LITTLE RED MONKEY - "Monkey Madness" (1955)

It's Worthwhile Watch Wednesday in The Dungeon, and the feature presentation tonight is the 1955 British film, "Little Red Monkey," which was later changed to "The Case Of The Red Monkey," which sounds a lot less like the title of a child's book, I guess.

"You can call me names, you can get real funky, just don't go messin', with my "Little Red Monkey!"

This "Little Red Monkey" is a squirrel monkey, and I know quite a lot about them, since we had one as a pet when I was in high school. They will bite the Hell out of you, but they're not normally the murderin' kind!

 

I  think this "Little Red Monkey" falls kind of flat compared to many other films of the era and genre, but it's short, and has enough interesting elements to make it worth watching!  

 

Great shot of a 1950's TV newsroom! 

A series of high profile murders are are being perpetuated by this group of perpetrators, and the only clues the authorities have point to a squirrel monkey!

Another victim is shot despite the constant police protection!

 

I'm pretty puzzled myself because they never really explain what the damn monkey has to do with any of it. You can see the monkey in the top photo, and he's not doing anything, he's just there, so why does this killer bring the monkey around with him. I guess it's his only friend.

 What a loser!

 

A press conference is called, or in this case, a 1950's!

 

Just like in the "Godzilla" movies, they bring in an American as the star, who in this case is Richard The Godfather) Conte, who is real good at tying ties! Richard Conte was also in the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "Perchance To Dream."

His name is Bill Locklin, and his job is to bring an escaped and distinguished Russian Professor safely back to America from London.

This whole killing people routine takes it's toll on a person!

Dammit! They said the last one one going to be the last one, not the next one!

Time to cut to the club, and the budding relationship between Bill Locklin and the Chief Inspector's niece Julia Jackson as played by Rona Anderson. Oddly enough, Rona was married to Phillip Jackson, the head cheese in the TV show "The Professionals."

My beef with "Little Red Monkey" is that they spend far too much time on the relationship between Bill and Julia, and not enough time explaining what this whole monkey thing is all about!

All the monkey seems to do is creep around and look through people's windows mostly. It's his master that is doing all the killing, and the monkey is just along for the ride!

They whisk the Professor off to a Sanitarium, a place where they think they can successfully hide him from the monkey!

Time for Richard to tie his necktie again! This is another film that also has a ton of smoking in it!

Here's a look at some weird backseat shenanigans!

Freaky little Tommy McCollom is the son of the Supervisor at the sanitarium, and he likes to go around shooting patients with his ray gun!

This is obviously the coolest part of the movie. Tommy shoots this guy with his ray gun who is just getting ready to call the newspaper and tell them that he knows where the Professor is hiding, after spotting him in the hall.

The people who hired the monkey also show up at the sanitarium!!

And in the process of everything that's happening, little Tommy gets shot by Bill Locklin!

 Imagine the supervisor's despair!!

But as it turns out, it wasn't Tommy at all! There's a midget in the costume, and he's the guy who is the monkey's master, and the one who has been doing all the killing!

Bill and Julia are in love, but he has to go back to America with the Professor, and we never find out anything more about the monkey or the midget. Not a bad movie, they just put the emphasis on the wrong couple!