The Monster And The Ape (1945)

Starring Robert Lowery, George Macready, Ralph Morgan, Carole Mathews, Willie Best
Directed by Howard Bretherton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A scientist hires an industrial agent to mass produce his remote controlled robot, but his former colleague is out to steal the robot and make an army of them for more nefarious purposes.

An okay chapter play from Columbia Pictures, the serial stars Lowery as the heroic agent, who survives more fisticuffs and accidents than many a serial hero, opposed by Macready, whose sinister voice and delivery make him a capable villain.  The drawing power of the serial however is its two "monsters," including the robot known as "The Metallogen Man," whose strength is displayed in some nifty effects, including picking up Lowery like a rag doll, and later effortlessly knocking down support beams in a factory setting.  The Ape, according to IMDB, played by Ray Corrigan in a gorilla suit, is a zoo gorilla which Macready and his cohorts continually smuggle out of a local zoo, in order to murder and commit mayhem.  Corrigan really gives an excellent performance, making the beast convincing and continually resisting being led anywhere, reacting to the smells around him.  Although both monsters are used well enough, the rest of the serial is average fare, not helped by comic relief from Willie Best, playing his usual timid stereotype in scenes that are at best unfunny and at worst offensive.