How can I not like this film? Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, & George Zucco stars in this fun poverty row quickie. The film lasts around an hour and it's an enjoyable watch.We have Bela Lugosi as the mad scientist Prof. Dexter who is experimenting with a the frozen body of a prehistoric caveman (George Zucco) - that is thawed out and now living. Prof. John Gilmore (John Carradine) is right beside Dexter but Dexter has plans of his own! Everything becomes a fun romp as we usually expect from these films.Really a good way to enjoy and hour three classic horror favorites .7.5/10

Return Of The Ape Man which has nothing to do with the original Ape Man which was no Oscar winner either boasts in its cast three players who apparently had no standards by which they chose projects. Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, and to a lesser extent George Zucco probably in the aggregate can count on more dreadful films than any other three players you can name.Starting off with the fact that a product from Monogram Pictures ought to carry a warning label, Return Of The Ape Man is one horrid ripoff from the Frankenstein story. Lugosi and Carradine are a pair of scientists experimenting in cryogenics before its time and travel on an Arctic expedition to find hopefully a frozen caveman from prehistoric times to experiment on.What Carradine doesn't know is that eventually he winds up part of the experiment as a bit of his brain winds up in the caveman's body. After that it's George Zucco who takes over the caveman part from former boxer Frank Moran. Zucco gets to talk guttural monster talk like both Lugosi and Boris Karloff did playing the Frankenstein monster.Biggest hoot in the film is when the caveman with new enhanced intelligence breaks into Carradine's house plays Moonlight Sonata on the piano and then strangles Mary Currier who is Carradine's wife. I split a gut with that one.For a few laughs check out Return Of The Ape Man.

Two scientists, Prof. Dexter and Prof. Gilmore (played by horror legends Bela Lugosi and John Carradine), have developed a method of reanimating a frozen body with no adverse affects. They decide to test their discovery on a primitive man frozen in ice for thousands of years. Again, they find success. Still not satisfied, Prof. Dexter wants to place half of a modern brain into his primitive guinea pig. But where to find a brain? Prof Dexter's not above murder if it will advance his theories.I'm usually willing to cut these Poverty Row films a break, but Return of the Ape Man features the worst of what these movies had to offer. First off, there's the incredibly misleading credit sequence that promises George Zucco. I'm a huge fan of Zucco. I was actually more interested in watching him than either Bela Lugosi or John Carradine. And even though his name appears twice in the opening credits, he's nowhere to be found. What's up with that! Next, the overall acting is absolutely terrible. Carradine has so little to do that he's hardly in the movie – and acts it. You can usually count on Lugosi for a fun performance, but even he appears to be going through the motions. The rest of the unknown cast is abysmal, except for Teala Loring. She provides the one lone spark Return of the Ape Man has to offer. Thirdly, the titular Ape Man is hardly an Ape Man at all. He looks more like a guy with long hair and a beard. It's a hoot to listen to character after character describe the hippy looking dude as more ape-like than man. My guess is that Monogram came up with a title and had a script before they checked their budget for the special effects necessary to create an Ape Man. Finally, even by Monogram standards, Return of the Ape Man is cheap looking. Often, the sets look like they might have fallen over had someone breathed too heavily in the wrong direction. And the Arctic expedition scenes are laugh out loud funny in how cheap they are. A few seconds of stock footage followed by Carradine and Lugosi standing around talking while wearing the most ridiculous fur coats and hats does not make for a very authentic looking scene. Return of the Ape Man might be the bottom of the proverbial barrel as far as Poverty Row thrillers goes. I'm being generous with my 3/10.

The story revolves around an Artic expedition headed by Bela Lugosi and his associate, scientist John Carradine, as they search for what might be the missing link. They find a frozen cave man...why this is called an ape man is totally lost on me. It must be based on the huge lack of success from an earlier Lugosi film called The Ape Man, of which this film has no relation too in plot whatsoever. Anyway, Lugosi brings this man back but finds that it needs at least a part of someone else's brain. He begins to search for possible subjects and settles on Carradine's soon-to-be fiancee. Carradine is not enthusiastic in the venture any further and severs ties, and the real mayhem begins as Bela gets to really ham it up trying to find and finally succeeding with a substitute. The Return of the Ape Man is undeniably cheap, poorly scripted, and laughably acted by most; it does, however, remain thoroughly entertaining due in large part to Lugosi in a charged-up role and Carradine in a rather subdued one. The cast credits list George Zucco but alas he is nowhere to be found. Quite a shame considering his ability to add class to almost anything.