"The Ape" is one of those old black-and-white movies that is commonly considered “horror” but barely fits the bill. Really it’s best described as tragically dramatic. The horrific elements are encompassed in a couple of killings by an escaped ape and the coordinated but unsuccessful hunt as the townsfolk fear for their lives from the animal on the loose.

The focus in on Dr. Adrian, an ostracized medical researcher who is determined, even desperate, to cure the disease that took the lives of his wife and daughter. (The summary says Polio, but I don’t recall the movie itself ever saying what it is). The townsfolk don’t like Adrian and even lie about him to incite trouble. In actuality he is doing all he can to cure a young girl afflicted with his pet disease.

An accident at the circus allows a huge ape to escape with a couple of people getting killed in the process. Adrian has the opportunity to collect spinal fluid from the victims which is the last thing he needs to complete his cure. Unfortunately, his samples aren’t enough. How far will he go for his cure? Will he murder under the guise of the ape to accomplish his goal?

The setup of the doctor and his work is well done. There’s a good story in this with a tragic but satisfying conclusion. The ape aspect, though is weak. Part of this is due to the lack of realism in the animal which, in turn, has partially to do with some weak narrative progression. The events between the meeting of Adrian and the ape and the next sighting of the ape are never properly explained. I think part of that is because there is supposed to be a twist to it, but once the twist is revealed the gaps leading to it are never really filled in. There’s also an event that happens upon that second ape sighting that has a poor follow up, but I won’t go into details so as to avoid spoilers.

The doctor’s patient is a girl whose legs are paralyzed. Her boyfriend is nervous about the treatment she’s being given especially since it causes her great pain. He expresses his distaste of the treatment even to the point of confronting Adrian with the danger of violence. Maybe it’s the result of such different cultures all these years later, but I don’t think the guy’s reactions are all that well done. To me they seem too extreme without enough provocation. He'd rather condemn this girl to death in the name of sparing her a little short-term pain? Not very smart.

The acting isn’t bad for the most part. Boris Karloff is great. The movie might very well have gotten boring if it were anyone of lesser presence in the lead role. I’m not familiar with any of the other actors and not impressed enough to take particular note although I can’t think of anyone that I specifically didn’t like, either.

Was the ape added into the mix just to keep this movie in the horror genre? Or maybe the idea was the killer ape and the story written to try to justify it? It does play directly into the ending, but I can’t help but think that an escaped lunatic rather than a poorly done animal would have worked better from a cinematic perspective. The cheesiness of the ape just serves to weaken what could be a nicely dramatic plot.