The Mad Monster

Bland former child actor Johnny Downs earns top billing in this 1942 low-budget horror film, but the real star is that most psychotic of all the mad doctors, George Zucco. The British-born character actor plays Dr. Lorenzo Cameron, a discredited — and quite mad — medico who has discovered a way to turn his helper, Pietro (Strange), into a wolf man. The lycanthropic experiments succeed only too well, and although Dr. Cameron spouts plans of turning his discovery into a weapon in defense of the civilized world, he instead unleashes his creation on those fellow scientists who had engineered his ouster from academia in the first place. Before long, however, the good doctor is unable to control the wolf man, who threatens to kill everything in his path. Only newspaper reporter Tom Gregory (Downs) and Lenora (Nagel), Cameron's innocent daughter, may be able to stop the monster. A perennial cult favorite.

For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version, please go to the episode recap page.