This is really bottom-of-the-barrel stuff from Universal and, unbelievable as it may seem, I'm of the opinion that it's even worse than the ultra-maligned SHE-WOLF OF London (1946)!
For one thing, here we get an annoying fast-talking reporter hero (Fred Brady) and a predictable villain (Douglass Dumbrille), whereas fine character actor Paul Kelly is wasted in a thankless role - though Noah Beery Jr. does provide some amusement as a wisecracking photographer. The plot itself is quite confusing (particularly the belated introduction of a foreign-sounding mystic, who's actually no more than a red herring!); besides, it has nothing whatsoever to do with THE CAT CREEPS (1930) - which was actually a remake of THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1927) - but does look forward to John Gilling's minor but obviously superior Hammer outing, THE SHADOW OF THE CAT (1961), which I watched (on the big screen!) only a few months ago while in Hollywood.
The film also proved to be director Kenton's last, and undoubtedly least, horror film; he had previously made some enjoyable programmers for the same studio - THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942), HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) and HOUSE OF Dracula (1945) - and, during the previous decade, helmed one of the more notable outings in the genre, Paramount's ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1933)!
For one thing, here we get an annoying fast-talking reporter hero (Fred Brady) and a predictable villain (Douglass Dumbrille), whereas fine character actor Paul Kelly is wasted in a thankless role - though Noah Beery Jr. does provide some amusement as a wisecracking photographer. The plot itself is quite confusing (particularly the belated introduction of a foreign-sounding mystic, who's actually no more than a red herring!); besides, it has nothing whatsoever to do with THE CAT CREEPS (1930) - which was actually a remake of THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1927) - but does look forward to John Gilling's minor but obviously superior Hammer outing, THE SHADOW OF THE CAT (1961), which I watched (on the big screen!) only a few months ago while in Hollywood.
The film also proved to be director Kenton's last, and undoubtedly least, horror film; he had previously made some enjoyable programmers for the same studio - THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942), HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) and HOUSE OF Dracula (1945) - and, during the previous decade, helmed one of the more notable outings in the genre, Paramount's ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1933)!