The Ape

Just how many doors does Karlof open in this flick? Every shot seems to start or end with him opening or closing a door - or both! The sheriff opens and closes a lot of doors too. The whole movie is full of people opening and shutting doors. The ape suited doctor dies just in front of his own house door. The only character who doesn't use a door is the Ape who enters the doctor's house by smashing through a window. I'm sure there is a deep and complex metaphor going on here somewhere but I can't be bothered to work out what it is. If you are looking to buy this movie be warned, the copy I own is on a DVD with two other Karlof movies (Both Mr Wong films) and is duped off a really terrible print.

This older film is really good and its made good too! Boris Karloff is really good in it! His character is much different than the other ones he has played as. Actually this is his most interesting role in My opinion! I noticed that The ape or the gorilla in the film is the same gorilla that was in some of the Three Stooges shorts! The movie has very good acting from all of the other actors that were in the film! The story of The Ape is quite different and original! The ape sequences were cool! The movie has some good music and direction as well! If you like Boris Karloff and older horror films like the Universal Monsters then I strongly recommended that you see The Ape!

This film is very much like an earlier Monogram Pictures effort, THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES. That's because both starred Boris Karloff as a well-intentioned doctor who is trying to help mankind but ultimately becomes a "mad" scientist. Here Karloff is trying to find a cure for spinal paralysis and he uses the spinal fluid of a man injured by an escaped ape to help cure a lady who is bound to a wheelchair. The problem is, although there is improvement, Karloff needs more and more fluid in order to effect a cure. The rest, though predictable, is pretty entertaining for a low-budget horror flick. The conclusion is particularly good--giving a nice twist that's not expected. And speaking of "low-budget", this film is very, very cheaply made--with occasionally bad acting and an annoyingly repetitive musical score. Despite the film's many short-cuts and all, it's STILL very watchable and worth a look--particularly for fans of Karloff.

first off I enjoyed The Ape, not one of Karloff's great movies but it didn't stink either,, the premise of the movie is that he is trying to find a spinal cure for a woman, and the only way he can do this is to go around killing people,, he decides to use an Ape suit this way I guess he can scare the living daylights out of his victims.. he is great to watch his every move ,, what he is gonna do next, and how he will go about doing it,, he's really creepy in the Ape suit, I would not wanna be in his way when he is gonna get to his next victim,, granted there's not a lot of suspense here because you already know what he is doing, so there is really no great mystery about what's going on, just sit back and enjoy Boris Karloff that's what I did.

Monogram pictures produced rather low budget films and cut costs in every way imaginable. Karloff made this entire film possible with his great acting as Dr. Adrian, dedicating his career to finding a cure for the dread disease Polio. He ties to help the only person in town who believes he can cure her from paralyzis. Karloff soon learns that he needs spinal fluid from a human being, he tries to blame the Ape for his horrors. This "APE Film" finished Karloff's contract with Monogram and he returned after eighteen(18)years when Monogram became Allied Artists in 1953 where he made "Frankenstein 1970".