28 The Monster Walks ( 1932 )

Well  we  were  due  a  clunker  and  it's  no  surprise  that  this  one  has  fallen  into  the  public  domain  now.  It's  another  entry  in  the  dark  creepy  house  genre. Young  Ruth  Earlton  returns  to  her  father's  house  with  her  doctor  fiance  ( Rex  Lease )  to  hear  the  reading  of  his  will  which  confirms  that  she's  the  heir. She  then  has  to  survive  the  night  there  when  there's  a  ready  made  patsy  in  the  form  of  her  father's  angry  chimpanzee  caged  in  the  cellar.

The  film  actually  has  a  decent  climax  but  it's  far  too  ponderous  in  getting  there  and  the  chimp  is  by  far  the  best  actor  on  show.

This  is  the  first  film  here  to  feature  a  black  actor  , William  Best ; it's  a  pity  he's  playing  a village  idiot  chauffeur  and  the  final  scene  has  some  very  uncomfortable  dialogue  about  his relationship  to  the  ape.

Vera  Reynolds  as  ( Ruth  Earleton )

Sex : No - her  peril  is  not  sexual  in  nature

Death : Survives  

Vera  was  a  big  star  in  the  silent  era  but  this  was  her  penultimate  film. In  1927  she  was  reported  to  have  made  a  suicide  attempt  but  in  hospital  it  was  diagnosed  as  acute  indigestion  and  Vera  rubbished  the  initial  reports  as  "ridiculous".  She  married  twice  and  died  in  1962  aged  62.