- Director: George Waggner
- Writers: Harry Essex, Sid Schwartz
- Starring: Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Nagel
- Run time: 59 Minutes
- Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2YVeKEE
Synopsis
It was a dark and stormy night, the bus slides in the rain and crashes into an electric pole. Dan McCormick was the lone survivor. He shows no signs of the electrocution that killed the driver and all the other passengers. He explains that he’s “Dynamo Dan The Electric Man,” who runs an act at the carnival where he sticks his finger in a light socket and get a shock.
Dr. Lawrence goes home and talks to his daughter, June. He’s soon off to a conference on electrobiology. He goes in the back room to his lab and sees Dr. Paul Rigas doing an experiment. Rigas believes that man is controlled by electricity, and that he can develop a superior race of man whose only need will be electricity. Dr. Lawrence gives the “some things men were not meant to know” speech, and calls Rigas mad. They disagree, but they’re friendly about it.
Mark, a newspaper reporter, comes to see June. He knows that Dan came to their house to see Dr. Lawrence.
Dan needs a job, and Dr. Lawrence offers him a job. He thinks maybe Dan has built up an immunity to electricity from repeated exposure in his act. He thinks Dan may hold the solution to accidental electrocution. Dan gets room and board, and the two doctors get to experiment on him. Dan and June start hitting it off, and everything is great. Dan even teaches their dog to do tricks.
While Dr. Lawrence is away at his conference, Dr. Rigas starts doing more interesting experiments on Dan. He straps him into a machine and turns it on. We see on the readout that the “radiation energy units” meter goes way up. Dan goes to sleep, but Dr. Rigas tells him to get up. Dan obeys. Dan reaches for the family dog, and electricity sparks from his fingers.
They repeat the experiment over the next days, each time increasing the voltage. Dan starts becoming addicted to the electricity. June starts worrying about Dan, he seems lethargic. Truth is, he only cares about the electric now.
Lawrence returns, and notices that Dan’s blood is very different than it used to be before he left town. Rigas messes with Lawrence’s medication, and he ends up in bed. Dan is sick; Lawrence is sick; June starts getting suspicious.
Rigas is ready for the final experiment: as high as the machine will go. It’s way too much, and now Dan glows with raw electricity. Rigas puts Dan in a heavy rubber suit to insulate him and keep him fully charged. Lawrence comes in and Rigas orders Dan to kill him. Rigas does something to discharge Dan’s power, and he stops glowing. June returns and Dan admits killing Lawrence.
Dan is arrested. The police question Rigas about the experiments. The police question Dan, and he sticks to his confession. He’s soon found guilty and sentenced to death… in the electric chair.
Finally, the day rolls around, and the execution goes as planned, at least until they throw the switch. The power drain just won’t stop! Dan forces the warden to walk him out of the prison. We’re told he can’t live more than three more hours, but how they would possibly know that is unclear. Dan then steals some rubber boots, which will extend his time.
Dan walks through the moors and returns to the laboratory. Meanwhile, June confronts Rigas, and he tell she everything with pride. He straps June down to the table, preparing to zap her too. Dan breaks in and kills Rigas.
Dan carries June out into the swamps with the police on his tail. Dan gets hung up on a barbed-wire fence that drains all his power, and he dies.
Commentary
Rigas plan is silly. He wants to create a superman, but Dan is just tired and lazy all the time until he gets supercharged. This is not an improvement over needing food.
Overall, the science here is atrocious, but the acting is good, even Lon Chaney, who was good enough that they later cast him in the upcoming film, The Wolf Man.