THE MONSTER / Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation - 1925

It's time to check out this silent film starring Lon Chaney as a mad doctor who has taken over an asylum with the help of his demented pals! This is basically a comedy and is well worth checking out, Chaney is extra creepy in this one. I got this copy off TCM.

So, here's a nice sound clip from this great little flick for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button over by our monster in a bottle, NOW, Rufus The Gnat!.. Here's a taste of... THE MONSTER!

The story starts with this weird looking character sitting in a tree who ends up causing a car accident near an asylum in the middle of the night. Nice guy!

I put this still up because this nice looking scene is obviously a matte painting.

Here's popular co-star Johnny Arthur as a clerk who wants to be a detective, so, gets a mail order diploma which includes some cuffs and a tin star. Johnny was Darla's dad in THE LITTLE RASCALS and specialized in timid or whiny characters.

This is Lon as the super weirdo, Dr. Ziska. Johnny, Betty, the girl he likes and her beau end up stranded at the asylum at night, Ziska tells them that he is in charge of the facility.

And, this is Ziska's lil' helper... No, nothing fishy going on around here!

Then, Betty has some strange adventures, she's almost crushed in her bed by a huge press and later is attacked by arms coming out of her mattress, like in PHANTASM.

Johnny and the gang discover the real head of the asylum and others in the cellar!

In a wild and crazy scene, Johnny walks along the electrical wires trying to get away from Ziska's other helper, the dude that causes the accidents.

It becomes obvious that Ziska is totally out of his freakin' mind when he captures Betty and prepares to experiment on her for his nefarious reasons.

Here's an excellent portrait of Lon as Dr. Ziska!

Johnny is the real hero, he uses the clothes of the helper to fool Ziska and ties him up in the electric chair instead of the intended victim!

Ziska's helper has flipped the switch on the electric chair and discovers to his dismay that he's wrongly fried the doctor instead, a happy ending!!

We're back tomorrow with more from The Dungeon!