Lon Chaney Jr Becomes the “Man Made Monster”- Tonight!

It's a new-to-the-Sven-show movie - the film that supposedly got Lon Jr. his role as "The Wolf Man"-it's the electrifying terror of the "Man Made Monster"!

We witness a sad and deadly accident- as a bus speeding down a slippery rainy road careens into an electrical tower. Everyone riding perishes- except one man- a carny known as "Dynamo Dan" who was somehow unaffected by the  high voltage! Kindly Dr. Lawrence is mystified by his survival, and invites him to stay at his home research facility, so he can study him and try to find out why he has endured the power. Could it be Dan's work in a sideshow act with electricity has conditioned his body to withstand the power?

Working with the doctor is one Dr. Rigas- who has been conducting his own experiments,trying to see if he can convert living creatures into beings that only need electricity to survive. Rigas is all too eager to work with happy-go-lucky Dan "the Dynamo Man"- and secretly begins feeding him huge amounts of electricity that would kill anyone else! His experimentation causes mental and physical changes in Dan- until the fateful night when he converts him into a glowing human dynamo- whom he can command to do his evil bidding! How do you protect yourself from a super-charged zombie-like human weapon that can't be stopped or killed?!

This fascinating 1941 horror film is unique , in that big Lon is really so happy and chipper during the early part of the film- a far cry from the usual brooding Larry Talbot he would become. There are nice effects for this era of film, and some fine performances- and- the movie is pretty short- giving us time for some extra Sven fun-including a few scenes in "Svensurround"- a look at the costume contest from last year's "Nightmare on Chicago Street"- and- a few segments with comedian Dana Gould-a former "Seinfeld" character,writer for "The Simpsons",and host of the "Dana Gould Hour" podcast- and, a big Sven and horror movie fan! He drops by to give us some laughs and some amazing information about an iconic horror host he befriended (no, not me...) It's a show loaded with freaky fun!

"Man Made Monster" switches on tonight on MeTV  at 10 pm eastern/pacific, 9 central, or check your local listings for airtime. Chicago gets a second run of "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" at 11 am on MeTV.

Once again, you may enjoy listening to the anniversary broadcast of "Those Were the Days"- the golden age of radio showcase now in its 45th year- with performances featuring Rich Koz (here's hoping the Groucho Marx bit makes the cut!) and MST3K's Trace Beaulieu, among others. It runs from 1-5 pm this afternoon on WDCB-FM; you can listen online as well- all the info is at www.wdcb.org

Thanks for all the kind congratulations on our Rondo win- again, it's all of you who made that possible! I will try to justify your wonderful support and keep the Sven show moving forward and bringing you quality creature features and fun.

Make sure you tune in MeTV tonight-for  a real "shocker"!