When we think of Boris Karloff, we immediately think of his roles as the Frankenstein monster and other timeless horror classics he starred in over four decades. But not everything Boris Karloff acted in was an instant classic; he was in his fair share of cinematic duds. One such film came from the low-budget B-movie studio extraordinaire, Monogram Pictures is the 1940 potboiler, The Ape.

In The Ape, Dr. Bernard Adrian (Karloff) who is a friendly but slightly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young Miss Frances Clifford (Maris Wrixon, The Case of the Black Parrot) who has polio. He discovers that spinal fluid from a human being can be used complete a formula for a serum which the good doctor is experimenting with. Unfortunately, Dr. Adrian accidently lets his small bottle of serum drop to the floor, causing the glass to shatter with the formula in it.

While that is going on, at a local circus an angry ape has broken out of its cage and is wreaking havoc in the town, near where Dr. Adrian resides. The ape wanders around and ultimately ends up in Dr. Adrian’s home. Dr. Adrian somehow kills the ape and feeling distraught about the serum that scattered on the floor, he gets an idea! Dr. Adrian decides to use the skin of the dead ape for a costume for himself so he can kill people for their spinal fluid, in order to save Frances. And because he is dressed up as an ape, no one would he was the murderer! Genius!

Okay, The Ape is a ridiculous film, but it is what could be expected from a poverty-row studio like Monogram. Despite everything, The Ape is not that bad of a film. Even with silly premise, it is entertaining and will keep you tuned in. The story was written by Curt Siodmak, whom many of us recognize the talented writer for The Invisible Man Returns, Donovan’s Brain, Son of Dracula and The Wolf Man. Boris Karloff does save the picture, with a great professional performance. His role is a kind doctor who wants to save a girl’s life, even if it means being a little sinister and killing a few people. His heart was in the right place, but his mind was twisted, which are roles Karloff had excelled in. The other actors in the film also hand in solid performances. Director Nigh kept the film moving along at a good pace, cramming all the pieces of the story together in one hour. Had it gone for much longer, it would have become tedious. There is only so much you can do with an ape or a man disguised as an ape! The spectacular cinematography was by Harry Neumann.

Previously released on Blu-ray by Retormedia paired with The Black Raven in a double-feature, Kino Lorber gives The Ape a stellar stand-alone release.  Sporting a new 2K transfer, The Ape has never looked better with a brighter, crisper and sharper image than this. The murkiness that was on any previous home video release is long gone. The higher contrast makes the picture that much clearer with balanced greyscale. Black levels look flawless. There are a few flickers or blips that occur along the way, so it is not perfect, but I felt that it was not anything all that serious. Grain is present, preserving a film-like appearance. Call it something of a revelation!

Regarding the audio, The Ape’s English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track is serviceable.  The dialog is clear, as is the music by Edward J. Kay, along with females screaming and other action noises are solid with nothing coming in too aggressive. I did detect some hissing at the beginning, but it was fine for the remainder of the film. Optional English subtitles are available for the release.

The Ape gets an impressive amount of supplements for what is considered a minor B-film.  There are two, yes TWO commentary tracks! The first track with film historian and B-movie aficionado Tom Weaver and the other is from commentary legend Richard Harland Smith. Each commentary provides a lot of enthusiastic insight for The Ape, with background information and other interesting information by these great historians.  

There is also a photo and image gallery plus trailers for other Kino Lorber releases. The trailers are horror themed with The Crimson Cult, The Undying Monster and Black Sabbath featured this time around. Having seen these movies often, I recommend all three of them.   

Just about every major actor has starred in a lemon over the course of their career. But is The Ape really a lemon? That is for you, the viewer to decide. I enjoyed the film just as much as some of the other Karloff classics. You can never have enough Boris Karloff horrors on your movie shelves! The release by Kino Lorber is nothing short of the red-carpet treatment with two commentaries to compliment the excellent audio and video quality. Easily recommended!

The Ape

Director- William Nigh

Cast- Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon

Country of Origin- US

Distributor – Kino Lorber

Number of Discs – 1

Reviewed by – David Steigman

Date- 10/6