The Ape (1940)
Mad Scientist
One of the most lunatic mad scientist plots of all time in which Boris Karloff kills an ape then puts on its skin to go out and kill people for their spinal fluids to create a cure for polio
Films of 1940
Before I Hang (1940)
Mad Scientist Film
Boris Karloff plays a mad scientist who creates an experimental formula to reverse aging and injects himself with it, only for it to turn into a split personalitied killer
Black Friday (1940)
Gangster's Transplanted Brain
A peculiar mixture of 1940s mad scientist and gangster film in which Boris Karloff transplants a mob boss’s brain into the body of a mild-mannered English professor
The Blue Bird (1940)
Fairy-Tale
With the success of The Wizard of Oz, 20th Century sought to capture the same by casting Shirley Temple in this appallingly schmaltzy fairytale about two children on a quest for the Blue Bird of Happiness
The Devil Bat (1940)
Mad Scientist
Typical Bela Lugosi fare of the 1940s involving one of the most lunatic mad scientist schemes of the era in which he kills his enemies with an experimental aftershave that his bats have been trained to hone in on and attack
Dr Cyclops (1940)
Mad Scientist/Miniaturised People
From the people behind King Kong, a film in which a mad scientist shrinks a group of people to a few inches tall. Some excellent effects for the era, making this one of the best films on the theme of miniaturisation
East of Piccadilly (1940)
Psycho-Thriller/Apartment Building of Weird Tenants
An obscure British thriller about murders in an apartment building of eccentric tenants. This turns into something really quite strange
Fantasia (1940)
Disney Animation and Music Anthology
The best animated film Disney ever made, created as a work of art with animation set to classical music. The segments vary between abstraction, comic eccentricity and evocations of nightmare. The results are magical.
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
Serial/Space Opera
The third of the Flash Gordon serials, not quite at the heights of the previous two but with a colour and exoticism that was head and shoulders above the other serials of the era
The Ghost Breakers (1940)
Old Dark House Comedy
The 1939 Bob Hope comedy remake of The Cat and the Canary was a big hit; here he and Paulette Goddard are put through the same in what is all but a sequel. Hope is on top form again
The Green Hornet (1940)
Serial/Masked Superhero
The first screen appearance of the masked superhero The Green Hornet in a thirteen-chapter serial that was adapted from a popular radio series. Later remade as a tv series and feature film.
The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
Universal Invisible Man Sequel
The second of Universal’s Invisible Man films with Vincent Price inheriting the title role. Not quite as sublimely droll as James Whale’s original, this still has some amusing comic moment and good effects
The Invisible Woman (1940)
Universal Invisible Man Sequel
Third entry in Universal’s Invisible Man series. Though less recognised, The Invisible Man series had a level of creativity higher than Universal’s other monster series. This one plays everything for broad comedy
Li’l Abner (1940)
Gonzo Comic-Strip Adaptation
An appealingly nonsensical film adaptation of Al Capp’s comic-strip set in a parody of nowhere hicksville USA. The first films version, although is overshadowed by the more popular 1959 musical
The Mummy’s Hand (1940)
Universal Mummy Film
The first and best of Universal’s Mummy sequels with Tom Tyler in the role, this achieves modest atmosphere
Murder in the Air (1940)
Air Adventure/Deadly Ray Weapon
The only Ronald Reagan film that will ever be reviewed on this site. An air adventure story typical to the era where Reagan pays a treasury agent who tries to bust a fifth column of agents trying to steal a raygun
One Million B.C. (1940)
Cavemen vs Dinosaurs/Prehistoric Drama
Classic caveman vs dinosaurs prehistoric drama later to be remade as the more famous version with Raquel Welch. This plays as fairly creaky today but gains an undeniable vividness with the raw ferocity of its dinosaur scenes (played by optically enlarged lizards)
Pinocchio (1940)
Disney Animation/Living Puppet Boy
One of the great Disney animated classics from the still unsurpassed era between 1937-42. The studio were at the peak of their game artistically and the film embodies a near-perfect sense of childlike innocence
The Shadow (1940)
Masked Superhero/Serial
A serial adaptation of the popular radio superhero, which gets the look of the character perfect but drops all his mystical powers
Strange Cargo (1940)
Jesus Christ Aids Devil's Island Escapees
One of the strangest films of the 1940s, featuring Clark Gable, Joan Crawford and others as a group of Devil’s Island escapees who realise during the course of their journey that one of the company is Jesus Christ
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
Film Noir Psycho-Thriller
Cited as the first film noir, this is a fascinating psycho film about a man tormented by guilt over convicting the wrong man
The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
Arabian Nights Adventure
An Arabian Nights adventure that offers up one of the purest blends of fantasy and romance of its era. Filled with stunning directorial set-pieces and magnificent sets and all shot in colour.
Turnabout (1940)
Husband-Wife Bodyswap Screwball Comedy
A madcap screwball comedy in which a husband and wife swap bodies. The very first bodyswap film. From director Hal Roach who discovered Laurel and Hardy
You’ll Find Out (1940)
Old Dark House Comedy
Old Dark House comedy set around the antics of big band leader Kay Kyser. Starring several horror names of the day – Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre