JohnHowardReid Director: WALLACE FOX. Story and screenplay: Gerald Schnitzer. Photography: Mack Stengler. Film editor: Carl Pierson. Art director: Dave Milton. Music director: Edward J. Kay. Assistant director: Arthur Hammond. Sound recording: Glen Glenn. Associate producer: Barney Sarecky. Producers: Sam Katzman, Jack Dietz.Copyright 25 September 1942 by Monogram Pictures Corp. A Banner Production. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 30 October 1942. No record of any Australian theatrical release. 7 reels. 61 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Professor by day, soup kitchen operator by night. What is his secret?COMMENT: One of Mr Katzman's better films. In fact, despite some cheesy stock shots right at the beginning, it was produced on quite a lavish budget: realistic sets, noirishly moody cinematography, competently fast-paced direction, and a grand roster of players including real-life murderer Tom Neal (chillingly playing a thrill-killer), comedian Vince Barnett as a hapless little victim, Pete Smith's favorite stuntman Dave O'Brien as an eager cop, rat-faced John Berkes as a shifty safecracker, Lou Costello's brother, Pat, as a tramp, Ray Miller as a big-in-body, small-in-mind panhandler, the lovely Wanda McKay as the helpful heroine, and Lew Kelly as a doped-up resurrection man-to mention but a few. As for Lugosi himself, he turns in one of his most charismatic performances. The only blot on the movie's escutcheon is the very last shot in which the hero is miraculously returned to life without any apparent ill effects. Unbelievable! But then Mr Archer was never a very convincing actor anyway.

Leofwine_draca BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT is one of the many skid-row thrillers that Bela Lugosi made for poverty producers Monogram in the 1940s. This one starts off promisingly enough with an interesting plot that sees Lugosi acting as the kindly host of a soup kitchen, although it soon transpires that the kitchen is merely a front for Lugosi's midnight activities as the head of a criminal gang. Sadly, after the initial premise, this set up never ends up going anywhere and the resultant police investigation is highly boring. Sensing this, the scriptwriter adds in a nonsensical sub-plot involving the bodies of dead criminals being buried and then brought back to life as zombies in the soup kitchen basement. We never find out how or why these zombies are created and their presence adds absolutely nothing to the storyline, other than providing for Lugosi's denouement.The lack of budget and professionalism really hurts this film. The direction is absolutely stilted and the cast, aside from Lugosi, completely wooden. The horror star himself is on top form, delighting in the contrast between his kindly benefactor and sinister criminal mastermind, but his presence alone is not enough to lift this film from the quagmire into which it quickly sinks. Despite a scant hour-long running time this feels like a lot longer and is a real drag – it's another Monogram fail.

zardoz-13 Monogram director Wallace Fox's brisk, B-movie "Bowery at Midnight" intertwines elements of a crime thriller with a horror chiller. This uneven but above-average epic casts Bela Lugosi as a man with dual identities who kills without a qualm. He looks like a gentlemen, but he is the epitome of evil. Not only does he masquerade as a congenial college professor of psychology but also a soup kitchen operator. Professor Frederick Brenner teaches psychology at a New York City University behind a pince-nez when he isn't running a Bowery soup kitchen for the underprivileged. He looks and dresses like an academician during the day and as a humble social worker after dark. Brenner's wife knows nothing about these shenanigans but she is impressed when he loads her down with jewelry. She really doesn't crave the baubles as much as his companionship.Actually, the soup kitchen serves as a front for Brenner who uses the alias Karl Wagner. He has everybody duped, including his soup server, pretty young Judy Malvern (Wanda McKay of "Voodoo Man"), while she plays hard-to-get with wealthy young suitor, Richard Dennison (John Archer of "Police Bullets") who is more accustomed to sailing on his yacht than navigating the Bowery. Bowery was essentially a slum afflicted with crime. Richard wants Judy to give up her life and join him, but she refuses. Meantime, Detective Sgt. Pete Crawford (Dave O'Brien of "The Singing Cowgirl") dreams of having a family, weeding a garden, and a promotion like his mentor Police Capt. Mac Mitchell who is about to retire. Currently, a crime wave is sweeping the Bowery, and the sagacious Dr. Brenner is the one who has orchestrated. He likes to recruit criminals and then kill them after they have helped him with his crimes.Naturally, Bela delivers another sterling performance. George O'Brien doesn't garner enough screen time to make an effective impression, but John Archer is impressive as a John F. Kennedy type student who knows nothing about the plight of the unprivileged. Mercifully, Fox holds comic relief to a minimum. One amusing scene has Dennison quizzing a bum about life in the Bowery. The bum asks for a cigarette, which Dennsion gives him, and then appropriates the entire pack along with a match. Vince Barrett puts in a brief appearance as another criminal in Wagner's payroll. He spouts one line that is rather funny that marks his destiny. Ultimately, "Bowery at Midnight" proves too ambitious for its own good. The subplot about the zombies is never adequately fleshed out. The tacked on ending about Dennison is problematic. Presumably, the producers had second thoughts about leaving him as a corpse. Meanwhile, it is the zombie subplot that sets "Bowery at Midnight" aside from most zombie movies of its day because voodoo is not used and these zombies are of the flesh-devouring variety.

newportbosco One of the best of Bela's Monograms, mostly due to it's total craziness. This is the 5th of Bela's nine Mongrams' and by the looks of it, the plot was SO twisted the censors were just about ready to toss up there hands in incomprehension..and ignored stuff they might have nailed in years past. How else do we account for Bela's angry line about cats 'DESECRATING' his graves?? (Yeah, that's the word he uses. Not 'digging in'. It might be the first time a movie character complained about cats using graves as a litter box..) And it's not the only eyebrow raising thing...there is a sick creepy vibe that runs through this thing..really neat, actually. The plot has Bela doing multiple roles and defies logic or description. He kills folks in lots of scams and buries them in the basement in clearly marked graves with CROSSES no less...and has a drug addicted ex doctor side kick who has created zombies in the sub basement..(got that??) He also has the ability to work all night while telling his doting wife he is really writing, and then turn around and go back to run a soup kitchen or class room...Maybe the speed he would HAVE to take to DO such feats has fried his mind... But the cast and crew...this is one from your dreams. Fox, and Schnitzer directed and wrote CORPSE VANISHES from last time. Vince Barnett, also from CORPSE, is along for the ride. Archer made KING OF THE ZOMBIES..a flick that Bela was SUPPOSED to have made and SHOULD HAVE...Leading lady Wanda MacKay came back for VOODOO MAN, and keep your eye out for Ralph Littlefield...he's the friendly guy playing checkers and graduates next time to a pivotal role in THE APE MAN. You also get Tom Neal from DETOUR and Dave ("Play it FASTER!!") OBrien from REEFER MADNESS. It's one of the best Poverty Row casts ever assembled. And Bela is clearly DIGGING it...he gets KICKS out of double crossing folks and shooting them in cold blood, getting them pushed off roofs...the man is positively GLEEFULL. Now, of course, you HAVE to have the ALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL ending so Archer SOMEHOW comes back and marries MacKay, but you won't forget those graves...or the cat