The face of the cat takes a demonic turn in this spooky supernatural thriller which takes a different turn than Val Lewton's two "Cat People" movies from earlier in the 1940's. Troubled doctor's daughter Janis Wilson is plagued with nightmares involving black cats, and has been found walking in her sleep by her father (Ralph Morgan). The use of dreams and fantasy sequences makes this quite memorable and creates quite a mystery. At times, you don't know if Vincent is actually wide awake or dreaming, and the use of this makes the psychological terror very effective, even when the sequences become a little faded, blurry or dizzying. Eduardo Cianelli makes an enjoyable villain with veteran Morgan adding to the suspense as a concerned father who seems to know more than he should about the truth of what's going on. Moody and poignant, this has been overshadowed by the films produced by Val Lewton which it emulates. Perhaps a re-discovery of some of these lost classics would give classic horror movie buffs a new appreciation of the more obscure of which this is one of many.
13 Reviews
Cats!
rmax30482315 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Cat's are uncanny creatures, what with their vertical pupils and all that sneaking around. It's no wonder they were thought to be witches' familiars.
The eponymous creeper here is the name of a black cat that's kept as a pet in the laboratories of -- well, some organization that uses cats as experimental animals. The labs are supposed to be developing phosphorescence for humans. It must make them glow in the dark, and it's strongly opposed by the flashlight lobby who claim it causes mental retardation.
The central figure is Janis Wilson, a kind of executive secretary, who has only recently recovered from a fever that's left her kind of cockeyed. She has dreams of cats. Cats chase her, they try to crawl through her window. And one night her Daddy is clawed to death. Wilson is found unconscious nearby with Dad's blood on her hands and under her fingernails. That is, we are asked to believe that Dad just stood there and allowed himself to be shredded by the unexceptional nails of his diminutive, whey-faced daughter.
I was keen enough to doubt it at once. In fact, I also disregarded Eduardo Cianelli as a suspect, another white coated scientist in the lab, because he frowns all the time, he's too taciturn, grumpy, and sinister looking. My suspicions after the first twenty minutes turned to a woman scientist, June Vincent, and for excellent reasons -- she seems interested in the handsome boyfriend of Wilson's, and because she reminded me of my fourth ex wife. No, there was no doubt in my mind.
By the half-way point it's a rather ordinary B-level murder mystery. I guess there are certain echoes of Val Lewton's work at RKO. The lighting isn't put to such adventurous use and the effects are pedestrian, but the cat theme that pervades the story is certainly from "The Cat People." The performances are perfunctory and, alas, the woman at the center of it all is one of the weaker actors. She gives good scream though. Onslow Stevens is the young man. He has a voice made for radio.
This is one of those movies in which all the PhDs address each other as "doctor." But PhDs always put such formalities behind them. Nobody calls Tom Wolf Dr. Wolf, although he has a PhD in American Studies from Yale. Plain Rachel Maddow has a D.Phil. from Oxford. Plain Bill Cosby has a PhD from Temple. The man from Uncle has a PhD from USC.
And this is some laboratory these doctors work in. At night, the lab is dark except for a desk lamp that casts spooky shadows around and turns faces into Halloween masks.
As it turns out, I was wrong in pinning the murder on the jealous woman. It's unusual because I've only been wrong once before in my life. That was when I thought I was wrong but I'd been right all along. At any rate, I don't see how this could usefully be compared to Val Lewton's work. His movies were tiny near-masterpieces, while this one lacks any poetry at all.
The eponymous creeper here is the name of a black cat that's kept as a pet in the laboratories of -- well, some organization that uses cats as experimental animals. The labs are supposed to be developing phosphorescence for humans. It must make them glow in the dark, and it's strongly opposed by the flashlight lobby who claim it causes mental retardation.
The central figure is Janis Wilson, a kind of executive secretary, who has only recently recovered from a fever that's left her kind of cockeyed. She has dreams of cats. Cats chase her, they try to crawl through her window. And one night her Daddy is clawed to death. Wilson is found unconscious nearby with Dad's blood on her hands and under her fingernails. That is, we are asked to believe that Dad just stood there and allowed himself to be shredded by the unexceptional nails of his diminutive, whey-faced daughter.
I was keen enough to doubt it at once. In fact, I also disregarded Eduardo Cianelli as a suspect, another white coated scientist in the lab, because he frowns all the time, he's too taciturn, grumpy, and sinister looking. My suspicions after the first twenty minutes turned to a woman scientist, June Vincent, and for excellent reasons -- she seems interested in the handsome boyfriend of Wilson's, and because she reminded me of my fourth ex wife. No, there was no doubt in my mind.
By the half-way point it's a rather ordinary B-level murder mystery. I guess there are certain echoes of Val Lewton's work at RKO. The lighting isn't put to such adventurous use and the effects are pedestrian, but the cat theme that pervades the story is certainly from "The Cat People." The performances are perfunctory and, alas, the woman at the center of it all is one of the weaker actors. She gives good scream though. Onslow Stevens is the young man. He has a voice made for radio.
This is one of those movies in which all the PhDs address each other as "doctor." But PhDs always put such formalities behind them. Nobody calls Tom Wolf Dr. Wolf, although he has a PhD in American Studies from Yale. Plain Rachel Maddow has a D.Phil. from Oxford. Plain Bill Cosby has a PhD from Temple. The man from Uncle has a PhD from USC.
And this is some laboratory these doctors work in. At night, the lab is dark except for a desk lamp that casts spooky shadows around and turns faces into Halloween masks.
As it turns out, I was wrong in pinning the murder on the jealous woman. It's unusual because I've only been wrong once before in my life. That was when I thought I was wrong but I'd been right all along. At any rate, I don't see how this could usefully be compared to Val Lewton's work. His movies were tiny near-masterpieces, while this one lacks any poetry at all.
You know that weird character next door! He was croaked last night!
kapelusznik1828 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS**** Heavily influenced by the Val Lawton horror classics of the 1940's "Cat People" and "I Walked with a Zombie" the film "The Creeper" has to do with it's title character a black cat with a white front left paw that seems to terrify Dr. Lester Cavigny's, Ralph Morgan, daughter Nora, Janis Wilson, every time it crosses her path. This stems from her experience back in the Caribbean where her father and his partner Dr. Borden,Oslow Stevens, were experimenting with stray cats. They were using the cats's to produce a serum that would illuminate human organs while being operated on. It's when Dr. Cavingy got second thoughts in completing the project that strange things started to happen to him and everyone involved in it.
The cat "The Creeper" whom Nora was creep-ed out about seems to have supernatural powers in causing a number of deaths, with the help of his fellow felines, of those working for Dr. Borden who decided to drop out of his experiments. It was Dr. Bordon's co worker the tall dark and handsome Dr. John Read, John Baragrey, whom Nora was totally nuts about who smelled a rat in all this, Dr. Borden's experiments, and it wasn't the rats that he was experimenting with in the laboratory.
***SPOILERS*** Were shown the killer being a giant cat, probably a lion tiger or leopard, in that he's shown, Val Lawton shadow style, only in shadow when he or it murders his victims. It's only at the very end that we see that it was the film's meager budget that only had enough money for its make-up department to depict the killer's hand or paw not his entire body that was totally human. With Nora about to be croaked or killed by the psycho killer it was handsome Dr. John Read whom Nora accidentally shot and thought that she killed who suddenly came to life gun in hand and ended up rescuing her from the "killer cat".
The cat "The Creeper" whom Nora was creep-ed out about seems to have supernatural powers in causing a number of deaths, with the help of his fellow felines, of those working for Dr. Borden who decided to drop out of his experiments. It was Dr. Bordon's co worker the tall dark and handsome Dr. John Read, John Baragrey, whom Nora was totally nuts about who smelled a rat in all this, Dr. Borden's experiments, and it wasn't the rats that he was experimenting with in the laboratory.
***SPOILERS*** Were shown the killer being a giant cat, probably a lion tiger or leopard, in that he's shown, Val Lawton shadow style, only in shadow when he or it murders his victims. It's only at the very end that we see that it was the film's meager budget that only had enough money for its make-up department to depict the killer's hand or paw not his entire body that was totally human. With Nora about to be croaked or killed by the psycho killer it was handsome Dr. John Read whom Nora accidentally shot and thought that she killed who suddenly came to life gun in hand and ended up rescuing her from the "killer cat".
A film from the Val Lewton School
shadejford14 December 2003
Although the film's director and actor Onslow Stevens have done similar work for Universal, this film is more reminiscient of Val Lewton's horror thrillers for RKO. The film title itself refers to a black cat and many of the key scenes take place in dark, shadowy environments. Also, like Lewton, you don't see the monster until the very end. Interestingly, CREEPER features dream sequences that reminds me of RKO's noir films. CREEPER is from 20th Century-Fox. However, the story is typical of mid-40s Universal horror flicks while the mood is characteristic of Lewton's CAT PEOPLE films.
Rather Disappointing Film
Rainey-Dawn24 January 2017
Don't expect to see cat people or people turning to a cat then killing others because it's not really like that. This one tries to be more of a sci-fi film noir rather than a sci-fi horror.
The idea behind the film is good, there are some alright scenes but not what one would expect from a "horror" film like this. It does get suspenseful at times however. And the ending was a huge let down, not at all what audiences that would watch this type of film would care to see.
Onslow Stevens made this film better than what it really is with his presence. He is fun to watch in horror films usually.
Overall it's a let down film that has a few good moments within it.
3.5/10
The idea behind the film is good, there are some alright scenes but not what one would expect from a "horror" film like this. It does get suspenseful at times however. And the ending was a huge let down, not at all what audiences that would watch this type of film would care to see.
Onslow Stevens made this film better than what it really is with his presence. He is fun to watch in horror films usually.
Overall it's a let down film that has a few good moments within it.
3.5/10
Nice atmosphere...dumb resolution!
planktonrules1 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Throughout much of this film, I was very impressed by the atmosphere created by the director and his crew. Through the use of music, lighting and acting, they really had a tense and nice looking film-- and it kept my interest. However, when the film ended, I was left frustrated because all this suspense led up to absolutely nothing that would satisfying the audience...NOTHING!
The film is set around a lab in which a team of workers are trying to come up with some serum to make human organs bioluminous. Why? I have no idea. In the midst of this, the lead researcher's daughter, Nora, is a hysterical mess who screams every time she sees cats. And, when folks start dying you expect that somehow some cat or that particular cat is behind it. Well, this is NOT the case and the ending is just plain stupid--a bit waste of a lot of talent, though Nora was an awfully written and acted character. Too bad that a couple problems completely ruin an otherwise good B horror film.
The film is set around a lab in which a team of workers are trying to come up with some serum to make human organs bioluminous. Why? I have no idea. In the midst of this, the lead researcher's daughter, Nora, is a hysterical mess who screams every time she sees cats. And, when folks start dying you expect that somehow some cat or that particular cat is behind it. Well, this is NOT the case and the ending is just plain stupid--a bit waste of a lot of talent, though Nora was an awfully written and acted character. Too bad that a couple problems completely ruin an otherwise good B horror film.
Paw.
BA_Harrison5 May 2023
Neurotic Nora (Janis Wilson) is deathly afraid of felines and suffers from recurring nightmares of a menacing cat's paw coming through her bedroom window or emerging from beneath her bed. After her scientist father (played by Ralph 'The Wizard of Oz' Morgan) is killed, clawed to death in the first of several murders, Nora finds herself targeted by the killer, who has been using an experimental serum to transform his hand into a large cat's claw.
The Creeper (which has nothing at all to do with Rondo 'The Creeper' Hatton) is a weak B-movie horror that does very little of interest for the majority of the sixty-four minute run time, with the killer's claw mostly shown as a shadow on a wall. Only in the closing moment does the villain reveal his deadly claw to terrified Nora (his hand transforming via a series of shoddy dissolves), and it looks every bit as daft as it sounds. John Baragrey plays scientist Dr. John Reade, who saves Nora in the nick of time.
Even at just over an hour long, this one is hard to remain engaged with, the dull dialogue and stilted performances making it a laborious watch. The premise is wonderfully loopy, but the execution is mundane. 2.5/10, rounded up to 3 for IMDb.
The Creeper (which has nothing at all to do with Rondo 'The Creeper' Hatton) is a weak B-movie horror that does very little of interest for the majority of the sixty-four minute run time, with the killer's claw mostly shown as a shadow on a wall. Only in the closing moment does the villain reveal his deadly claw to terrified Nora (his hand transforming via a series of shoddy dissolves), and it looks every bit as daft as it sounds. John Baragrey plays scientist Dr. John Reade, who saves Nora in the nick of time.
Even at just over an hour long, this one is hard to remain engaged with, the dull dialogue and stilted performances making it a laborious watch. The premise is wonderfully loopy, but the execution is mundane. 2.5/10, rounded up to 3 for IMDb.
A feline monster threatens the life of a sensitive young woman and her associates
snicewanger2 April 2015
The Creeper is a 1948 "B" film produced by Bernard Small's Reliance Pictures. Its an entertaining little chiller clocking in at a brisk 64 minutes, with a cast of generally familiar faces such as Onslow Stevens, Ralph Morgan, Eduardo Ciannelli, and June Vincent.Romantic lead John Baragrey would go on to have a successful career as a character actor in television. The female lead was eighteen year old Janis Wilson, who as a juvenile actress had featured roles in Now Voyager, Watch on the Rhine, and the Strange Love of Martha Ivers, among other films and seemed to be building a solid acting resume for herself. The Creeper would be her last film role,however, and she would retire from the screen to take up marriage and teaching music. Director Jean Yarbrough had a reputation for dependability and getting a film out on time and under budget. Ben Pivar was the executive producer. He was in charge of Universal Studios Horror Unit during the war on could do this kind of film in his sleep. The horror cycle had slowed down considerably since the end of the war but there was still a market for Saturday matinée scary pictures at the local neighborhood Bijou and the Creeper was made to fill that market. It helped sell a bunch of popcorn
The story concerns a monster who preys on a group of scientists and researchers whom themselves are trying to develop a mysterious serum that is derived from the body fluids of cats. One of the researchers tries to put a halt to the project for ethical concerns and is brutally murdered. After that other researchers are being killed by what evidence suggests is a huge cat like creature. The daughter of one of the murdered scientists acted as secretary to the project and holds the notes that are needed to continue the project but will not give them up. A young scientist from a next door lab has fallen for her and he is aware of the events taking place. He tries to aide and protect her at the risk of his own life. At the climax of the film the identity of the murderous monster is revealed and it is destroyed. Of course the young couple appear to move on to become the Cleaver family. The Creeper was filmed by Edward Coleman. Coleman and Yarbrough used The "Cat People approach to shooting the Creeper with shadows and dim lighting to cover the cheap sets and minimal special effects This technique works and gives the film a dark and brooding atmosphere. That veteran actors know the rote and do what they can with a weak script and sometimes confusing plot line. What does not work is Janis Wilson's performance. She is , quite frankly, terrible. Without Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck around to coach her she chews the scenery and emotes like a high school Juliet. If the Creeper had been a longer picture she would have shot the whole thing down. It's no wonder she decided to get out of the business.
As I said, The Creeper is entertaining and won't cause emotional damage to the more sensitive members of your viewing audience, however, if your are in The Ginger Snaps or Dog Solders school of were-animal appreciation, The Creeper isn't gonna do it for you. Saying that . however, for the average old horror flick fan there are a lot worse ways to spend an hour.
The story concerns a monster who preys on a group of scientists and researchers whom themselves are trying to develop a mysterious serum that is derived from the body fluids of cats. One of the researchers tries to put a halt to the project for ethical concerns and is brutally murdered. After that other researchers are being killed by what evidence suggests is a huge cat like creature. The daughter of one of the murdered scientists acted as secretary to the project and holds the notes that are needed to continue the project but will not give them up. A young scientist from a next door lab has fallen for her and he is aware of the events taking place. He tries to aide and protect her at the risk of his own life. At the climax of the film the identity of the murderous monster is revealed and it is destroyed. Of course the young couple appear to move on to become the Cleaver family. The Creeper was filmed by Edward Coleman. Coleman and Yarbrough used The "Cat People approach to shooting the Creeper with shadows and dim lighting to cover the cheap sets and minimal special effects This technique works and gives the film a dark and brooding atmosphere. That veteran actors know the rote and do what they can with a weak script and sometimes confusing plot line. What does not work is Janis Wilson's performance. She is , quite frankly, terrible. Without Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck around to coach her she chews the scenery and emotes like a high school Juliet. If the Creeper had been a longer picture she would have shot the whole thing down. It's no wonder she decided to get out of the business.
As I said, The Creeper is entertaining and won't cause emotional damage to the more sensitive members of your viewing audience, however, if your are in The Ginger Snaps or Dog Solders school of were-animal appreciation, The Creeper isn't gonna do it for you. Saying that . however, for the average old horror flick fan there are a lot worse ways to spend an hour.
The killer is obvious
scsu197521 November 2022
Oddball horror flick about a woman (Janis Wilson) who is petrified of cats, thinks she is being pursued by a giant catlike thing, and spends most of the film in a catatonic state. Her father, played by Ralph Morgan, is engaged in research with Onslow Stevens. They have the brilliant idea that they can illuminate internal organs. Because, don't we want everyone to see what's inside our intestines? Somehow this research involves experiments on cats, which, like everything else in the film, remains unexplained. Down the hall, Eduardo Ciannelli is also working on an experiment. He is trying to prove he can do a German accent. His associate, played by John Baragrey, has fallen for Wilson, much to the chagrin of Onslow's assistant, played by the icily cold June Vincent.
Now that we have all the players, it's on to the plot. Several characters go belly up, apparently clawed to death. Is there some kind of cat creature on the prowl? Richard Lane shows up as a detective, doesn't bother to show anybody his credentials, and yet everybody answers his questions. Perhaps he should be on a Senate committee. In the finale, we learn the killer's identity, if you hadn't already figured it out 5 minutes into the film.
The photography is pretty good, with effective use of shadows. And the film is atmospheric, in the same sense that a solid waste disposal plant is.
Now that we have all the players, it's on to the plot. Several characters go belly up, apparently clawed to death. Is there some kind of cat creature on the prowl? Richard Lane shows up as a detective, doesn't bother to show anybody his credentials, and yet everybody answers his questions. Perhaps he should be on a Senate committee. In the finale, we learn the killer's identity, if you hadn't already figured it out 5 minutes into the film.
The photography is pretty good, with effective use of shadows. And the film is atmospheric, in the same sense that a solid waste disposal plant is.
Perfect Old Horror Movie
The Creeper3 January 2002
The Creeper is The Best Old Horror Movie that I can Think of. It is Perfect. I even Believe it Inspired Classics such as "The Fly". Of Course, the Movie is Rather Old and the Special Effects are not Something to brag about. But, All in All we Have a Classic Horror Movie which I Think should be More Famous than it is. 10 out of 10. Also Recommended: Return of the Fly.
Minor item from the lull period in fantastic cinema.
youroldpaljim9 June 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Note: This contains a *SPOILER*!! This minor item comes from the late 1940's, a lull period in fantastic cinema. The golden age of horror films had ended in mid 1946 when studios (for a host of reasons) had pretty much stopped cranking out fantastic thrillers, and the science fiction boom of the 1950's, which began with the release of DESTINATION MOON in 1950, had not yet begun. Almost all of the sparse handful of fantastic thrillers made during this period were minor items from minor studios. THE CREEPER is no exception. THE CREEPER is about mad scientist who experiments with serum derived from cats that turns him into cat like killer (a werecat?). The film opens well, with a rather atmospheric opening. However, only after a few minutes the film sinks to the perfunctory. Despite the visually interesting opening sequence the film looks dull and flat. Onslow Stevens laboratory is just a desk and table with a few beakers and test tubes. The lab for the rival scientists down the hall is even more drab looking. Most scenes begin or open with people leaving or entering rooms. As far as the story goes, I knew right from the beginning that Eduardo Ciannelli was not the killer but a red herring. I suspect the makers of this film realized there was still an audience for these kinds of thrills and since almost nobody else was making this kind of film, they figured they could make a film that just had to be "good enough". Audiences who went for this kind of stuff were not being catered to, so they were willing to sit through even a perfunctory thriller such as this.
Moderately creepy
lor_25 March 2024
One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Jean Yarborough; Executive Producer; Ben Pivar; Produced by Bernard Small for 20th Century-Fox release. Screenplay by Maurice Trombagel; Photography by George Robinson; Edited by Saul Goodkind; Music by Milton Rosen. Starring: Eduardo Cianelli, June Vincent, Onslow Stevens, Janis Wilson, Ralph Morgan, John Baragrey, Philip Ahn, Lottie Stein, Richard Lane, David Hoffman and Stuart Holmes.
Fairly uninteresting 1940s horror film with a typically mysterious creep creeping about in the shadows, and attempting to make everyone feel creepy.
Fairly uninteresting 1940s horror film with a typically mysterious creep creeping about in the shadows, and attempting to make everyone feel creepy.
Jean Yarbrough's most powerful movie
searchanddestroy-124 January 2024
I am not a great fan of Jean Yarbrough, I will put him as the same scale as Reginald Le Borg. Both had very close like careers, both made cheap horror films, both directed Joe Palooka's flicks. Not the best they let in audiences memories. But this one, thanks to Eduardo Ciannelli, is very exciting, though not as the same scale as a Jacques Tourneur's horror film such as CAT PEOPLE or LEOPARD MEN, or, more simple, the Val Lewton's productions. Yarbrough was not that good, but only a little horror films director whose most of this early work is uninteresting, unlike his second part of career stuff. This one is really worth for horror fans or gem diggers.
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