothing unique, and for some reason stories with chimps and apes weren't particular rare in the first half of the 20th century. I'm not sure why -- there's nothing menacing about the ape in this picture. Nothing. There are a few plot devices I found clever (such as secret panels in the house), but overall this is child's play.

The acting is also, to put it politely, subpar. The lawyer, Herbert Wilkes (Sidney Bracey), was very hackneyed. Worst of all was Hanns, the maid's son. His mannerisms were exaggerated and he had a broken speech that didn't seem natural. Another reviewer commented that he may have been reading from cue cards, and I wouldn't be shocked. Sure, this was 1932 and America was going through a depression... but couldn't we afford better talent than this? (Believe it or not, just a few years after this film, the actor who played Hanns -- Mischa Auer -- was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He didn't win.) The only thing about this film that makes it maybe worth watching -- and I stress maybe -- is Willie Best, the actor who plays Exodus the manservant. There is a strong undercurrent of racism in this film that I cannot tell if it was meant to be intentional or not. Best (credited as "Sleep N Eat") talks and acts like a white supremacist's vision of the stereotypical black man. He mumbles, waves a gun around (even pointing it at himself) and generally seems highly unintelligent. The most memorable part of the film is when Exodus asks about the ape and the resident doctor explains that Darwin's theory states the ape is related to Exodus (said in such a way as to imply blacks are more closely related than whites). Rather than defend himself, Exodus says something to the effect of, "I had a grandpa that looked like that... but he wasn't as active." Wow.

Anyone into the classic black and white films might give this one a chance. It's alright once you get into it. But unless you have a really strong attention span (and this film is only an hour) I'd suggest you try something a little more lively. It's safe to say that if this film wasn't being distributed in copyright-free box sets, it would have faded into obscurity decades ago.

The owner dies and leaves his fortune to his daughter (Vera Reynolds), but the brother (Sheldon Lewis) wants it for himself and the son (Oscar nominee Mischa Auer) he is hiding. He plans to have the son eliminate everyone so he can grab the riches.

The plan goes awry when the son kills his mother (Martha Mattox) by mistake. He turns on his father and tries to kill the daughter.

It was a weird little film, just out of the silent era, and there was more talking than anything.

Of course, they have the stereotypical black chauffeur (Willie Best, who was listed in the credits as Sleep 'n' Eat). I kid you not! I last remember Best from High Sierra. He has a long career with numerous roles, probably many of them doing that stereotypical frightened black man.

Not very scary for a haunted house.

THE MONSTER WALKS (1932)

An ape is killing people in an old spooky house! This movie is sooo bad, but also a wonderful example of the 1930's "haunted house" films. We love the scene where a dead body is kept in a room lit only by a single candle light...Lots of gimmicky scenes that were common in those days are practiced in this atmospheric movie. Don't miss it, it's a real treasure that will have you laughing, but also calling up some great memories of the era.

Low-budget early talkie that may remind some of "The Old Dark House." A daughter returns to her family home when her father dies, to find she has inherited his estate. On hand for the will reading are her fiancé, her deceased dad's invalid brother, a housekeeper, a Boris Karloff-type butler and the family lawyer. Since a major storm is going on outside, everyone stays and beds down for the night. In the basement is a huge chimpanzee that has no love for the daughter. During the night, it would seem the chimp escapes and tries to kill the daughter. Later, the housekeeper is found murdered. Meanwhile, the storm roars on. Stilted, stagey, but not without a peculiar charm. A funny aside: Everyone refers to the large chimp as an ape, so at first I was expecting a man in a gorilla suit. In fact, it is a full-grown chimp, dangerous as all hell in real life. In the end, this may be no "The Old Dark House," but it isn't the worst scary house movie ever made.

The master of a large gloomy house is dead. His pet was an ape. This man was very rich and after the reading of the will, the strangled bodies start to appear. Could the ape be the killer? That is the only suspense in this film. A slow paced movie with the only performer with any energy being the ape.

Stupid poverty row horror/mystery film that seems like a cross between The Old Dark House and The Ape Man. When the rich Dr Earlton dies, his paralytic brother (Sheldon Lewis), lawyer (Sidney Brady), daughter (Vera Reynolds), her fiancé (Rex Lease) and the two house servants (Mischa Auer & Martha Mattox) converge on his house for the reading of Earlton's will. However, when a grisly murder takes place, the guests start to suspect an ape Earlton kept in the basement for scientific research may be responsible.

The Monster Walks is a somnambulant attempt at a mystery film, but the problem is that the twist is glaringly obvious. The performances are all pretty bad, with the exception of Willie Best as the chauffeur, who is pretty much the only likable character in the film. The worst offender in the cast is Rex Lease, who has about as much charisma as a rock. Mischa Auer hams it up terribly as well.

The title is misleading, as there's no monster in the film at all. The closest thing to a monster is a guy in a ape costume, but the ape never leaves his cage so he dosen't get a chance to do any walking. However, it's almost worth sitting through the film to Mischa Auer's absolutely hilarious death scene. Overall, avoid this turkey.

This is a great horror movie. It has great acting. It also has a great story line. 4.1 is underrating it big time. I give this 9 out of 10. It is one of the best horror movie ever.

first off I really don't think that the producers, or director ever meant this movie to be funny,, I loved the old house and the set pieces,, the ape was fun too , because you never really know if he is gonna escape or not,, I love the hairy hand creeping in from behind the headboard you never really get quite a handle on who the killer really is till near the end of the movie,, yes the movie was not scary, but like I said I really don't imagine that they intended it to be that way, this movie however is full of laughs, and it sure kept me guessing thru most of the movie. I just love these old 1930's horror flicks something about them just makes you wish that Hollywood would go back to making some original stories full of black and white.

This is an old black and white film from the early 1930's.The setting is an old house and at night with a storm brewing outside.It has some good elements but in the end it's ruined by just not being very exciting.You get all the elements of a horror film from that time---stormy night,old gloomy house ,skulky characters and ,of course,the reading of a will from a dead man and the ensuing darting eyes after each learns of what he got ,or didn't get, as the case may be.

A young women returns to her childhood home after her father dies.She ,along with her doctor boyfriend,arrive on a stormy night for the reading of the father's will at the old darkly lit home.The young woman's crippled uncle,her dad's bother,still lives there along with a tall weird bony old housekeeper/nanny and her equally creepy bony son.Also in the mix is the dead man's lawyer who is there to read the will.And the doctor's driver is also there.One of the unfortunate things about this film is the driver is a typical black character of that era.....slow shuffling bug-eyed fellow with the horrid name of Sleep N' Eat ,altho he is also called Exodus.To top it all off the weird dark old house consists of a nasty dirty looking chimp locked in a cage in the basement.

So after the will is read and they all learn the daughter gets everything they all are forced to stay there since the storm is so bad.The nanny and the weird son are peeved cause they got pretty much screwed in the will after many years of drudgery in this old house taking care of two old sick men. During the night murder and mayhem ensues and they suspect the ape in the basement but each time they run downstairs he seems to be locked in his cage cage,or is he? Then they start to suspect each other of the attacks but then next time something happens they suspect the ape again.The doctor and lawyer naturally lead the investigation into the choking attacks and murders.I'm not sure why but it seems always in these old horror films a doctor ,lawyer or newspaper reporter is always doing the crime solving.

Altho it's creepy looking and not an absolute waste this film doesn't make much sense.Why would the family keep a pet ape? The young woman is terribly scared of the ape and says it would surely kill her if it escaped it's cage.And how did this young woman grow up normal after being raised in this dark gloomy old house by a gloomy old nanny with the constant fear of being killed by some screaming howling ape locked up in the basement?Why wasn't the police called? All in all this wasn't a complete waste but it doesn't have much to recommend it either.It's totally a period piece,implausible and silly, and the last few unfortunate scenes involving Sleep N' Eat will make your skin crawl more than the rest of the film does put together.

The horrible racism in this film was a normal and accepted part of films from that era and that is the really scary thing.

The usual bad acting and bad script is here, and I was prepared for those things, but to see a human being degraded for the amusement of the movie goer isn't something you get used to.It ruined what otherwise would have been just a silly little schlocky movie turning it into a sad reminder of how far we've come but how so very far we have yet to go.