George Zucco is a lot of fun as a mad scientist. Too bad the movie is so dull. Glenn Strange gets to play another monster. He had a lot better luck as the Frankenstein monster in several movies. His luck got even better when he played Butch Cavendish in the 1949 TV debut of “The Lone Ranger” and then later in the recurring role as Sam the Bartender on “Gunsmoke.”
Dr.Lorenzo Cameron (George Zucco) is having a blast turning his slow witted handyman Petro (Glenn Strange) into a werewolf. He keeps a wolf in a cage because he needs its blood for his special serum. After a successful transformation back and forth Cameron decides to make a speech.
He imagines talking to the four professors who got him tossed out of the University for being nuts. He said he could inject the blood of a beast into a man and get himself an invincible army. He also has an antidote to bring them back. One prof raises the question of how he could round ’em all up to give them the injection. No answer. You just know Cameron is out for revenge.
Petro wanders around the misty swamp and sneaks into a farmer’s cabin. He kills the family’s little girl. Cameron tells Petro he wants to take him to town and visit Professor Blaine. Petro’s all excited about riding in the car.
Cameron’s daughter Lenora (Anne Nagel) wants Petro to mail a letter to her reporter boyfriend. She was forced to leave town so fast she never got to tell him where she was going. Cameron grabs the letter. He doesn’t want anyone knowing where they are and getting in his way.
A group of farmer’s with shotguns come upon the trio and tell them about the murder. Cameron says he doesn’t know a thing. Petro is looking funny. He’s remembering his bad dreams.
At Blaine’s house Tom Gregory (Johnny Downs), the reporter boyfriend of Lenora, drops by looking for a story. Nothing. He leaves and then in walks Cameron and Petro. Cameron tells Blaine he’s going to prove his theory. He asks Blaine to give Petro an injection at midnight.
Cameron says he has to get some papers and leaves. Blaine calls Professor Fitzgerald and tells him what’s going on and asks him to walk over. Midnight. Cameron intercepts Fitzgerald. He says he’ll walk to Blaine’s with him.
Blaine gives Petro the injection. Uh-oh. Petro puts his head down. You know what that means. Blaine doesn’t and that’s it for him. Cameron stalls Fitzgerald by faking a minor heart attack. A cop comes by and the three eventually go to Blaine’s and make the discovery. Petro wanders off.
The movie gets even duller and Zucco gets to act even crazier as Tom finds their house and gets involved. As a George Zucco fan I had to watch this but it wasn’t easy.
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