8:07 a.m. - 2021-08-22
HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946)
HOUSE OF HORRORS is the story of an unsuccessful sculptor, Marcel DeLange (Martin Kosleck) who discovers a half-drowned, disfigured man (portrayed by Rondo Hatton, who suffered from acromegaly in real life) and, fascinated by his unusual appearance, brings him back to his studio and nurses him to health in hopes of using him as a model. The vagrant turns out to be The Creeper, a notorious murderer whom the authorities had believed to be dead. Blaming the art critic F. Holmes Harmon (Alan Napier) for his lack of success, DeLange manipulates The Creeper to kill him. Steven Morrow (Robert Lowery), another artist, is suspected of the crime, since Harmon had equally unkind things to say about his work. Morrow's girlfriend Joan Medford (Virginia Grey) is also an art critic and becomes involved in the case.

Most of the principal characters in the movie are from the art world, and one wonders about a pre-television community that could support at least three art critics, two of whom seem to be clones of the acerbic Waldo Lydecker from LAURA. Although DeLange mentions his own poverty several times, he has an enormous studio with a staircase suggesting additional space on an upper floor. Morrow seems to specialize in calendar girl art, begging the question of why the self-consciously patrician critic Harmon would stoop to review his work. Morrow's character is also problematic: presented to the viewer as the likable romantic lead and innocent victim of an errant police investigation, he nevertheless seems about to strangle a second critic who has given him a negative review.

The Creeper is portrayed as a simple-minded but powerful brute (described by other characters as a "Neanderthal") who apparently kills random women when they react negatively to his frightening appearance. Grateful to DeLange for saving him, he is more than willing to murder the perceived enemies of his new "friend." Exactly when DeLange realizes that his model is in fact a serial killer is not made clear, but he never hesitates to make use of the man's savagery for his rather petty revenge; doing away with the critics has no obvious benefit to DeLange's status as an artist nor his financial well-being.

By far the most interesting character is Joan Medford, a confident and independent young woman with wit and style. The movie was made in 1946, so women were experiencing a small taste of freedom subsequent to their entry into the job market during the war. A female cab driver underscores the expanded role of women in the workplace, however temporary. Medford is confident enough to not feel threatened by her artist boyfriend's very attractive model, and jokes with him about the aforementioned cab driver. She shows no concern for her own safety with The Creeper back on the prowl. When DeLange appears to threaten her, she all but sneers in his face, calling him "little man" (IMDB lists Kozleck's height as 5'7"). Early in the movie, when Medford first appears in the sculptor's studio, she is wearing a hat with a long feather that shakes like a scolding finger when she argues with him. Unfortunately, at film's end, Medford informs Morrow that she no longer wants to be a critic, tacitly inviting him to propose marriage. It was, of course, a different era.

The movie is done in black and white and has a nice noir-ish look, with lonely settings, fog, and menacing shadows. Kozleck, Grey, and Hatton all created interesting characters. All in all, I thought it was worth watching, though certainly not one of my favorite movies.

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