Man Made Monster (1941)

Man Made Monster is an American horror film that also includes elements of science fiction. It was directed by George Waggner and written by Joseph West (a pseudonym of George Waggner's) based on a story concept by H.J. Essex, and. It was produced by Universal Pictures and released theatrically in the United States on March 28th, 1941. Although it may not be one of the most well-remembered of the Universal Classics era of films, it is otherwise notable for it's familiar cast which includes Lionel Atwill as Doctor Paul Rigas, Lon Chaney, Jr. as Dan McCormic, Anne Nagel as June Lawrence, Frank Albertson as Mark Adams and Samuel S. Hinds as Doctor John Lawrence.

Plot
"The forces of Creation? Bah! You know as well as I do that more than half the people of the world are doomed to a life of mediocrity - born to be non-entities, millstones around the neck of progress, men who have to be fed, watched, looked over, and taken care of by a superior intelligence. My theory is to make these people of more use to the world. By successive treatments their bodies can be so electrolyzed that they are no longer subject to the pains and frailties of ordinary mankind."

- Doctor Paul Rigas

Crew

 * George Waggner - Director
 * Harry Essex - Writer
 * - Writer
 * - Writer
 * Joseph West - Screenplay
 * Jack Bernhard - Associate producer
 * Hans J. Salter - Composer; Musical director
 * Elwood Bredell - Cinematographer
 * Arthur Hilton - Editor
 * Jack Pierce - Makeup artist
 * Vera West - Costume designer; Gown supervisor


 * Jack Otterson - Art director
 * Harold H. MacArthur - Associate art director
 * Russell A. Gausman - Set decorator
 * Bernard B. Brown - Sound supervisor
 * Charles Carroll - Sound technician
 * John P. Fulton - Special effects artist
 * Charles Henderson - Composer; stock music
 * Charles Previn - Orchestrator
 * Frank Skinner - Composer; additional music
 * Eric Wybrow - Technical supervisor

Notes & Trivia

 * The tagline for the film is, "The most amazing monster the world has ever known".


 * Man Made Monster is based on a story concept titled "The Electric Man". This title was used for the film's release in the United Kingdom.


 * The movie has also been released under the title The Mysterious Dr. R. and The Mysterious Dr. X.


 * Other actors considered for the role of Doctor Rigas include Univeral favorites Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.


 * Man Made Monster was filmed in-studio at Universal Studios, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California. The entire shoot took a total of three weeks.


 * The film is known for being the cheapest movie Universal Pictures produced in 1941. It had a budget of $86,000.


 * Man Made Monster was released theatrically in Sweden on November 14th, 1941.


 * Man Made Monster was released theatrically in Portugal on October 11th, 1943.


 * Realart Pictures re-released Man Made Monster in 1953 where it shared double-billing with The Flying Saucer. Leaning on the sci-fi edge of marketing, Realart repackaged the film as The Atomic Monster.


 * Man Made Monster was first broadcast on syndicated television in 1957 by Screen Gems.


 * Man Made Monster was released on home video in VHS format on September 16th, 1997 by MCA/Universal Home Video as part of the Universal Classic Collection.


 * Man Made Monster is included on the Universal Horror: Classic Movie Archive along with The Black Cat, Horror Island, Night Monster and Captive Wild Woman. The collection was produced by Universal Studios and released on September 13th, 2009.
 * One of the most notable aspects of Man Made Monster is the fact that it launched the career of actor Lon Chaney, Jr. as a horror movie icon. He would immediately go on to achive cinematic immortality in his portrayal of Larry Talbot - the Welsh aristocrat-turned-werewolf in Universal's The Wolf Man.


 * Actress Constance Bergen is credited as Connie Bergen in this film.

Recommendations

 * Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
 * Dracula (1931)
 * Frankenstein (1931)
 * Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
 * Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
 * House of Dracula (1945)


 * House of Frankenstein (1944)
 * Phantom of the Opera (1943)
 * She-Wolf of London (1946)
 * Son of Frankenstein (1939)
 * The Mummy (1932)
 * Wolf Man (1941)