A scientist seeks to transplant a brain into the body of a thawed caveman in order to get it to do his bidding.A scientist seeks to transplant a brain into the body of a thawed caveman in order to get it to do his bidding.A scientist seeks to transplant a brain into the body of a thawed caveman in order to get it to do his bidding.
Teala Loring
- Anne Gilmore
- (as Judith Gibson)
Tod Andrews
- Steve Rogers
- (as Michael Ames)
Eddy Chandler
- Sergeant
- (as Ed Chandler)
Horace B. Carpenter
- Theater Watchman
- (uncredited)
Mike Donovan
- Policeman Barney
- (uncredited)
George Eldredge
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
Frank Leigh
- Long Shot
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGeorge Zucco was hired for the part of the Ape Man and showed up for initial costume fittings and preliminary make-up applications, but he fell ill prior to shooting and was replaced by Frank Moran. However, his contract required that he receive third billing, so even though he appears in the film for only a few seconds*, he is still billed third. He does appear in some lobby cards, however, and there are publicity photos taken of him in full costume and make-up. (*Keen eyed viewers will spot him in the initial scenes of the dormant ape-man lying on Dexter's lab table. Frank Moran takes over just as creature stirs and wakes up). He did recover to join Bela Lugosi and John Carradine in the follow-up, "Voodoo Man."
- GoofsThe prehistoric cave man who is thawed back to life is wearing modern cotton underwear beneath his animal hide loincloth.
- Quotes
Prof. Dexter: Some people's brains would never be missed!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Fantasmic Features: Return of the Ape Man (1967)
Featured review
John Carradine balances Hamlet and horror opposite Bela Lugosi at Monogram
John Carradine completed "The Mummy's Ghost" at Universal on Sept 9 1943; by the 27th his long planned Shakespeare company debuted doing boffo box office at the Pasadena Playhouse, with the actor playing the title role in OTHELLO, then by Oct 5 as Shylock in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and finally as HAMLET (Oct 12-17). This was the short-lived period when Monogram offered him the princely sum of $3000 a week as part of a trio of horror players to star in two Sam Katzman potboilers, along with Bela Lugosi and George Zucco; from Oct 1 Carradine was billed under Lugosi in "Return of the Ape Man," with Zucco's disastrous casting in the bearded, prehistoric title role quickly rectified by replacing him with former pugilist Frank Moran (both actors listed on screen), previously seen opposite Bela in both "The Corpse Vanishes" and "Ghosts on the Loose." Scripted in typical hurry-up-and-shoot-it mode, loaded with reams of ludicrous dialogue, Lugosi's dynamism largely held in check by the sadly one dimensional Prof. Dexter. Carradine, like Zucco clearly miscast, plays Dexter's assistant, Prof. John Gilmore, as straight laced and naive as Dexter is hard boiled and obstinate, an all too trusting associate easily duped by his partner's machinations. Distressingly tacky, confined to one simple basement set, yet still fun to some extent, the actors all hamstrung with little to work with. Zucco wisely bailed out after appearing comatose in the Ape Man's initial sequence, while Carradine braved his insipid lines with a small measure of conviction: "Dexter you're a dangerous man, I believe you're quite mad!" Helpless to prevent sacrificing his own brain to Dexter's mad experiment, Gilmore essentially shrugs, deserving of his fate; after the operation, the creature is able to speak (a little) and reason (not much), leading the hapless authorities on a madcap chase across the city before meeting his demise right back in Dexter's lab. It remains Bela Lugosi's show all the way (or at least 49 minutes), Carradine's screen time at 18 1/2 minutes, for once playing a rational, if spineless, scientist rather than a crazed one. One has to wonder if the role of halfwit Toby in the next Monogram feature "Voodoo Man" shows us what's left of Gilmore? It could very well be!
helpful•12
- kevinolzak
- Jan 27, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Возвращение человека-обезьяны
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Return of the Ape Man (1944) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer