The Black Cat (1941)    

Directed by: Albert S. Rogell

Release date: May 2nd, 1941

Comments: Undistinguished comedy-chiller involving the familiar routine of old dark house, reading of a will, assorted murders. Nothing to do with Poe's story except for some business involving cats, it's worth watching mainly for the admirable Stanley Cortez camerawork. Alan Ladd has a small role as Rathbone's son.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Man Made Monster (1941)

Directed by: George Waggner

Release date: March 28th, 1941

Comments: While Man-Made Monster is not one of the all-time great horror films like many of its thirties and forties Universal Pictures celluloid brethren, it is not without certain merits; in particular, it can be viewed historically as the proving ground for one of Universal's undisputed classics, The Wolf Man. Both filmed in 1941, Man-Made Monster first teamed many of the people who would later collaborate on The Wolf Man. Star Lon Chaney Jr., and director George Waggner are well known to have gone on to make the furry opus, but many of the other talents that reunited for the Wolf Man included some of Universal's stable of technicians and artists like special effects wizard John P. Fulton (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Ten Commandments), makeup magician Jack Pierce (Frankenstein, The Mummy), musical director Hans Salter (The Mummy's Hand, Ghost of Frankenstein) and costumer Vera West (The Man Who Laughs, Son of Frankenstein).

Excerpt from Jason Jones review at Classic Horror located HERE

Horror Island (1941)     

Directed by: George Waggner

Release date: March 28th, 1941

Comments: A small-time entrepreneur takes advantage of a fake treasure map he has acquired to stage a treasure-making scheme to an island with an old castle that he has rigged up to be haunted. However, he finds himself being stalked by a killer known as "The Phantom," and the treasure-seekers find themselves being knocked off one by one.

Excerpt from Dave Sindelar review at Sc-fi.org located HERE

Night Monster  (1942)     

Directed by: Ford Beebe

Release date: October 20th, 1942

Comments: ...as for the movie itself, it's a minor Universal horror film, to be sure, but it's probably my favorite of their lesser ones. There's very little padding or wasted space, and it has the courage of its convictions in that it isn't simply a mystery disguised as a horror film (which one might suspect, given the fact that the movie is sort of a variation of the "Old Dark House" type of movie). The first time I saw this movie was in unusual circumstances; my local Creature Feature had mixed the final reels of this movie with the opening reels of THE MUMMY'S HAND, and I found myself suddenly thrown into another plot halfway through the movie. Nevertheless, at least one scene remained stuck indelibly in my memory; this is the scene where we learn the truth about the paralysis suffered by the patriarch of the house. Also, the clever use of sound is memorable; the croaking frogs in the vicinity become quiet whenever the murderer is around. The movie uses this devise sparingly, but very effectively. This was one movie I hadn't seen in years until I saw it for this series of movies. It was nice to see how well it held up.

Excerpt from Dave Sindelar review at Sci-fi.org located HERE

Captive Wild Woman  (1943)

Directed by: Edward Dmytryk

Release date: June 4th, 1943

Comments: A 61-minute Universal programmer from 1943, directed by Edward Dmytryk, in which John Carradine turns an orangutan into a beautiful woman (Acquanetta) who goes nuts because of unrequited love and kills a lot of men. This was popular enough to spawn two sequels, Jungle Woman and Jungle Captive.