Loses sight of its premise in over-long circus sequences. There's a few creepy moments and Carradine kicks ass, but it never seems to know what to do with itself. The level of animal cruelty on display is really unsettling, too.

Universal honchos' efforts to add a recurring female fiend to their '40s monster roster came up short with these "Ape Woman" films. This is the first and best of the threesome, but that's a less-than-gala testimonial. Indeed, with Stone as a Clyde Beatty wannabe (matched with lots of actual Beatty footage), this plays more like a circus picture than a horror flick, with wild-animal acts eating up much of the screentime. Carradine easily steals his scenes.