just watch it!

Charming and brutal

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

If you're the kind of horror buff who likes the kind with graphic violence, then Man Made Monster is not for you. It brought Lon Chaney Jr.-namesake son of his famous father-to the Universal horror fold where his dad had previously made his most successful films. He plays Dan, a man who survives a bus accident that got tangled in electrical wires. I'll stop there and just say this was quite an atmospheric good time with Lionel Atwill as Dr. Rigas-a mad scientist (Is there any other kind in these movies?), leading lady Anne Nagel, and-since I like to cite when players from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, are in other films-Frank Albertson as Anne's reporter boyfriend with Samuel S. Hinds as Anne's scientist uncle. Also, a dog named Corky! I'll just now say if you like these classic Golden Age thrillers, Man Made Monster should be right up your alley!

MAN-MADE MONSTER (Universal, 1941), directed by George Waggner, could have been the subtitle to the earlier Universal horror success of FRANKENSTEIN (1931) about the title character and his monster creation. Based on the original story "The Electric Man," which should have been its title instead, the film in general in often overlooked among the horror/science fiction genre made famous by Universal. For its new decade of the 1940s, the studio produced further sequels to its earlier successes for DRACULA (1931), FRANKENSTEIN (1931), THE MUMMY (1932), and THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933), often starring different actors. MAN-MADE MONSTER not only has the distinction of being an original premise with no further sequels to follow, but an introduction to the horror cycle for Lon Chaney Jr. before achieving further establishment later that year as THE WOLF MAN (1941). With The Wolf Man being Chaney's most famous horror character, replayed again in further sequels, his MAN-MADE MONSTER ranks one of his better of the second feature productions, even though star billing goes to Lionel Atwill in a secondary role.The story opens with a bus traveling down the road, only to minutes later meet with an accident crashing into an electrical tower, killing all its passengers except for one, Dan McCormick (Lon Chaney Jr.). Recuperating in a hospital, this good-natured young man's survival has stumped many, including reporters and doctors. It so happens that Dan's profession happens to be as an electric man in side shows and carnivals, and that he possibly has this special immunity towards electricity. Doctor John Lawrence (Samuel S. Hinds), an electric-biologist, invites Dan to his home to study him while conducting experiments along with his associate, Doctor Paul Rigas (Lionel Atwill). Also at the Moors estate is Lawrence's niece, June (Anne Nagel), who becomes interested in Dan. As Dan makes himself at home, even to a point of bonding favorably with the family dog, Corky, Dan subjects himself to experiments during Lawrence's absence at a medical convention under Rigas. Rigas then takes it upon himself to strap Don on a laboratory table to do more than instructed by Lawrence. Placing more electricity than his body can handle, Dan's cheerful personality changes to depression, even to the point of aging. Becoming an electric man with super human strength, Dan unwittingly kills Lawrence under Rigas' orders. It is Rigas who labels Dan insane to the authorities, leading to his trial and sentence to die in an electric chair. Further shocking developments follow. Also in the cast are Frank Albertson (Mark Adams, reporter for the Glove Dispatch); William B. Davidson (Ralph D. Stanley, district attorney); and Russell Hicks (Warden Warren Harris). Although veteran character actor, Byron Foulger, is listed in the cast, his scenes are not visible in the final print.As much as MAN-MADE MONSTER belongs to young Chaney, Lionel Atwill, who specialized playing mad doctors in the past, does so once more in this production, with certain scenes opposite Anne Nagel reminiscent to those he did opposite Fay Wray in both MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) and THE VAMPIRE BAT (1933). The electrical special effects used for Chaney are first-rate, along with mood underscoring most familiar in many Universal-horror productions. The film in general offers some light touches, especially Chaney's early scenes involving Corky, and some brief romantic interest between its co-stars of Frank Albertson and Anne Nagel that doesn't get in the way of the story. While some sources label MAN-MADE MONSTER at 64 minutes, circulating prints, ranging from broadcast (like Shock Theater - how appropriate!) to cable television (Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s), to video cassette to DVD process, clock at 59 minutes. It moves swiftly at fast-pace rate, especially towards the finish, thanks to Chaney's high voltage performance as the electric man. (**1/2 volts)

"Man Made Monster" is a polished "B" movie that was a good film for the studio's new star, Lon Chaney Jnr. He shares leading man status with Lionel Atwill.This has a routine plot but is still very watchable.Lionel Atwill usually had a bit of a leering look in his eye, especially when he played mad scientists. The production values are OK.

Chaney's first horror film with Universal Pictures. I heard this was described as a test vehicle, to see if young Chaney Jr. had the chops to fill the shoes not only of his legendary father, but to see if he could become the studio's new horror man after Karloff and Lugosi.He must have passed the test because it was not long after this that Universal put him in a little picture titled "The Wolf Man" where Chaney cemented his legacy as one of the all-time horror greats.Getting back to "Man Made Monster", it's a pleasant B-Movie programmer, speeding along at barely over an hour & featuring a suitably sinister "mad doctor" performance from the always capable Lionel Atwill. And Chaney is excellent as the ill-fated & tragic Dynamo Dan, a type of character that he would portray again as Larry Talbot. Hopefully one day, this Universal feature will get a standalone DVD release (fingers crossed).