The Boogie Man Will Get You

Columbia commissioned this screwball horror comedy to cash in on the success of Arsenic and Old Lace which Boris Karloff was appearing in on Broadway. This is sort of a rip off of that play with quite a lot of similarities, except it's not witty or particularly funny. It's just a mish mash of silly scenes.

Horror King Boris Karloff seems to be having a good time here spoofing his own mad doctor image in this light-hearted black comedy which was probably inspired by ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. As a kindly (but naive) old inventor, the wacky Karloff wants to "aid the war effort" by creating his own homegrown superman. Boris teams up in this one with the offbeat Peter Lorre as another "scientist" and "jack of all trades" to bop unsuspecting subjects over the head for usage in their daffy experiments. One of their dimwitted victims is even Max "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom. Karloff and Lorre make a good comical duo in the first of a few films where they'd eventually share the spotlight together, and there are some light chuckles to be had in this good natured, if uneven, diversion. **1/2 out of ****

Boogie Man Will Get You, The (1942) *** (out of 4) A nutty doctor (Boris Karloff) plans on creating supermen but his experiments continue to fail. With the help of another man (Peter Lorre) the two start kidnapping folks from the hotel being ran above their basement. This is a pretty entertaining comedy/horror film from Columbia that works best thanks to the performances by Karloff and Lorre. The two work very well together and their comic timing is right on the mark. The supporting players are fine as well in this cash in on Arsenic and Old Lace.

The Boogie Man Will Get You was the last film commitment Karloff owned Columbia. After a great deal of postponement on the part of the Broadway producers of Arsenic and Old Lace, Karloff was permitted to leave the cast in order to join his co-star Peter Lorre in Hollywood. The film was shot in the late summer of 1942 and was deliberately fashioned to capitalize on the success of Karloff's current Broaway play with Arsenic and Old Lace. Boris Karloff as the scientific investigator and Peter Lorre were a perfect team for this suppose to be scary horror movie?

It surely is a cosmic snicker that Henry Pratt supported himself as a piano mover while appearing in the French version of a Laurel & Hardy film! (Pardon Us.) Perhaps Henry, or Boris Karloff as he began calling himself, gave the boys some tips on the fine art of cajoling a balky music box up a few flights of stairs. We'll never know for sure, but that helpful, neighborly, attitude was always with him, even at his most darkly sinister or bizarre. Monster, mummy, mandarin, or daffy doctor, Karloff always seemed truly puzzled and not a little grieved at the mayhem and horror that swirled around him in every film. In Boogie Man he is simply trying to support the War effort with a little harmless electricity. His slight lisp, and polite British accent, gave his utterances a benign tone. Even his evil grimace (and only Lugosi could match those melodramatic facial convulsions) somehow seem less menacing than mildly complaining, as if he were telling you about a pesky toothache. In this film he's playing for laughs, of course, but even in his starkest horror roles you can sense just a touch of amusement at himself as he chews up the scenery (or a victim.) One feels that if he were still around to spread his arms in menace at us, he might pause & sniff, just to make sure his deodorant was still working. A thoughtful murderer -- that was Boris Karloff.

The Boogie Man Will Get You: 6 out of 10: If Ma and Pa Kettle ever did Arsenic and Old Lace it would be this movie. Very very silly and occasionally quite funny the Boogie Man has a couple of big faults. The supporting cast is mixed at best and the ending is a mess. It also has two great assets, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. Karloff is spot on as the bumbling well meaning murdering scientist. Whose experiments on traveling salesman to create super-soldiers for the war effort are both well meaning and quite homicidal. Peter Lorre is hilarious as the Mayor, Police Chief, Undertaker, Notary, excreta. He dresses in a three piece suit with a Siamese kitten in his pocket to which he coos in German. Watching these two together is pure entertainment and certainly worth a viewing. The rest of the movie is light, frothy, derivative, and occasionally irritating. Just watch the stars at work and forget the rest.

Released two years before "Arsenic & Old Lace" was made into a movie, this film brought Broadway's star of "Arsenic & Old Lace" (Boris Karloff) to the screen with a similar type of film. I was disappointed in this film because I felt that Boris & Peter could have done much better with a script that wasn't quite as silly. Sure, there's good satire here (which must have been much more biting to 1940's audiences that could relate to it as being timely). Some of the "in" jokes are lost on me, at a distance of 60+ years from the original release of this film. Some of the comedy is just plain "goofy." I would have liked a few real scares from Boris, rather than the one note deranged scientist role he played here. Peter is excellent as the only guy in town with a job (he has all of the jobs). I was impressed by Jeff Donnell, the female lead, who showed good comedic talents in a role that could have been played by Lucille Ball. Although I love the stars, I can rate this only 5/10.

The Boogie Man Will Get You was the last of Karloff's "Mad Doctor" series for Columbia Pictures. Played strictly for laughs (although to be honest there are very few of them) Karloff teams up with Peter Lorre to create an electrical Superman capable of winning World War II. Lots of references to Arsenic And Old Lace give the film an amiable air, and it's obvious the stars are enjoying themselves. The part of the "ballet master" feels like it was written with Lugosi in mind, which would at least have added something to the film had he appeared. No such luck. At 66 minutes the film doesn't outstay its welcome and it's brightly played by a cast including Larry Parks and Maude Eburn. The film passes the time, but most of the jokes fall flat on their faces (Larry Parks' bed made me smile, though, as does Lorre continually producing a Siamese kitten from his coat pockets.) It also has a few topical references to WWII. It's only real problem is the lack of humour. Even the Abbott and Costello vehicles of the time had more laughs going for them.

Obviously inspired by (but certainly no match for) the theatrical success of the legendary black farce, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (co-starring Boris Karloff) - whose film version, featuring Peter Lorre(!), had been shot but not yet released - the film can also be seen as a spoof on Karloff's "Mad Doctor" cycle of films (which, unfortunately, I've yet to sample myself!) he had just finished for the same studio, Columbia; the film also touches upon the wartime situation by having Karloff's mysterious experiments emerge as a crackpot attempt to aid the war effort! At first I wasn't particularly enthused with it, but gradually the film settled into being a pleasant diversion, with the two stars making a truly wonderful team (a surprisingly bemused Karloff still manages to retain his dignity while Lorre, typically shady and nervy at the same time, gives it his all as the jack-of-all-trades of a remote small town); Lorre has a tiny but intuitive Siamese cat for an assistant, which he carries along in the inside pocket of his coat! Still, the film is more silly than funny: there is, of course, a bland romantic couple (the male half of which is Larry Parks, later to achieve short-lived fame portraying Al Jolson in the two Columbia biopics of the great entertainer!) and the rest of the cast play either goofy or eccentric characters but, alas, none is all that engaging!! Besides, given the low-budget which must have been afforded the production, the laboratory design and the special effects are pretty shoddy!

Well--as big a fan as I am of Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre--this was one of their few features that I had never seen, until getting Karloff's "Icons of Horror Collection." Anything featuring Karloff and Lorre together has promise, so this was the first feature I viewed & I can say despite the mixed reviews here, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I see many have brought up "Arsenic and Old Lace" & I guess I can see some similarities between the two. I think this works best if you view it as a wild farce--which it is, sending up what had to be many of Karloff's "mad doctor" roles & Peter Lorre is quite the hoot as the town sheriff/coroner/justice of the peace/mayor, hell, whatever title you can think, Lorre is all of them. Maxie Rosenbloom provides some great laughs as well as one of the unwitting subjects of Mad Boris' experiments in trying to create a race of "Super Soldiers." And if you're a longtime Three Stooges fan like myself, you may get a kick out of seeing James C. Morton and Frank Sully appearing as 2 fumbling policemen late in the movie. Overall, I enjoyed it immensely. 9 stars