The Ape (1940 film)

The Ape
File:Theape.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Nigh
Produced by	William Nigh
Written by	Adam Shirk Curt Siodmak Richard Carroll Suggested from the play by Adam Hull Shirk
Starring	Boris Karloff Maris Wrixon Gene O'Donnell
Music by	Edward J. Kay
Cinematography	Harry Neumann
Edited by	Russell F. Schoengarth
Distributed by	Monogram Pictures Corporation
Release dates	September 30, 1940 (1940-09-30)
Running time	62 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Ape is a 1940 American horror film made for Monogram Pictures, co-written by Curt Siodmak and starring Boris Karloff.

Plot summary

Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. All he needs is spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape has broken out of its cage, and is terrorizing the townspeople.

The Ape eventually breaks into Dr. Adrian's lab. The Doctor manages to kill it before any harm can come to himself. However, the spinal fluids he requires to perform his experiments have all been destroyed during the struggle between him and the Ape.

Doctor Adrian then concocts an idea: he will tear off the ape's flesh and use its skin to disguise himself as the escaped circus animal and murder townspeople in order to extract their spinal fluid. Thus the murders will be blamed on the Ape and he, himself, will manage to avoid any suspicion.

However, one of his attacks towards the film's end is unsuccessful; he is fatally knifed and the Ape's "true identity" is revealed.

Cast

• Boris Karloff - Dr. Bernard Adrian
• Maris Wrixon - Miss Frances Clifford
• Gene O'Donnell - Danny Foster
• Dorothy Vaughan - Mother Clifford
• Gertrude W. Hoffmann - Jane, Adrian's Housekeeper
• Henry Hall - Sheriff Jeff Halliday
• Selmer Jackson - Dr. McNulty

Production

The Ape was filmed in the city of Newhall, Santa Clarita, California.

Release

Filming began July 29, 1940, the final feature in Boris Karloff's six-picture contract with Monogram, returning only once, in 1958 for Frankenstein 1970 (1958).*

See also

• List of American films of 1940
• Boris Karloff filmography
• List of films in the public domain

External links

• The Ape at IMDb
• The Ape is available for free download at the Internet Archive
• The Ape at AllMovie