Night Monster (1942)

A gloomy old mansion, a fog-covered swamp, a household of suspicious servants, and a crippled millionaire with a grudge against his doctors.... what more could one ask for in a good old-fashioned murder mystery? Throw in a mysterious Hindu mystic who can materialize objects out of thin air and a hideous monster who roams the countryside at night, and you've got the makings of a first-rate Universal horror film!

Night Monster (1942) may not be as well remembered as Dracula, Frankenstein, or The Wolf Man, but it is certainly one of the more unusual little chillers to emerge from Universal Studios during the 1940s. Unlike the studio's other monster films, this one combines the traditional old-dark-house mystery with a dash of Eastern mysticism and a sprinkling of science fiction. The result is a surprisingly engrossing 73 minutes of entertainment.

The story begins at Ingston Towers, an old mansion situated in the middle of a lonely marshland. Its owner, Kurt Ingston (Ralph Morgan), is a wealthy recluse who has been confined to a wheelchair following a series of unsuccessful medical treatments. Bitter over his condition, he invites three of the physicians responsible for his care to spend a weekend at his estate. He claims that he wishes to discuss a substantial donation to medical research, but judging by the expression on his face, philanthropy is the last thing on his mind.

And what a household he keeps! There's Rolf (Bela Lugosi), the grim-faced butler who wandered in from Dracula's castle; Miss Judd (Doris Lloyd), a stern housekeeper; and Laurie (Leif Erikson), a burly chauffeur who spends most of his time bullying the servants and making unwelcome advances towards the ladies. 

Ingston's nervous sister Margaret (Fay Helm) believes that someone in the household is trying to drive her insane, and so she secretly summons Dr. Lynne Harper (Irene Hervey), a psychiatrist, to examine her and determine whether her fears are imaginary or well-founded.

On her way to the mansion, Dr. Harper encounters Dick Baldwin (Don Porter), a handsome young mystery writer who offers to accompany her to Ingston Towers after her car broke down. As she was heading there on foot she heard the frogs in the marsh suddenly stop croaking - and then a scream - followed by a flash of what appeared to be a monster. Harper was relieved to have an escort. 

Shortly after arriving, the guests begin disappearing, bodies are discovered in the marshes, and the local constable (Robert Homans) finds himself with more murders on his hands than he can comfortably manage. Someone, or something, is stalking the countryside at night strangling people and leaving behind a trail of peculiar footprints and a damning puddle of blood.

And then there's Agor Singh....

Nils Asther portrays this mysterious Hindu mystic who has been residing at Ingston Towers and teaching its master the extraordinary powers of the human mind. Asther, a Swedish-born actor who had been a popular leading man during the silent era, is almost unrecognizable beneath his dark makeup and turban. Unlike the other residents of the mansion, Agor Singh seems perfectly calm about the dreadful happenings taking place around him.

One of the most fascinating scenes in Night Monster occurs when Singh demonstrates his extraordinary ability to reconstruct matter through the power of thought. Before the astonished dinner guests, he causes a human skeleton to materialize out of thin air!

"All matter is really cosmic substance in vibration."

This is where Night Monster takes a rather unexpected turn. Instead of attributing Singh's powers to some supernatural mumbo-jumbo, the script introduces the idea that matter is composed of energy and that the human mind may possess the ability to manipulate that energy, reconstructing the molecular structure of physical objects. What an extraordinary subject to find tucked away in a low-budget horror film from 1942!

Today, the relationship between matter and energy is a familiar scientific concept, but the notion that concentrated thought could reorganize molecules and restore physical matter is something quite different. Whether one believes such a thing possible or not, it is fascinating to see a Hollywood screenwriter playing with these ideas over eighty years ago. Most Universal monsters were created through scientific experiments, ancient curses, or a jolt of electricity. This one has a much more unusual origin.

Dr. Harper herself makes an interesting observation, "My study of the mind has convinced me how little we know of its powers."

And that, in a nutshell, is what makes the film's central mystery so intriguing. The script takes a subject that might ordinarily belong in a philosophical discussion and turns it into the basis for a rather gruesome series of murders. 

Of course, all this metaphysical speculation does not prevent the characters from indulging in the sort of snappy dialogue that made 1940s films such a delight. The screenplay, written by Clarence Upson Young, is filled with witty remarks and amusing exchanges that keep the story from becoming too solemn. Even when the bodies are piling up, somebody manages to find time for a wisecrack.

"Why don't you measure the other guys shoes? They have feet, too."

Don Porter and Irene Hervey make an agreeable pair and add a little dash of romance to the film. Ralph Morgan, the older brother of The Wizard of Oz star Frank Morgan, plays the embittered Kurt Ingston. Morgan had a wonderfully expressive face, and here he uses it to convey a man whose physical suffering has gradually turned into resentment and hatred. 

Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill, two veterans of Universal's horror department, receive prominent billing, although neither has a particularly large role. Lugosi spends much of his screen time glowering at the guests and looking appropriately sinister, while Atwill portrays Dr. King, one of the physicians summoned to the estate. Both are welcome additions to the cast, even if they are not given quite as much to do as one might wish.

Night Monster was directed by Ford Beebe, a veteran of serials and adventure pictures who had worked on Universal's popular Flash Gordon chapterplays. Beebe knew how to keep a story moving, and he wastes little time in establishing the mystery and introducing his collection of suspicious characters.

The film was originally developed under the title House of Mystery, an equally appropriate name. Universal made good use of existing studio sets, including scenery previously seen in The Wolf Man (1941). In fact, the foggy woodland featured behind the opening credits is the very same eerie landscape that helped establish the atmosphere of that earlier classic. 

What makes Night Monster so enjoyable is that it never relies entirely upon its monster to hold the audience's attention. There is a genuinely intriguing mystery at the heart of the story, a colorful assortment of suspects, some excellent performances, and enough amusing dialogue to keep the proceedings lively. Even the more far-fetched elements of the plot are presented with such conviction that one is willing to accept them, at least until the final reel.

Universal made dozens of horror pictures during the 1930s and 1940s, and while the famous monsters continue to receive most of the attention, there are quite a few forgotten gems lurking in the studio's vaults. Night Monster is one of them. It may not have the prestige of Frankenstein or the tragic romance of The Wolf Man, but it has something those pictures do not: a monster whose very existence raises some rather interesting questions about the nature of matter, energy, and the human mind.

And that's quite an accomplishment for a little B-picture whose chief purpose was to give moviegoers a few good shivers on a Saturday night!