Son of Ingagi
An all-black horror film in which a female
mad scientist keeps a hairy beast in her secret laboratory.
The Gorilla
Allan Dwan's adaptation of Ralph Spence's
play was the first of two efforts with the Ritz Brothers. When wealthy insurance
broker Walter Stevens (Bela Lugosi) receives a death threat from a rampaging
murderer known only as 'the Gorilla' he hires a trio of private detectives Garrity
(Jimmy Ritz), Harrigan (Harry Ritz) and Mulligan (Al Ritz) for protection. When
they arrive at the threatened time of murder, the detectives question Stevens'
servants, and his niece Norma (Patsy Kelley) and her fiance (Jack Marsden).
At midnight, Stevens suddenly disappears, and the trio of shamuses scour the
house for him. The gorilla suddenly appears only to quickly vaporize, terrifying
the guests even more. One of Stevens' clients, Conway (Paul Harvey) arrives,
claiming that the broker cooked up the gorilla ruse to swindle his employer.
Adding to the melee, an agent of the Security and Exchange Commission shows
up, and seconds Conway's story, saying that Stevens mailed himself the death
threat to deflect any suspicion away from himself. He leads the detectives through
a series of mazelike hidden corridors where they find Stevens bound and gagged.
The loopy Ritz Brothers as detectives must be seen to be believed. Horror movie
stalwarts such as Lugosi (DRACULA) and Atwill (THE SON OF FRANKENSTEIN), also
have amusing turns.