Rondo Hatton

An all-new documentary exploring the Universal B-movie classic, THE BRUTE MAN, and how the plotline parallels the tragic life of its star, RONDO HATTON.

An unsuccessful sculptor saves a madman named "The Creeper" from drowning. Seeing an opportunity for revenge, he tricks the psycho into murdering his critics.

A facially disfigured and mentally unhinged man wreaks his revenge on those he blames for his condition.

A young girl goes to work as a live-in caretaker for a spooky old woman. She doesn't know that every night, the woman drains some blood from her to feed her strange plant.

Once again Paula the ape woman is brought back to life, this time by a mad doctor and his disfigured assistant, who also kidnaps a nurse in order to have a female blood donor.

In time-honored fashion, a couple of supporting players -- George Dolenz and Bill Kennedy -- found themselves elevated to starring roles in this minor Universal serial. They played Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers investigating the murder of a miner. The story, of course, was less important than speed and action, which directors Ray Taylor and Lewis D. Collins delivered in typical slap-dash Universal style. Starlet Daun Kennedy did not make much of an impression as the imperiled leading lady, and former star Robert Armstrong (of King Kong fame) was wasted in a subordinate role. Rondo Hatton, a non-actor whose grotesque appearance (caused by acromegaly, the so-called "Elephant Man" disease) was tastelessly exploited by Universal in the '40s, appeared as one of the outlaws.

The famous Borgia Pearl, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, is brought to London, thanks in part to Sherlock Holmes. But before long the jewel is stolen, due to an error on Holmes' part, and shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, the murderer leaving his victims with their spines snapped and surrounded by a mass of smashed china.

Princess Margaret is travelling incognito to elope with her true love instead of marrying the man her father has betrothed her to. On the high seas, her ship is attacked by pirates who know her identity and plan to kidnap her and hold her for a king's ransom.

A young girl rents an apartment from a man who has recently enlisted in the Marines. The trouble is that he's given out keys to a half-dozen of his friends, and they all keep dropping in.

A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.