For many critics and viewers, it’s quite easy to pick on Lon Chaney Jr. (Lonster The Monster) outside of his Lennie Small in OF MICE & MEN and his WOLF MAN performances. Granted he lacked the range of his famous father but, like his father, he was essentially a character actor and he was definitely not cut out to be a leading man. In the 1950s he would give great character performances in HIGH NOON, CASANOVA’S BIG NIGHT, and THE DEFIANT ONES. However in the 1940s, after the success of THE WOLF MAN, he became Universal’s go to horror star replacing Boris Karloff who was appearing on Broadway in ARSENIC & OLD LACE. He reprised all of Karloff’s old roles and more.
In 1943 Universal signed a contract with Simon & Schuster to adapt a series of their popular INNER SANCTUM mysteries which was one of the top radio programs of the era after having had a succesful career in print. Although they were basically mysteries, Universal marketed them as horror films in order to compete with RKO’s Val Lewton movies. The budgets were B movie all the way ($150,000 each) and each picture took less than two weeks to complete. Tired of playing monsters, Chaney jumped at the chance to play the lead in all 6 films and it was his idea to add the “stream of conciousness” voiceovers. They would appear in all but the last movie, PILLOW OF DEATH.
The first offering was CALLING DR DEATH which involves a neurologist who suffers a series of blackouts during which his unfaithful wife is killed. WEIRD WOMAN concerns a college professor whose South Seas island wife uses voodoo to protect him. DEAD MAN’S EYES involves corneal transplants which help to catch the murderer. THE FROZEN GHOST anticipates HOUSE OF WAX in that it takes place in a wax museum and co-stars Martin Kosleck as a mad curator. STRANGE CONFESSION reworks themes from Universal’s THE MAN WHO RECLAIMED HIS HEAD (1934). Finally PILLOW OF DEATH, as the title proclaims, deals with a killer who smothers multiple victims.
The first five of the six films opened with a disembodied head in a crystal ball welcoming you to the “Inner Sanctum” and warning the audience that “even you, without knowing it, could commit murder”. PILLOW OF DEATH dispensed with it and the voiceover narration and is the weakest of the lot. By then the series was tapped out. Tom Weaver, who belittles Chaney (as well as Bela Lugosi and others) throughout his book UNIVERSAL HORRORS, says that Chaney is badly miscast. I agreebut with his strong voice and shopworn face, Chaney makes for a suitable protagonist in all 6 movies. They could be considered mini-Film Noirs and are all very enjoyable. The DVD transfers from the Universal vaults are excellent.
ADDENDUM: After rewatching the INNER SANCTUM series with my wife, she brought a few things to my attention that I had overlooked and which enhanced her viewing experience. 1) The settings and set decoration. They are incredible especially the modern apartments and night clubs in DEAD MAN’S EYES and the dark and creepy wax museum set in THE FROZEN GHOST. 2) The costumes. They are 1940s fashions at their classiest and that includes both the men and the women. From the look of the IS films you would never guess that they were budgeted at $150,000 and shot in less than 2 weeks. Of course the sets were redressed from Universal’s A pictures and the costumes taken from them as well but they do make quite an impression. 3) Paul Kelly who plays the psychiatrist in EYES bears a striking resemblance to Dan Duryea, one of her favorite actors. From her perspective, he more than made up for Chaney’s shortcomings and the “boilerplate dialogue” which didn’t bother me as I wasn’t expecting Shakespeare from an INNER SANCTUM script (although he is significantly quoted in GHOST). BOTTOM LINE: There is something in these movies that should appeal to any fan of 1940s films so check them out.
The Capsule Critic 