ccthemovieman-1 I really like Lionel Atwill in this film. No, I'm not normally a guy who goes for the "villain," but as someone who could identify with a man who's been cheated on, I kind of sympathized with him. Of course, I wouldn't go to his lengths to get back at a woman, but it made for an interesting film! Atwill's "Eric Gorman" runs a zoo and has a young wife who has no interest in him, who cheats on whatever good-looking young guy is around. Gorman gets wind of her activities, confronts her and she tells him, "Yeah, so what? I hate your guts anyway (to paraphrase)." To Gorman's credit, he keeps his cool but inside he is steaming and he winds up with a few clever ideas on how to handle her boyfriend.What he does, and how, makes for an exciting second half of this film. The first part is a little slow, but stay with it because the second part is very, very suspenseful. It also has some excellent film-noir-type cinematography.The first half of this one-hour movie was more of a comedy than anything else, however, as Charles Ruggles plays a goofy guy who becomes the public relations man at the zoo. Mostly, he makes stupid comments and is annoying but later he does a couple of funny bits (like when he was trapped in a zoo cage with a huge snake). Still, this movie's genre is labeled "horror/crime/mystery" but you wouldn't know it until Ruggles mainly disappears and the Atwill starts to go after his wife and her boyfriend "Roger Hewitt" (John Lodge). Then, the whole atmosphere of this film changes and there is plenty of "atmosphere." It's good stuff.A new notes: Randolph Scott plays a scientist and it just doesn't look right. To me, Scott only looks natural in a western setting, and I think he'd agree with that since he went that route almost exclusively a few years after this movie in 1933......This film, and others like it, were released just a few weeks ago (late Oct., 2009) on DVDs, offered by the TCM Network as part of the "Universal Cult Horrors" Collection. They are kind of pricey but I bet they look great on disc.

marcslope One of a wave of macabre little "Frankenstein"-inspired horror programmers from the early '30s, this botch has some atmospheric zoo photography (the city is never specified) but is deficient in most other respects. About a mad zoologist who kills anyone who dares to get near his luscious and flirtatious wife, it stars Lionel Atwill, who looks like he's having fun, but whose character makes no sense. Check out one scene where he first professes his undying love for his spouse, then makes sadistic overtures to her, then laughs at her, then kills her. He murders many (and the opening sequence, dispensing with one of her suitors, is quite creepy), in such a way that we can't believe he would ever attain the zoological prestige the script conveys. Young Randolph Scott is another near-casualty, and as his girlfriend, Gail Patrick, so good in later nasty comedic roles, looks bored. Charles Ruggles, as the "comedy relief" publicist, has only two character aspects--he drinks, and he's afraid of animals--and his material falls terribly flat. There are a couple of good animal sequences, including a climax where the evil doctor springs lions and tigers from their cages (and it looks as though animals WERE harmed in the making of this movie), then, in the next sequence, they're safely back, and we're never shown how that happened. The plotting is jumpy, and at 62 minutes, one suspects a lot of continuity was cut.

bkoganbing Three murders are committed during this film, two of them are indeed Murders In The Zoo. The problem for the authorities is that they're not murders because animals leave no forensics to tell any tales. Well almost.Lionel Atwill is a brilliant zoologist, tops in his field and an insanely jealous man. To be sure he's got reason to be, Kathleen Burke is not the most faithful of wives. In this before the Code classic it's really hard to tell whether Atwill was insane by nature or she's driven him that way because of her infidelities.Because of his knowledge of animal habits and methods of killing, Atwill can hide his homicides and blame them on the zoo animals he's captured for Harry Beresford's zoo.Two great character actors dominate Murder In The Zoo. Of course Lionel Atwill who graced so many of the best Gothic horror tales is perfectly cast as the jealous husband who's doing in all potential rivals. Charlie Ruggles is also great as the alcoholic former newspaperman who is on his last job as the zoo press agent. His nervous little everyman is great for comic relief. All that was really needed was Mary Boland in the film as the domineering wife to Ruggles which she played in so many Paramount classics.A couple of younger players with big things destined for them both in front and behind the camera, Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick are the romantic interest. John Davis Lodge future Governor of Connecticut and Ambassador to Spain plays one of Burke's suitors who is dispatched quite cleverly.No monsters in this film, the most terrifying thing on this planet is the mind of mortal man run amuck out of jealousy or ambition. That's what Murders In The Zoo has in abundance.

dbborroughs Who said the old horror movie weren't graphic, this baby begins with Lionel Atwill sewing a man's mouth closed before feeding him to the animals and going on from there. Great classic horror film thats been picked apart over the years for other films but its never really been done as good as this. The plot is simple, Atwill runs the zoo and uses the animals to dispose of people who annoy him or try to get too close to the women he loves. Its dark and creepy stuff that sends shivers up and down your spine, not so much for what it shows, which isn't much, but for what it doesn't. If you want the perfect mixture of terror of the eyes and terror of the mind this is it. Perfectly paced and played it does what it does and gets off. I can't recommend this film enough. Its great (even if its a tad creaky)