Return of the Ape Man
Return of the Ape Man is a 1944 American film distributed by Monogram Pictures. It was directed by Philip Rosen with top-billed star Bela Lugosi and supporting actors John Carradine, George Zucco, Frank Moran, Judith Gibson and Michael Ames. Plot. Two professors find a prehistoric caveman during an Arctic expedition. Professor Dexter (Bela Lugosi) and Professor John Gilmore (John Carradine) bring the frozen exhibit back home and soon devise a plan. The want to implant a more evolved brain into the caveman, with hopes of being able to control and utilize him. George Zucco  and Frank Moran play the apeman. Cast notes. George Zucco is co-credited on screen and in the publicity, along with Moran, as having played the Ape Man. At the onset of the laboratory scene where Prof. Dexter (Lugosi) and Gilmore (Carradine) are preparing to melt the caveman free from the block of ice, Zucco is shown in the Ape Man makeup - albeit briefly. Zucco's prominent nose, as well as his injured and withered left arm/hand (from a WWI injury) are clearly visible facing the camera. The shot then switches away from the Ape Man. When it returns  again to the same shot, Moran has replaced Zucco. The producers later explained he became ill during the filming. Other speculations are that Zucco was deemed too old to carry out the role, or that he simply refused to play the part.