Memorable, crazy movie

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Peter Lorre (Dr. Arthur Lorencz) and Boris Karloff (Prof. Nathaniel Billingsare) quite the comical duo in this cute little comedy-horror. The movie is wroth for these two stars alone.Prof. Billingsare (Karloff) wants to create a superman but finds himself murdering his subjects - well, errr, they are "martyrs". Dr. Lorencz (Lorre) is a jack-of-all-trades: a doctor, sheriff, notary, undertaker with a Siamese cat detective. They end up working together to create a "superman" but end up leaving the viewer laughing out loud with tears in the eyes. Quite funny.I liked the rest of the cast - they played an important role in the film and were quite funny as well. I enjoyed their performances. I LOVED the ending... it's quite crazy and well worth watching the movie to see this hilarious ending.This is a great afternoon film - one that will brighten your day.8/10

So new Innkeeper Jeff Donnell must do when she purchases a Revolutionary War era inn from the wacky scientist Boris Karloff who has more cobwebs in his brain than the inn's attic does. Boris is trying to create an army of supermen to battle Hitler and Mussolini, and this leads behind a trail of corpses, so when he gets the opportunity to stop focusing on running the inn and work on his patriotic goal, he takes it on. The local sheriff/D.A./notary public (Peter Lorre) is equally as nutty, keeping a Siamese kitten in his pocket which can smell a corpse in another room. This feline Charlie Chan stumbles upon a body with a knife in it, and the presence of a series of other wackos (macho powder puff salesman Maxie Ronenbloom, housekeeper Maude Eburne and Donnell's paranoid fiancée amongst them) keeps things popping'.What could have been a very enjoyable "B" comedy turns out to be a cheap rip-off of "Arsenic and Old Lace" with Karloff and Lorre taking over the roles of the two old ladies who poisoned their gentlemen callers with elderberry wine. Karloff, who played a villain in that play on Broadway, wasn't able to do the movie, so he got this second feature instead, and while there are some enjoyable moments, it's all pretty silly stuff, a comedy horror spoof which focuses on juvenile style gags for laughs and seems more suited to the likes of Columbia's other comic talents, Joe E. Brown and the Three Stooges. This doesn't make much of an impact in the career of its two horror icon stars, so the result is something you can take or leave, but like certain foods, will leave you hungry for more only a short time later.

The Boogie Man Will Get You was the last of Karloff's "Mad Doctor" series for Columbia Pictures. Played strictly for laughs (although to be honest there are very few of them) Karloff teams up with Peter Lorre to create an electrical Superman capable of winning World War II. Lots of references to Arsenic And Old Lace give the film an amiable air, and it's obvious the stars are enjoying themselves. The part of the "ballet master" feels like it was written with Lugosi in mind, which would at least have added something to the film had he appeared. No such luck.At 66 minutes the film doesn't outstay its welcome and it's brightly played by a cast including Larry Parks and Maude Eburn. The film passes the time, but most of the jokes fall flat on their faces (Larry Parks' bed made me smile, though, as does Lorre continually producing a Siamese kitten from his coat pockets.) It also has a few topical references to WWII. It's only real problem is the lack of humour. Even the Abbott and Costello vehicles of the time had more laughs going for them.

Released two years before "Arsenic & Old Lace" was made into amovie, this film brought Broadway's star of "Arsenic & Old Lace"(Boris Karloff) to the screen with a similar type of film. I wasdisappointed in this film because I felt that Boris & Peter couldhave done much better with a script that wasn't quite as silly. Sure,there's good satire here (which must have been much more bitingto 1940's audiences that could relate to it as being timely). Someof the "in" jokes are lost on me, at a distance of 60+ years from theoriginal release of this film. Some of the comedy is just plain"goofy." I would have liked a few real scares from Boris, rather thanthe one note deranged scientist role he played here. Peter isexcellent as the only guy in town with a job (he has all of the jobs). Iwas impressed by Jeff Donnell, the female lead, who showedgood comedic talents in a role that could have been played byLucille Ball. Although I love the stars, I can rate this only 5/10.