GOODE STUFF: THE MONSTER , THE GIRL, AND PHILLIP VAN ZANDT by Dave Goode

When I created the Phantom Gorilla with Vance Capley a major inspiration for the character was the 1941 Paramount B-Movie THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL. Produced by Jack Mass and directed by Stuart Heisler THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL was a 65 minute time killer that I liked as a kid. But as an adult...well it seems like it's a lot longer than 65 minutes. It drags in a lot of spots.

The screenplay by Stuart Anthony plays like a grind house exploitation flick. When Susan Webber played by Ellen Drew is tricked into a life of prostitution her brother played by Phillip Terry comes to the big city to rescue her. The small town church organist is instead framed for murder, tried, and executed. This is where the flick gets interesting. Dr. Perry played by the never to be forgotten George Zucco transplants the young man's brain in the body of a gorilla (ape- suit actor Charles Gemora). From there he wrecks vengeance on the men who ruined his sister and caused his death. If this wasn't a superhero origin story I don't know what is.

Any movie automatically becomes better with the inclusion of an ape-suit. You can also say the same about any movie that features actor Phillip Van Zandt. Before I knew his name I knew his face. Van Zandt appeared in over 200 movies including CITIZEN KANE (1941). But I first knew him for his roles on THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN. And in 3 Stooges shorts. It was Vance Capley who decided to make the mad scientist in the Phantom Gorilla origin story look like Van Zandt after we discussed the 3 Stooges short SPOOKS (1953).

Produced and directed by Jules White the screenplay for this short that ran just under 16 minutes , was by Felix Adler. The story has Moe, Larry, and Shemp as private detectives hired to rescue the kidnapped Mary Bopper (Norma Randall) from mad scientist Dr. Jeckyl (Phillip Van Zandt) and his assistant Mr. Hyde (Tom Kennedy). Another plus for this one was ape-suit actor Steve Calvert as Dr. Jekyll's pet gorilla. A mad scientist, a damsel in distress and a gorilla. My kind of movie. Now if only the Stooges were playing masked wrestlers.