Directed by Wallace Fox and produced by Monogram Pictures, Bowery at Midnight is a delightfully twisted horror-crime hybrid starring the legendary Bela Lugosi. With a runtime of just 63 minutes, it’s one of Lugosi’s more memorable low-budget outings, blending gangster noir with macabre horror—and even a dash of zombie resurrection.
Plot Summary
By day, Dr. Frederick Brenner (Lugosi) is a respected psychology professor. By night, under the alias Karl Wagner, he runs a soup kitchen in New York’s Bowery district. But this charitable front hides a sinister secret: Wagner recruits down-and-out criminals to commit robberies, then murders them and buries them in his basement—complete with name placards like makeshift tombstones.
Things take a supernatural turn when Wagner’s assistant begins reviving the dead henchmen as mindless zombies. Meanwhile, Wagner’s double life begins to unravel as his wife, students, and the police close in. The film builds toward a chaotic climax involving betrayal, resurrection, and one of the most bizarre shootouts in Poverty Row history.
Cast Highlights
- Bela Lugosi as Dr. Frederick Brenner / Karl Wagner
- John Archer as Richard Dennison
- Wanda McKay as Judy Malvern
- Tom Neal as Frank
- Vince Barnett, Lew Kelly, and Anna Hope in supporting roles
Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
- Filming began on August 3, 1942, making it the fifth of Lugosi’s nine Monogram features
- In one scene, a poster for The Corpse Vanishes (another Lugosi film) appears in the background—a cheeky nod to Monogram’s horror catalog
- The film features hidden doorways, secret rooms, and a hunchback assistant, classic tropes of 1940s horror
- Lugosi’s character moonlights not once but twice—as a professor, soup kitchen operator, and criminal mastermind
- The ending, involving zombie resurrection, has been cited by fans as a possible influence on Night of the Living Dead
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