Often cited as a poor, low-budget entry in the then-popular The Cat and the Canary-style thriller cycle, The Monster Walks, from fly-by-night company Action Pictures, is certainly low-budget, but it is also heaps of fun for those able to overlook some extremely racist comedy featuring Sleep 'n' Eat (aka Willie Best). That, however, remains a difficult task for modern audiences who may quite correctly be alarmed by such "bits of business" as Best blithely considering a resemblance between himself and Yogi, the film's monster ape (actually a chimpanzee). Just like its most famous predecessor, and obvious inspiration, The Cat and the Canary, The Monster Walks is written tongue-in-cheek, but acted fairly straight by an august cast that includes Mischa Auer (who at one point plays a decidedly off-key version of Brahms' Lullaby), and, as the inevitably skulking housekeeper, Martha Mattox. The latter basically repeats her performance from Cat. Rex Lease and Vera Reynolds (who was the wife of the film's screenwriter, Robert Ellis) are fine in the ingénue leads, although the latter is a bit long in the tooth to play naive, and director Frank R. Strayer does what he can within the limited budget. Best's uncomfortable moments notwithstanding, The Monster Walks is actually a great deal more enjoyable than its tattered reputation.