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
Bela Lugosi plays the scientist who, with assistant John Carradine, travels to Alaska (or, at least, somewhere north where it's freezing cold) in the hopes of finding a neanderthal man frozen in the ice upon which he wants to experiment with a serum to see if he can restore life to him.
What luck, he finds one (did you have any doubt?) but, upon reviving him decides that his brute brain must go or, at least, be altered with the partial brain of a civilized man. From there things go predictably haywire.
This 60 minute quickie has the usual silly script and cheap sets that you only come to expect from Monogram. Lugosi and Carradine go through their paces but neither actor seems particularly inspired (does anybody wonder why?). The film has the usual climax, with a beautiful young woman passed out in the ape man's arms as the police and her fiance chase after them.
Biggest mystery of the film for me was the third billing given to veteran character actor George Zucco as "the Ape Man," along with Frank Moran in the same part. For starters he's not an ape man, he's a caveman. Apparently, from what I read, Zucco briefly appears in the role but darned if I could spot him. It's more like Zucco is playing the invisible man in this film than anything else.
Lugosi had previously appeared in another Monogram "B" entitled The Ape Man. I assume that film did sufficiently well at the box office to inspire this title though it is in no way or form a sequel, aside from the screen presence of its top billed star.
What luck, he finds one (did you have any doubt?) but, upon reviving him decides that his brute brain must go or, at least, be altered with the partial brain of a civilized man. From there things go predictably haywire.
This 60 minute quickie has the usual silly script and cheap sets that you only come to expect from Monogram. Lugosi and Carradine go through their paces but neither actor seems particularly inspired (does anybody wonder why?). The film has the usual climax, with a beautiful young woman passed out in the ape man's arms as the police and her fiance chase after them.
Biggest mystery of the film for me was the third billing given to veteran character actor George Zucco as "the Ape Man," along with Frank Moran in the same part. For starters he's not an ape man, he's a caveman. Apparently, from what I read, Zucco briefly appears in the role but darned if I could spot him. It's more like Zucco is playing the invisible man in this film than anything else.
Lugosi had previously appeared in another Monogram "B" entitled The Ape Man. I assume that film did sufficiently well at the box office to inspire this title though it is in no way or form a sequel, aside from the screen presence of its top billed star.
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