In The Boogie Man Will Get You, mad scientist Boris Karloff sells his colonial house to Winnie, frustrating banker Peter Lorre. But he’s been experimenting on traveling salesmen — whose corpses are in the basement! Then Winnie’s ex-husband shows up …
The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942) starring Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre
The Boogie Man Will Get You is a short horror comedy. It’s enjoyable, but not hilarious. It’s an attempt at a zany comedy, and it certainly has its funny moments. The cast has a variety of oddball, zany characters as well. A faster pace would certainly have helped.
Product Description
Two cinematic legends — Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) and Peter Lorre (Casablanca) — join forces in a movie that combines spine-tingling thrills with slapstick comedy. Karloff stars as bumbling scientist Nathaniel Billings, whose experiments have led to the deaths of several traveling salesmen, leaving their bodies piling up in the cellar. When a young divorcee (Jeff Donnell, Sweet Smell of Success) buys the professor’s house to create a hotel, it’s only a matter of time before suspicions arise. The town’s sheriff/doctor/loan shark (Lorre) looks to stop Billings, but sees the financial gain and becomes his partner instead. Will the doctor’s experiments be stopped before more bodies get added to the cellar? Newly remastered.
Cast of characters
- Boris Karloff (Mad Monster Party, The Mummy (1932)) … Professor Nathaniel Billings. The genial mad scientist, who keeps unintentionally killing his “gunea pigs”. He’s trying to
- Peter Lorre (M, Arsenic and Old Lace) … Dr. Arthur Lorencz. Doctor, sheriff, and financier, who held the mortgage on the Professor’s house. And later, wants to get in on the professor’s “discovery”.
- Maxie Rosenbloom … Maxie – the Powder Puff Salesman. The final gunea pig.
- Larry Parks (The Jolson Story) … Bill Layden. Winnie’s ex-husband, who’s tracked her down and wants to reconcile with her. a nd distrusts
- Jeff Donnell … Winnie Slade (as Miss Jeff Donnell). The nice young lady who buys the Professor’s colonial home, planning on turning it into a bed and breakfast.
Additional Cast
- Don Beddoe (Blondie on a Budget) … J. Gilbert Brampton. The first new boarder. Who, oddly, goes for a “breath of fresh air” in the middle of the night — in the barn? He’s clearly looking for something …
- Maude Eburne (The Vampire Bat) … Amelia Jones. The professor’s likable, slightly zany maid — who wants to raise chickens.
- Robert Emmett Keane (The Atomic Kid) … Alarm Clock Salesman
- Eddie Laughton (Beer Barrel Polecats) … Mr. Johnson
- George McKay … Ebenezer
- Patrick McVey … Munitions Plant Road Guard
- Frank Mitchell … Fred – the Cop
- James C. Morton (We Want Our Mummy) … Trooper Fred Quincy
- Frank Puglia (20 Million Miles to Earth) … Silvio Baciagalupi – The Human Bomb
- Frank Sully (Two Girls and a Sailor) … Police Officer Joe Starrett