House Of Horrors (1946)

Starring Robert Lowery, Virginia Grey, Bill Goodwin, Martin Kosleck, Rondo Hatton
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After a maddened sculptor saves the life of a brutish killer, he's able to convince him to reward him by disposing of the critics of his art.

One of Universal's last horror films in their classic period, and I've always been rather fond of it, with a delightfully wicked performance from Kosleck, and acromegaly victim Rondo Hatton used rather well.  Hatton was limited as an actor, and he doesn't have to do much besides stalking his victims, but the exaggerated bust built of him within the film is an inspired work and a memorable image.  At times the comic relief in the movie is almost a little too breezy, but I enjoyed the supporting cast, with Virginia Grey coming off very appealing with His Girl Friday-like patter, and Alan Napier excelling in a choice role as a detested art critic.  Goodwin, whom I know best for pitching Maxwell House coffee on the Burns and Allen radio series, is entertaining as a homicide detective, alternating between gruffly making accusations against suspects and shifting to a smooth operator when plying a beautiful model with a glib smile on his face.  The film's definitely a minor horror, when compared to the studio's greats, but is fun along the same lines as many of their 1940s efforts.

King Of The Zombies (1941)

Starring Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, Henry Victor, John Archer
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A government agent, his faithful valet, and their pilot crash land on an island where a mysterious doctor resides and frightening zombies roam the grounds.

Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures delivers a number of horror elements, from the zombies to a graveyard, to Victor's cultured villain with something to hide, but the whole movie's really a comedy vehicle for the always wide-eyed Mantan Moreland.  Although Moreland throughout his career played mainly stereotypical roles which would definitely be looked down upon and criticized today, he had an indisputable comic timing, and talent for delivering rapid-fire jokes, which kept him employed as comic relief on a great number of pictures.  He might have his funniest material in this script, bouncing off the other actors playing their roles as straight as can be, and excelling when hypnotized into becoming a zombie, but definitely not a silent one.  That helps the film flow pretty well, despite Victor's less than compelling villain- Bela Lugosi or John Carradine would have done more with the role.  Despite Monogram's status on Poverty Row, somehow this film earned an Oscar nomination for composer Edward Kay.

Master Minds (1949)

Starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Alan Napier, Jane Adams
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After Sach displays an ability to predict the future when overcome by a toothache, Slip and the Bowery Boys showcase him in a carnival act, which attracts the attention of a mad scientist.

Another of the Bowery Boys' ventures into horror territory features a legitimate monster played by Glenn Strange, shortly after concluding his roles for Universal as the Frankenstein monster.  However, the beast is obliged to trade brains with Hall's Sach, so for the majority of the picture Hall, surprisingly effectively, plays a snarling monster, and Strange plays the dimwitted but jovial young man, easily nailing his silly mannerisms.  It's a bit of a departure from the Boys' usual formula, and although the story's paper thin, I still found it to be entertaining.

The Devil Bat (1940)

Starring Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher, Yolande Mallott
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After being deprived of a share in the wealth of the company he works for, a vengeful scientist grows a gigantic bat creature he uses to attack the family members of the company's owners.

One of the first of Lugosi's films for the "Poverty Row" studios that starred him in a series of such low-budget pictures, it's a pretty slight movie but not without a fun factor.  Grinning while subjecting his bats to electric rays from the requisite machines of his mad scientist's lab, and leaving his unknowing victims with only a serious, "Goodbye," Lugosi's presence sells the film.  Despite the meager budget on display here, the giant bat prop looks somewhat convincing, swooping down in dimly lit night scenes that mask whatever special effects were used.  The material's beneath the actor's talents, but I can't help but look back on the film fondly, as despite its shortcomings, it still showcases Lugosi's sinister appeal.

She-Wolf Of London (1946)

Starring Don Porter, June Lockhart, Sara Haden, Jan Wiley, Lloyd Corrigan
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

In 19th century London, a bride-to-be breaks her engagement when she suspects a curse on her family has turned her into a ravenous werewolf.

The last of Universal's long series of monster movies, released between 1931 and 1946, is a rather disappointing send off, turning out to not feature a monster at all.  Nevertheless the film still offers a watchable mystery, even if the ending is a rather predictable one.  The revelation of the "she-wolf" is held off until the film's final moments, as we're presented with plenty of suspects, and it's interesting to view Lockhart a few decades before playing the family matriarch on TV's Lost In Space.  Fresh off his final turn playing Inspector Lestrade to Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes, Dennis Hoey is also present to play another Scotland Yard inspector.

Hillbillys In A Haunted House (1967)

Starring Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing, Don Bowman, John Carradine, Lon Chaney, Jr.
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Two country singers and their manager are stranded at a haunted house and must spend the night there, not realizing it's the headquarters for a spy ring.

Any plot here is pretty much incidental, as this is a showcase for a number of country acts to sing, in this follow-up to the similarly themed Las Vegas Hillbillys, which also starred Husky, according to IMDB.  Although the songs are pleasant and I enjoyed listening to them, they're not very imaginatively staged, and have little to do with the film's story.  The film's most notable for its inclusion as the villains, aging horror stars Basil Rathbone, Lon Chaney, Jr., and John Carradine, none of which are given anything interesting to do, although it's good to see them together on screen one last time- according to IMDB, this was one of Rathbone's last films.