Return of the Ape Man
Return of the Ape Man is a 1944 American film distributed by Monogram Pictures.[1][2] It was directed by Philip Rosen with top-billed star Bela Lugosi[3] and supporting actors John Carradine, George Zucco (see note in the Production section), Frank Moran, Judith Gibson and Michael Ames.[4]
Return of the Ape Man
Robert Charles
(uncredited)
Edward Kay
(musical director)
- June 24, 1944
61 minutes
United States
English
Plot[edit]
Two professors find a prehistoric caveman frozen in ice during an Arctic expedition. Professor Dexter (Bela Lugosi) and Professor John Gilmore (John Carradine) bring the frozen exhibit back home and soon devise a plan. They want to implant a more evolved brain into the caveman, with hopes of being able to control and utilize him.
Cast notes[edit]
Credits for the role of the Ape Man[edit]
George Zucco is co-credited on screen and in the publicity, along with Moran,[5] as having played the Ape Man. At the onset of the laboratory scene where Prof. Dexter (Lugosi) and Gilmore (Carradine) are preparing to melt the caveman free from the block of ice, Zucco is shown in the Ape Man makeup - albeit briefly. Zucco's prominent nose, as well as his injured and withered left arm/hand (from a WWI injury) are clearly visible facing the camera. The shot (lasting only a few seconds in total) then switches away from the Ape Man. When it returns again to the same shot, Moran has replaced Zucco.[6] The producers later explained Zucco became ill during the filming and kept his footage as a cost-saving measure while using Moran as a replacement actor for the remainder of the film.
Other[edit]
Frank Leigh is also credited by certain modern sources[5] for the character of Long Shot.[1]