Night Monster (1942)

While the classic Universal monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolfman and Mummy) might have been the star turns as far as the studio's 1940s horror output went, they were simultaneously turning out a stream of even cheaper horror flicks.  Unlike the monster movies, which, although cheap, were effectively 'programmers', appearing as the top half of double bills or forming the main feature on the 'B' cinema circuit, these other horror flicks were most definitely B-movies, destined always to appear further down the bill.  They generally had contemporary US settings, featured second-tier casts and were often far more vicious than the more prestigious monster pictures, with characters ruthlessly in grisly fashion.  They had more in common with the sort of B-movies being put out by poverty row studios like Monogram than they did with the rest of Universal's horror product.  They included titles like The Mad Ghoul, House of Horrors, The Brute Man and Jungle Captive.  The Night Monster (1942) is one of the most rarely seen.  Unlike some of the other films, it hasn't garnered a cult following since its original release and is rarely seen on TV.

In spite of its low profile, Night Monster does have some points of interest, most notably its two headline stars: Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill,  Both regular performers in Universal's monster series, this would seem too be a step down for them.  But, in truth, despite their star billing, they only perform supporting roles.  Their presence and billing is intended to mislead audiences - they are red herrings to distract viewers from the identity of the real killer.  Although presented as an 'old dark house' type of horror mystery, with a plot which might have been borrowed from one of the studio's 'Sherlock Holmes' series, (several doctors invited to the spooky house are systematically murdered by an unseen killer, who could be any of the household), the film is, in fact, a loose reworking of the 1932 Warner Brothers horror film Dr X.  In that film a one armed doctor perfects a type of synthetic flesh, with which he fashions a new arm and goes out strangling people.  In Night Monster, a bed-ridden quadruple amputee creates new limbs by the power of his mind in order to carry out the murders.  Western and serial specialist Ford Beebe (he directed the Flash Gordon serials for Universal) fills the director's chair in a rare foray into horror (Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) being his other) and moves the film along at a suitable pace.  Not a great or even very notable picture, but pretty much representative of Universal's B-horror output of the era.