User reviews

This is a bizarre little horror/comedy, mostly a comedy, the horror aspects almost parody. Lon Chaney has the top billing, but he's the evil adversary to a group of three, the leader being an amateur detective far too reminiscent of the previous year's Sherlock Jr. by the great Buster Keaton. He carries around a book called How to Be a Detective, and there are frequent zoom-ins which underline certain passages in the book. This is the ancestor to the type of film where a group of normal people are abducted into a strange house with a strange owner.

As for the film's quality, its humor is generally on target, but it is never all that funny. A lot of giggles, but I never laughed out loud. It is often very slow moving, but it has a few wonderful set pieces and suspense scenes. Lon Chaney's villain is pretty entertaining; I really wish they would have had more of him. There's much more footage of his evil henchman. The climactic scene is excellent.

Lightweight but enjoyable romp about a lunatic asylum taken over by its star inmate, played by Chaney. This one is played entirely for laughs, but Chaney has to play it straight, in a pretty lame role for the great star. West brings some of his nice effects to bear, in the slick sequence where the milquetoast hero flies through a window on a telephone cord, slides down four stairwells and ends up knocking his assailant out cold! I also especially enjoyed the scenes where the inmates lowered a huge mirror onto the road to divert traffic into a ditch -- it was like something come to life out of a scooby doo cartoon! Great fun in the light gothic style.

The small town of Danburg is plagued by strange disappearances. In the opening minutes, we see a strange man trapping people while they drive on isolated streets. After reading the book "How to Become a Detective" and obtaining his "diploma" from a mail-order school for detectives, mild-mannered store clerk Johnny Arthur (as Johnny Goodlittle) decides to solve the missing person problem. His book advises Mr. Arthur use "ingenuity" to solve the crime. After losing his girlfriend at a dance, Arthur goes off to pout and haplessly finds himself abducted like the other missing people. He is brought to a sanatorium run by mad scientist Lon Chaney (as Gustave Ziska)...

Arthur's girlfriend Gertrude Olmstead (as Betty Watson) and brawny rival Hallam Cooley (as Amos Rugg) also arrive at the old dark house, where Mr. Chaney is conducting bizarre experiments. It's odd to see Ms. Olmstead, a fairly popular co-star, introduced in close-ups that show her eyes misshapen and teeth in unflattering light. Fortunately, photographer Hal Mohr improves Olmstead's camera angles in subsequent scenes. Snarling lines like, "Tighten his straps until he squeals!" hammy Mr. Chaney wants to transfer a man's soul into a female body. Yes, "The Monster" could have helped inspire "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975)...

"The Monster" is often promoted and introduced as a horror film starring Lon Chaney. It's not. Think of it as a comedy film starring Johnny Arthur and you're less likely to be disappointed. Arthur is effective under Roland West's direction as they adapt Crane Wilbur's Broadway stage play. The main sets are sometimes stagy, but they're designed well and Mr. West varies blocking and camera positions. Supplementary sets and locations are commendable, especially an exciting sequence of "high-wire" stunts for Johnny. The ending is exciting, but it doesn't get wild enough. It would have been fun to see more of Chaney's experiments reach fruition.

****** The Monster (3/16/25) Roland West ~ Johnny Arthur, Lon Chaney, Gertrude Olmstead, Hallam Cooley

... from director Roland West. After noted citizen Luke Watson goes missing following a mysterious car crash, his plucky daughter Betty (Gertrude Olmstead) and two of Watson's clerks (Hallam Cooley and Johnny Arthur) decide to investigate at the scary mental hospital nearby. They find the devilish Dr. Ziska (Lon Chaney) who plans on using living human subjects in his surgical experiments. Our heroes bumble and stumble their way around the hospital's many corridors and secret rooms in hopes of escape. Also featuring Charles Sellon, Walter James, Frank Austin, Edward McWade, and Knute Erickson as Daffy Dan.

Johnny Arthur, a longtime character actor in the years after this, is amusing as the meek clerk who is also a would-be detective. Chaney gets to act with less makeup than usual, and he also gets to ham it up with glee. Olmstead also makes for a fetching heroine. If you've seen many of the "Old Dark House" types of films that came after this, you won't really find anything too unexpected here, but I found it enjoyable despite its familiarity.

A meek clerk (Johnny Arthur) who doubles as an amateur detective investigates some very strange goings-on at a remote mental sanitarium.

Director Roland West did not make a great many films (he seems to have been more of a stage director), but he did do a few with Lon Chaney. This is one of those few.

The movie probably is not well known, but it has the reputation of being one of the first "mad scientist" movies, and has the distinction of being an "old dark house" movie, actually beating "The Old Dark House" (1932) to the punch.

And while the horror elements are here (the scientist and the monster), this also works great as a comedy. There are some funny intertitles with some racy humor (including a milkman joke), and the humorous bannister / storm gag is worthy of Buster Keaton.

Lastly, a special shout-out to Gertrude Olmstead, one of the "victims" of the talkies. Olmstead had a strong career in the silent era and has an excellent presence, but she never made the transition to sound and is now almost completely forgotten. A shame.

This 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney and Johnny Arthur and directed by Roland West ("The Bat", "The Bat Whispers") is a harmless little horror-comedy about two men and a woman who get trapped in an old dark house with a mad scientist (the always excellent Chaney) and go through a series of perilous events caused by the scientist and his never ending supply of creepy servants. The acting is good and the production values are superb. Most of the comedy is funny and the creepy parts still hold up reasonably well. All in all, "The Monster" is no classic and certainly one of Lon Chaney's less remarkable films but it's still a decent, harmless film.

A meek store clerk (and aspiring detective) investigating a man's disappearance winds up at a creepy old sanitarium with the girl he loves and his rival. They find the supposedly abandoned place is inhabited by weird Dr. Ziska (Lon Chaney) and his cronies. After the strong opening, I was really expecting this to be a great one. While it is good and I did like it, I couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed by it. For starters, it's part horror-mystery and part comedy. The horror-mystery parts are good; a precursor to the many mad scientist and old dark house movies to come. But the comedy is pretty weak. The lead character appears to be a rip-off of Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr, which was released a year prior. Still, the comedy is the minor part of the movie. Most of it is old dark house/mad scientist craziness with Lon Chaney. That's pretty cool, no matter how you slice it. Also love the sets, gadgets, and special effects.

This is a Lon Chaney film that has its moments, but frankly needed more of Lon Chaney. He plays a lunatic who in the opening scene causes a car crash by using a mirror, then captures the victim. It's a great start and the dark old house he inhabits with his minions is full of secret chutes and trap doors, giving the film a creepy atmosphere. Unfortunately, that's offset by the film spending too much time on Johnny Arthur's character and things like the junior detective stuff and him accidentally getting drunk. The film goes for comedy, romance (Gertrude Olmstead is the love interest), and horror, and would have been better off concentrating on horror, at least for my taste. When Chaney's on the screen the film is at its best, and it's worth seeing if you're a fan of his, otherwise, it may be a bit too creaky and slow.

The best known name in this is, of course, Lon Chaney, who plays Dr. Ziska - a mad scientist who has taken over a sanitarium and is performing experiments on poor unfortunates. The bulk of the movie, though, is carried by an actor named Johnny Arthur. He seems to have had a relatively lengthy (if not especially well known) career, that made the crossover from silents to talkies. This is a silent movie, of course, and Arthur was fine as a wannabe detective who's out to solve the mystery of a wealthy farmer who mysteriously disappeared one night.

"The Monster" tried perhaps a bit too hard to be a combination comedy/suspense thriller. Some, I guess, would call it a horror movie, but it never really came across that way to me. In fact, the comedy elements seemed to predominate for the most part. It's irreverent and even at times slapstick in its approach. It uses the pretty standard setting of what seems to be more of a large house than a sanitarium to create a mystery - and, while at times it is mysterious, it never really (to me at least) became frightening, nor did the humour become truly funny. It caused a smile every now and then, I suppose. My biggest criticism would be that it took far too long (really until about the last 10-15 minutes of the movie) for us to get a real sense of what it was that Dr. Ziska was up to, and waiting for that became at times rather tiresome, as likable as all the main characters were.

Chaney, who received top billing although his role was secondary (and maybe even less than that) did make Ziska mysterious and in some respects even threatening. The other primary members of the cast were Gertrude Olmstead as Betty, the wannabe detective's love interest, and Hallam Cooley, as his rival for Betty's affection. This was OK. Nothing more than that. I wouldn't consider it a silent classic, although it isn't difficult to watch. (4/10)

Lon Chaney is a good villain here. What is hard to figure out is his motivation. He seems to be having a good time kidnapping people whose cars are forced off the roads. But once he has them, what does he want to do. I guess they are to be experimented on with a "soul transfer." Soon three young folks end up in his trap. About half the movie involves them trying to get out and each of them being treated in some silly way by Chaney, the mad doctor. There is quite a sensual scene as the young woman is strapped to a gurney as Chaney sort of drools over her. The two men are a couple idiots which make this a comedy, not to ever make us worry about the consequences of the mad doctor's actions. This is a pretty much a long, drawn out movie that could have really stood some editing.

A belittled clerk uses his ingenuity as an amateur detective to track down THE MONSTER responsible for some rather eerie recent disappearances.

This is a wonderfully creepy silent film. With very good acting & excellent production values courtesy of MGM, it is too bad this movie is not better known. The large amounts of humor help to lighten the load considerably and are very welcome.

The Master, Lon Chaney, adds another portrait to his gallery of grotesques. Slyly underplaying his character and letting his marvelous face act for him, Chaney more than makes up for the fact that his role is rather small. It is certainly ironic that this gentle man & terrific actor should be remembered principally for his bizarre & monstrous creations.

Comic Johnny Arthur receives co-star billing with Chaney and he deserves it, since he carries the bulk of the action. He does a fine job with his character, giving him backbone & spunk rather than allowing any milquetoast tendencies to ever predominate. With the coming of sound, Arthur would perfect a nervous, whiny persona. He made his last screen appearance in 1951, the year of his death at the age of 68.

Special kudos should be given to Walter James, Knute Erickson & George Austin for their strong support as a trio of very odd lunatics, all quite different & memorable.

THE MONSTER is considered by many to be the first in a long line of Mad Doctor films. It is also a prime example of the Old Dark House genre of spook stories. It certainly has many of the elements: a crumbling edifice, a distressed young lady, escaped madmen, bony hands appearing from hidden panels, secret passageways and sudden death. The Old Dark House has for long years been a respected avenue in literature & movies to maximize suspense & tension. Indeed, it's only a short walk from the Edwards Sanitarium in this film to Wuthering Heights, Baskerville Hall, Manderley & the Bates House...

Timid JOHNNY ARTHUR carries the first half-hour of THE MONSTER as a detective wanna-be, a sort of silent screen version of the characters Woody Allen often played decades later. Based on a play by Crane Wilbur, the slow moving story takes time to even get to the sanitarium nearby where the mystery angle of the plot will be unraveled.

Playing detective, Arthur accidentally stumbles into a house of horrors. Meantime, after a road accident, his girlfriend and his boss stumble into the same mansion seeking help. It is then that Dr. Ziska (LON CHANEY) makes his sinister appearance, informing them that they must stay in the house overnight since he has no telephone. He tells his hulking servant to make them comfortable.

Chaney plays his role similar to Bela Lugosi's caped Dracula, so the chill effect is everything it ought to be in a dark house thriller played with mock fright. The comedy aspect of the story would have made a great vehicle for Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard (a la their CAT AND THE CANARY) dark house comedy.

It seems the lunatics have taken over the asylum. The mad doctor Ziska has locked Dr. Edwards and his assistants in a dungeon below the mansion and has the patients carrying out his orders. Amateur detective Arthur saves the day by shooting off Roman candles that alert the townspeople to his help signal.

It's all done in spirited good fun and confusion, played for laughs more than horror although there is a definite combination of mirth and fright.

Summing up: Good dark house comedy with all the usual drawbacks of early silent films but more watchable than most. Not a typical Chaney film by any means. Much lighter than Roland West's THE BAT WHISPERS.

I was rather disappointed by THE MONSTER this time around: it has little to offer apart from its very strangeness (which appears to be a trademark of director Roland West, who later made both the silent version of THE BAT [1926] and its first sound remake THE BAT WHISPERS [1930]).

The plot is very creaky: typical 'old dark house' stuff - and not especially interesting at that - which frequently borders on the ludicrous. It starts off well enough with an atmospheric sequence set in a thunderstorm, and the comic relief which occupies most of the film's expository first half (possibly inspired by Buster Keaton's SHERLOCK JR., made the previous year) is likable enough. But when the three leading characters get caught inside a desolate sanitarium, taken over by mad scientist Chaney, the film starts to drag and it never quite recovers. Chaney is flanked by three distinctive-looking assistants/former patients: one, dressed in a cape throughout most of the proceedings, is suitably creepy; another, fairly amusing, is a buffoonish character whose child-like approach to things thwarts Chaney's plans more often than abetting them; and there is also the (rather grating) standard of all such flicks, the mute strong-man who never does anything more strenuous than scowling!

Chaney himself is wasted here: the scientist, Dr. Ziska, is supposed to be working on some 'great experiment' but this is barely touched upon till the final reel - and by this time, the audience has stopped caring! Johnny Arthur, the film's unlikely hero, gets to do an incredible stunt (another nod to Keaton) and there are a few genuinely eerie scenes, like when a pair of hands reach out from under the sleeping heroine to grasp her. The film also betrays its stage origins by flat and stagy direction - the only other Roland West picture I have watched, THE BAT WHISPERS, is far more cinematically fluid and interesting (if still basically flawed).

The Monster has the distinction of not just being one of the first horror spoofs and an early example of the 'old dark house' sub-genre, but also one of the first films to utilise the 'lunatics have taken over the asylum' trope. As such, it should be held in high regard by fans of such films, even though it might seem a bit creaky by today's standards. Remember, this was all relatively new to film-goers in the '20s...

Johnny Arthur plays meek store clerk Johnny Goodlittle, who dreams of becoming a detective, even enrolling in a correspondence course to learn the ropes. When several people go missing near to town, their vehicles having been forced off the road by a mysterious hooded figure, Johnny decides to investigate, finding a clue that points to the local sanitarium, currently closed, owner Dr. Edwards rumoured to be out of the country. Johnny falls down a trap that dumps him in the supposedly abandoned building, where he encounters the object of his affection, Betty (Gertrude Olmstead), and his love rival, dapper playboy Amos Rugg (Hallam Cooley), who have also been forced off the road by the hooded man, and who have sought shelter from the rain.

Soon after arriving, the threesome meet Dr. Ziska (Lon Chaney), who says he is overseeing the running of the sanitarium in Dr. Edwards' absence. In reality, Ziska is quite mad, and, assisted by a few of the asylum inmates - Daffy Dan (Knute Erickson), Rigo (Frank Austin) and Caliban (Walter James) - he hopes to carry out an experiment to transfer the soul of a woman into another body.

What follows is creepy knockabout comedy, with all the usual booby traps and hidden passageways one expects form such fare, our bumbling hero somehow managing to escape the villains' clutches and rescue the girl. Director Roland West keeps the film consistently fun with a snappy pace, and delivers several standout scenes: the hooded Rigo lurking in a tree, lowering a large mirror into the road below to trick motorists into thinking that they are going to be caught in a head-on collision; the sleeping Betty grabbed by a pair of hands that pull her into the floor; and Johnny escaping Rigo by tight-rope walking across a telegraph wire in a torrential downpour (very Buster Keaton!). Star Chaney gets to ham it up a treat as the mad doctor, grinning maniacally throughout and presumably cackling insanely at the same time.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

The problem with this is that it just takes forever to get past the introduction of the rather insipid characters and become interesting. "Johnny" (Johnny Arthur) is the wimpish store-man who shares a shine on the boss's daughter "Betty" (Gertrude Olmstead) with the slightly more sophisticated "Amos" (Hallam Cooley). Now "Johnny" has just finished qualifying as a private investigator and decides that a local missing person might be a suitable place to start his sleuthing career. The action, such as it is, all centres around a disused sanatarium and when his gal and his rival get stuck there requiring rescue, all three (eventually) meet "Dr. Ziska" (Lon Chaney) and it's soon pretty clear that he is up to no-good. It's a slow burn this, and Chaney isn't anywhere near his best - but to be fair, this isn't the chunkiest part for him (or us) to get immersed in. There are some fun, almost slapstick, moments and electricity plays quite a significant role as our threesome try to escape the clutches of their menacing host. Loads of rain, a tightrope walk and a rather decrepit motor cycle cop also try their best to liven it up and at times Roland West hits the spot. Just not quickly or often enough to make this film much to write home about.

The Monster is one of the great Lon Chaney's less memorable ventures. It's neither bad nor good, though it does have its moments. The only reason it doesn't get a lower rating is because it doesn't take itself too seriously and Chaney is somewhat entertaining as a mad scientist.

The story involves three young adults (Johnny Arthur, Gertrude Olmstead, Hallam Cooley) trapped in a creepy asylum under the "hospitality" of a mad doctor (Lon Chaney) whose intentions seem quite malicious. Arthur's character is a less funny version of Buster Keaton's character in Sherlock Jr., but he's not bad and certainly the most memorable of the trio. Chaney is entertaining as the mad doctor, but it is far from being one of his better parts. The "haunted house" plot feels very dated and some of the jokes really aren't all too funny.

Though mostly forgettable, The Monster is essential for huge Chaney fans like myself and if you're really bored, then you might like to waste some time with this one.

Of all the odd and grotesque characters that the "Man of a Thousand Faces" had portrayed, this is a REALLY a strange one. I say that because his part of Dr. Ziska is never really explained or given a defined motivation as was done with all the other characters. In my opinion, this is not really a "Lon Chaney" film but more something akin to that bane of all great actors, namely "contractual obligation". Yes, He has a major role in this film but the focus is really on the comedic relief here in the personage of Johnny Arthur. Mr. Arthur is another "strange case" because he's at a time when the competition was quite stiff with the likes of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, and the person he physically resembles the most, Charley Chase. Maybe that's why he never became the headliner he was aspiring to be. And that's a shame because as you watch this film, he certainly steals it away from Mr. Chaney, no small accomplishment, with his mastery of slapstick and ability to evoke pathos without becoming "mushy". The plot is the basic "old dark house" one with secret passages and the "mad scientist" played for all it's worth by Chaney. So don't look for any special thrills or chills in this one or for an "undiscovered" character by Chaney but instead watch this one for the comedy of Johnny Arthur and enjoy and wonder "what if" he had had more of an opportunity at starring vehicles and not ending up as a bit player in the 1930's. He would certainly have ranked right up there with the other greats of the time.

It is a little hard to believe that the original play on which this film is based had over 100 performance. The story is silly and not very believable nor plausible. Johnny Arthur does well in spite of the lame script and is the lead actor in this comedy. Gertrude Olmstead didn't impress me very much as the love interest. She has a rather homely appearance. Lon Chaney seems also like a secondary character actor in this film.

The special effects are poor and in a few cases laughably poor and unconvincing. Not one of Lon Chaney's best. Poor comedy and unbelievable story line.

Lon Chaney, (Dr. Ziska) plays the role of a mad scientist who takes over a sanitarium full of lunatics and removes all the professional staff and begins to use the mental patients as his helpers in getting him bodies for his experiments. Johnny Arthur, (Johnny Goodlittle) plays the role as a sissy or pansy and has a great attraction for Betty Watson,(Gertrude Olmstead) who also seems attracted to him also. Johnny Goodlittle is also studying to become a detective and to prove himself as a successful crime expert. There is plenty of creepy looking characters and secret panels all over dark looking homes. The great actor, Lon Chaney gave an outstanding performance in a very great silent film from 1925 and there was also plenty of laughs. Don't miss this great film classic. Enjoy

Not a movie I would watch twice, but worth one viewing given its place in the history of the horror genre.

Very slow-moving blend of farcical comedy and non-supernatural thriller. The last 25 or 30 minutes is pretty entertaining but I don't think any objective reviewer putting this film within the context of other Chaney movies and within the history of silent cinema can honestly give it a 10 or even a 7 or 8. It's simply not that good of a movie. Sunrise and Phantom of the Opera might be tens; The Monster does not even approach that level, so it's current average of 6.3 is overinflated.