Cast: Rex Lease, Vera Reynolds, Sheldon Lewis, Mischa Auer
PLOT: The film opens with Ruth Earlton's (Vera Reynolds) father's death. We hear the screeches of an ape from below and we can already tell this is going to be some sort of horribly done KING KONG remake.
Ruth arrives at the home with her fiancé, Dr. Ted Clayton (Rex Lease). The handmaid, Mrs. Krug (Martha Mattox) and the servant, her son, Hanns (Mischa Auer) are not pleased with the amount of money Ruth's father left to her.
When it's time for everyone to go to bed, Hanns tees off on Ruth's uncle, Robert (Sheldon Lewis), calling him a hypocrite and questioning why he didn't tell Ruth he hated her and calling the family liars.
When the clock strikes midnight, Ruth spies a hairy hand next to her on her pillow and lets out probably the most horrible scream I've ever heard in the history of the horror genre.
After a few scenes of Ted interrogating potential suspects, the hairy hand returns and beings to choke Mrs. Krug, who makes one of the best choking faces I've ever seen. The hand strangles her to death and Ruth faints.
Ted speaks to Robert and informs Mr. Wilkes (Sidney Bracey) that when Ruth entered the room, his heartbeat stopped for five seconds. Hanns confronts Robert about his betrayal and strangles him. While Ted and Wilkes are investigating what happened to Robert, Hanns brings Ruth's body to the cellar to feed her to Yogi. Robert confesses that Hanns is the one doing his bidding, and Ted and Wilkes rush down to the cellar. But Yogi is one smart critter, strangling Hanns, which allows Ted and Wilkes to rescue Ruth and save the day.
REVIEW: I did like this film's clever use of background movement (in the scene where Ted is talking to Ruth in her room, look carefully at the painting). Other than that, the film was rather slow, not too much action, and ample amounts of racism, though I suppose that's expected, considering the time period this was filmed in. 2.5/10 stars.
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