Bowery at Midnight is one of the many poverty row films made by Bela Lugosi in the 40's. In it Lugosi plays a somewhat far-fetched character. He is alternately a psychology professor, a Samaritan who runs a mission for the homeless and a ruthless crime boss! Neither of his lives cross-over and his university students do not know of his mission activities and vice-versa, while his gangster boss life is a secret kept from everyone bar his fellow criminal underlings. Despite what the title and star would imply this is not a horror movie but really a crime-thriller. More accurately it is a crime film with a bizarrely incidental horror angle, as there is a character that creates zombies in the cellar of the mission! Needless to say, Bowery at Midnight is total nonsense but will be enjoyed by those with a tolerance for low budget genre flicks from this period.

Bowery at Midnight (1942) ** (out of 4) Professor Karl Wagner (Bela Lugosi) is a highly respected man who helps run a food kitchen that feeds homeless and poor people. At night he's taking advantage of the same people forcing them to do his illegal crimes including murder. BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT is yet another low-budget quickie from Monogram and while the story itself is pretty lacking, the film remains watchable thanks to a fast pace as well as the performance from Bela Lugosi. It's really a shame that the film doesn't feature a tad bit more life because it could have been something rather good had more time with the story been done. Lugosi is very good in the lead role and it's funny that during the opening credits his name appears twice for playing the two characters. One of the biggest reasons that the film works as well as it does is because Lugosi is very believable as both the good guy and the bad guy. I really liked the way Lugosi played the good professor because he made you believe that this guy couldn't be doing anything wrong. That cheerful glee from the bad guy also comes across flawlessly and especially when he gets to show how cold blooded the character is. Wanda McKay is good in her supporting role as the woman helping Lugosi not knowing exactly what he's up to. The rest of the supporting players fit their roles nicely and certainly help keep the film moving. The biggest problem is that the story just needed a little bit more work to make it something more than just a routine "B" picture.

Bowery At Midnight has Bela Lugosi cast as a psychology professor who doubles as a master criminal using a Bowery mission as a blind for his activities. It was a great role for Lugosi and perfectly illustrative of the tragedy of that man's career. In fact the part once again proves that Bela could go way beyond the horror genre if needed though there is a bit of ghoulishness provided by someone else in the cast.If this had been done at major studio with a tighter script and infinitely better sets, this could have become a classic. Lugosi gives a great performance and he was followed closely here by Tom Neal who plays a truly malevolent and murderous hood. The lack of continuity that so typified a Monogram product is present here, especially when you find out that someone who Neal shot at point blank range is quite alive at the end of the film. Lugosi really carries this one to stratospheric ratings for a Monogram film. Bowery At Midnight sad to say had some unrealized potential.

A well respected psychology professor, Frederick Brenner, actually leads a life of crime, using his status as the proprietor of a Bowery soup kitchen to mask his devious activities. Under the name of Karl Wagner(Bela Lugosi), Brenner is able to lift criminals on the run off the street, putting them to work for him..that is until he no longer needs them. Brenner's office in the Bowery soup kitchen building houses secret rooms as escape hatches while also servicing him the ability to stash away confiscated items. Wagner's operation has been successfully robbing bank vaults, then ridding himself of criminals who would potentially provide problems later. Brenner's wife has no idea that her husband has been coming home late at night and having nightmares due to his criminal work(..he lies to her about writing a book, on the street researching). One sub-plot features Wagner's employee, Judy Malvern(..the very lovely Wanda McKay)and her beau, Richard Dennison(..great television actor John Archer)whose lives will soon be complicated when unforeseen circumstances lead them to discover the fiend Brenner really is..Dennison is actually Brenner's student at his college, and when he goes to the Bowery masquerading as a bum, working on a project for class, he'll uncover a horrifying truth regarding how cruel and evil his professor really is. Another sub-plot has Wagner's underling, Doc Brooks(Lew Kelly), once a great physician, now a drug-addicted fraidy-cat who disposes of bodies in a graveyard created within a secret room under the Bowery building, reviving those unfortunate souls put to death as a way of revenge when his moment comes towards his lecherous boss. Pete Crawford(Dave O'Brien)is a newly promoted detective, once pounding the pavement as a beat cop, who devotes his time to unraveling the sting operation that's depleting banks of monetary resources. Tom Neal, very effective as Wagner's newly recruited trigger man, Frankie Mills, a tough-talking, fearless thug, replacing tired gunner, Stratton(Wheeler Oakman)who was about to end his partnership with the boss.Solid cast backing up Lugosi, in a tour-de-force performance getting a chance to portray a multi-layered character. The movie is over-plotted, for sure, and the zombie premise that develops is more than a bit ridiculous. Still, this is essential viewing for die-hard Lugosi fans, even if BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT attempts to pack too much in a small running time. Some of the criminal acts by Brenner/Wagner are chilling such as his orders to murder specific characters(..often committing a few himself, unflinchingly)and his cornering of student Dennison within the basement of the soup kitchen is particularly shocking. Not really a horror film as much as a crime drama.