Watch The Monster For Free

Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely the worst movie.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Lon Chaney is known as "The Man of a Thousand Faces," and known for make-up magic and for playing monster parts, but too little is he recognized as a actor -- at least too little in my opinion.In "The Monster," he is frequently understated and even almost charming, considering the part.Johnny Arthur, this time, is a star!This must be his best part and he too showed he is by gosh an actor.His character changes, with a little chemical help, but he comes across as believable in every characterization. His face, his gestures, his bodily movement are all just perfect.Turner Classic Movies showed "The Monster" as part of its Halloween line-up in 2016 and as its Sunday night silent on 30 October, although in the Eastern time zone I guess it was actually Monday, 31 October.It is a treat, at least once, with some funny situations and funny characters, and some generally excellent acting.There are some directing or at least editing problems, and you can't take the story too seriously, but mostly it is a lot of fun.

The Monster is one of the great Lon Chaney's less memorable ventures. It's neither bad nor good, though it does have its moments. The only reason it doesn't get a lower rating is because it doesn't take itself too seriously and Chaney is somewhat entertaining as a mad scientist.The story involves three young adults (Johnny Arthur, Gertrude Olmstead, Hallam Cooley) trapped in a creepy asylum under the "hospitality" of a mad doctor (Lon Chaney) whose intentions seem quite malicious. Arthur's character is a less funny version of Buster Keaton's character in Sherlock Jr., but he's not bad and certainly the most memorable of the trio. Chaney is entertaining as the mad doctor, but it is far from being one of his better parts. The "haunted house" plot feels very dated and some of the jokes really aren't all too funny.Though mostly forgettable, The Monster is essential for huge Chaney fans like myself and if you're really bored, then you might like to waste some time with this one.

This 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney and Johnny Arthur and directed by Roland West ("The Bat", "The Bat Whispers") is a harmless little horror-comedy about two men and a woman who get trapped in an old dark house with a mad scientist (the always excellent Chaney) and go through a series of perilous events caused by the scientist and his never ending supply of creepy servants. The acting is good and the production values are superb. Most of the comedy is funny and the creepy parts still hold up reasonably well. All in all, "The Monster" is no classic and certainly one of Lon Chaney's less remarkable films but it's still a decent, harmless film.

Timid JOHNNY ARTHUR carries the first half-hour of THE MONSTER as a detective wanna-be, a sort of silent screen version of the characters Woody Allen often played decades later. Based on a play by Crane Wilbur, the slow moving story takes time to even get to the sanitarium nearby where the mystery angle of the plot will be unraveled.Playing detective, Arthur accidentally stumbles into a house of horrors. Meantime, after a road accident, his girlfriend and his boss stumble into the same mansion seeking help. It is then that Dr. Ziska (LON CHANEY) makes his sinister appearance, informing them that they must stay in the house overnight since he has no telephone. He tells his hulking servant to make them comfortable.Chaney plays his role similar to Bela Lugosi's caped Dracula, so the chill effect is everything it ought to be in a dark house thriller played with mock fright. The comedy aspect of the story would have made a great vehicle for Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard (a la their CAT AND THE CANARY) dark house comedy.It seems the lunatics have taken over the asylum. The mad doctor Ziska has locked Dr. Edwards and his assistants in a dungeon below the mansion and has the patients carrying out his orders. Amateur detective Arthur saves the day by shooting off Roman candles that alert the townspeople to his help signal.It's all done in spirited good fun and confusion, played for laughs more than horror although there is a definite combination of mirth and fright.Summing up: Good dark house comedy with all the usual drawbacks of early silent films but more watchable than most. Not a typical Chaney film by any means. Much lighter than Roland West's THE BAT WHISPERS.