This complex B drama has elements of so many film categories in it that it is very difficult to just pinpoint down to one. The film opens with a darkly photographed Ellen Drew speaking directly to the camera in haunting, poetic terms, as if she was some sort of tortured, gothic heroine like Joan Fontaine in "Rebecca". The next thing you know she's standing up in court to defend her brother (Philip Terry) of the charge of murder, something he claims emphatically that he's innocent of. But that's not enough to convince a jury, and he's sentenced to death. While waiting his fate, Terry is visited by scientist George Zucco wanting his brain after he dies. As soon as that happens, the body count rises, creating panic among the mob leaders (lead by Paul Lukas), and the local law are completely baffled.
Pretty daring for a little B crime film, especially by the obvious way it presents troubled heroine Drew, obviously a lady of the streets and as much of a victim of the mob as her brother was. It takes typical elements of mad doctor films (although Zucco is a minor character) and mixes them with the themes of noir and general crime dramas, reminding me of several Boris Karloff films that had been made a few years before this where he somehow came back from the dead after being executed. Robert Paige, Joseph Calleia, Onslow Stevens and Cliff Edwards are featured, but the film is stolen by a cute Asta like dog and some really good shadowy photography.
Pretty daring for a little B crime film, especially by the obvious way it presents troubled heroine Drew, obviously a lady of the streets and as much of a victim of the mob as her brother was. It takes typical elements of mad doctor films (although Zucco is a minor character) and mixes them with the themes of noir and general crime dramas, reminding me of several Boris Karloff films that had been made a few years before this where he somehow came back from the dead after being executed. Robert Paige, Joseph Calleia, Onslow Stevens and Cliff Edwards are featured, but the film is stolen by a cute Asta like dog and some really good shadowy photography.