Martin Kosleck's finest hour in Hollywood

kevinolzak

1946's "House of Horrors" was a staple of Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, hosted by Bill 'Chilly Billy' Cardille, no doubt because of its inclusion in the popular SHOCK! package of vintage Universal titles first released to television in the late 50s. It was also Bill Cardille who introduced me to Martin Kosleck's "The Flesh Eaters," his ability to play cold blooded Nazi villainy on full display, although the actor himself fled the Hitler regime for America by the late 30s. He achieved a kind of lasting stardom only at Universal, from 1944 to 1946, with this film in particular standing out as his finest hour in Hollywood. The so-called house of horrors (shooting title "Murder Mansion") is the dimly lit studio of starving sculptor/artist Marcel De Lange, so poor that he must borrow bread and cheese from a neighbor. When a potential sale of $1000 (for a statue called "Circes from Troy") is dashed by smug, self satisfied critic F. Holmes Harmon (Alan Napier), Marcel decides to end his life at the waterfront, only to rescue a drowning man later identified as The Creeper (the immortal Rondo Hatton), a dull witted fiend notorious for snapping the spines of his victims (usually pretty girls). Unconcerned about his newfound model's true identity, Marcel begins what he fittingly describes as his 'deathless masterpiece,' certain that the long overdue acclaim denied him will finally come his way. The morning after the Creeper stalks out into the night and murders a streetwalker (Virginia Christine), Marcel hardly bats an eye, surreptitiously planting the seeds of vengeance in the killer's mind, against the critics who routinely mock him as the laughingstock of New York art circles, with even the insufferable, smarmy girl newshound (Virginia Grey) referring to Marcel as a 'harmless little screwball.' This fairly decent buildup pretty much falls to the wayside a third of the way in, as the film shifts its focus from the 'villains' to the 'heroes,' about as thoroughly nasty a bunch of detestables as any viewer is likely to find. We soon start rooting for the bad guys to kill off as many of them as possible, surely not the intention of the filmmakers! The credits 'introduce' Hatton as The Creeper (September 1945), but the character had made one prior appearance in the 1944 Sherlock Holmes feature "The Pearl of Death," and would make a third in "The Brute Man," Hatton's final film, a prequel to "House of Horrors," completed in November 1945 (the actor died February 2 1946, before either saw release). His physical presence is certainly impressive, but his delivery of dialogue far less so, but it must be said that the cringe worthy lines scripted here must rank with some of the all time worst. Listening to the nominal leads discuss thumb twiddling may perhaps be the absolute nadir, but Kosleck's Marcel is fortunately spared the indignity. Director Jean Yarbrough, best remembered for 1940's "The Devil Bat," and helming all 52 episodes of the Abbott and Costello TV series, does what may be his finest genre work, especially in regards to Marcel's pet cat, ever faithfully following him from kitchen to studio in scene after scene (quite an achievement considering what was probably no more than the usual 12 day shooting schedule). The climactic tussle has the artist trying to stop the killer from destroying his likeness, framed before the staircase, from which the cat comes charging down the steps, nestling in the hand of its now dead master (cat fanciers rejoice!). Martin Kolseck fondly recalled his work on the picture (and his happy times at Universal), never once crossing the line that would lose the audience's sympathy, and the touching opening between man and pet sets the proper tone for the duration of the film. A nice tribute to an actor who made a career out of playing Goebbels and other menacing Nazis on screen, airing an impressive seven times on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater.

score 7/10

kevinolzak 17 April 2011

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2414925/