I'll tell you why so serious

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The Monster is an early "Old Dark House" styled comedy which features a mad doctor whose oddball band of henchmen kidnap unsuspecting motorists who happen to be in the vicinity of the old sanitarium where he conducts his experiments to discover the secret of eternal life. Investigating the local disappearances is Johnny Goodlittle, a timid amateur detective, who provides much of the film's comic relief. Disappointingly, the film never really delivers a monster, nor does it make much use of Chaney's mildly frightening character (Klaus Ming March 2017).

A meek clerk (Johnny Arthur) who doubles as an amateur detective investigates some very strange goings-on at a remote mental sanitarium.Director Roland West did not make a great many films (he seems to have been more of a stage director), but he did do a few with Lon Chaney. This is one of those few.The movie probably is not well known, but it has the reputation of being one of the first "mad scientist" movies, and has the distinction of being an "old dark house" movie, actually beating "The Old Dark House" (1932) to the punch.And while the horror elements are here (the scientist and the monster), this also works great as a comedy. There are some funny intertitles with some racy humor (including a milkman joke), and the humorous bannister / storm gag is worthy of Buster Keaton.Lastly, a special shout-out to Gertrude Olmstead, one of the "victims" of the talkies. Olmstead had a strong career in the silent era and has an excellent presence, but she never made the transition to sound and is now almost completely forgotten. A shame.

The small town of Danburg is plagued by strange disappearances. In the opening minutes, we see a strange man trapping people while they drive on isolated streets. After reading the book "How to Become a Detective" and obtaining his "diploma" from a mail-order school for detectives, mild-mannered store clerk Johnny Arthur (as Johnny Goodlittle) decides to solve the missing person problem. His book advises Mr. Arthur use "ingenuity" to solve the crime. After losing his girlfriend at a dance, Arthur goes off to pout and haplessly finds himself abducted like the other missing people. He is brought to a sanatorium run by mad scientist Lon Chaney (as Gustave Ziska)...Arthur's girlfriend Gertrude Olmstead (as Betty Watson) and brawny rival Hallam Cooley (as Amos Rugg) also arrive at the old dark house, where Mr. Chaney is conducting bizarre experiments. It's odd to see Ms. Olmstead, a fairly popular co-star, introduced in close-ups that show her eyes misshapen and teeth in unflattering light. Fortunately, photographer Hal Mohr improves Olmstead's camera angles in subsequent scenes. Snarling lines like, "Tighten his straps until he squeals!" hammy Mr. Chaney wants to transfer a man's soul into a female body. Yes, "The Monster" could have helped inspire "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975)..."The Monster" is often promoted and introduced as a horror film starring Lon Chaney. It's not. Think of it as a comedy film starring Johnny Arthur and you're less likely to be disappointed. Arthur is effective under Roland West's direction as they adapt Crane Wilbur's Broadway stage play. The main sets are sometimes stagy, but they're designed well and Mr. West varies blocking and camera positions. Supplementary sets and locations are commendable, especially an exciting sequence of "high-wire" stunts for Johnny. The ending is exciting, but it doesn't get wild enough. It would have been fun to see more of Chaney's experiments reach fruition.****** The Monster (3/16/25) Roland West ~ Johnny Arthur, Lon Chaney, Gertrude Olmstead, Hallam Cooley

Monster, The (1925) ** (out of 4) The teaming of legend Lon Chaney and director Roland West sadly ends up being a very disappointing entry in the "old dark house" genre, which was still quite new at the time this was released. In the film, Chaney plays a mad scientist trying to figure out the secrets of life in an abandoned asylum. Wannabe detective (Johnny Arthur) winds up at the asylum with the woman (Gertrude Olmstead) he loves and the two try to destroy the scientist and his evil ways. THE MONSTER is a major disappointment that doesn't appear to know what type of film it wants to be. Considering Chaney is given top-billing you'd think that the director and studio would want a horror film or at least some sort of dark mystery but they only partially give us that. For some reason the film contains a lot of comedy relief that really sinks everything. The film starts off with the wannabe detective, a store clerk in reality, constantly being pushed around and of course he plans to show them all one day. We get another guy thrown into the mix because he appears to be more "manly" and of course these two both want the same woman. This silly love story never comes full circle and it really just adds minutes to the running time and the film certainly didn't need that. There's full comedy scattered throughout the film and it's a bit of a mystery why they bothered. I mean, you do have the Man of a Thousand Faces and you do have him playing the role of a mad scientist so did they really think people wanted to see this type of comedy? Even stranger is that Chaney gets top-billing yet he doesn't appear until the mid-way point and sadly both Arthur and Olmstead aren't strong enough to carry the material. Once Chaney does get on screen he delivers another fine performance and while there's not any real make-up, I did enjoy that head full of white hair. Chaney was always good at playing mad and he does a good job here but it's a shame he's wasted. West's direction is pretty much all over the place and it's clear that he couldn't do comedy. The "old dark house" stuff is a tad bit better but it's still far from what he did with THE BAT.