Inner Sanctum Mysteries Complete Movie Collection (1945)

Creepy Tales but not from the Sanctum

Universal finally decided to put all six B-grade low budgets on DVD. According to the superb INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES: BEHIND THE CREAKING DOOR by Martin Grams (also available on Amazon.com), Universal created a series of six low budget pictures with Lon Chaney Jr. in the lead. Evelyn Ankers was pregnant in one movie, so the film in which she stands behind a sofa and other concealments was done on purpose. The studio would have let her go if the heads had known. Contrary to popular belief, Lon Chaney Jr. did appear as a guest on the radio program (once) but that was a year and a half before Universal began filming so his appearance was NOT for publicity purposes.

STRANGE CONFESSION was a remake of THE MAN WHO RECLAIMED HIS HEAD and the studio faced a lawsuit in the 1940s, preventing that film to be shown on late-night tube TV in the 1950s for such programs as Shock Theatre. The reason you see a head in the globe and not a creaking door was because the studio optioned to buy the screen rights from Himan Brown, the creator/producer/director of the radio program and when he wouldn't sell it to them without a huge ransom, they discovered that he did not even own the name. Brown made an agreement with Simon & Schuster for the use of the Inner Sanctum name, on condition that at the end of each month, the latest paperback novel using the Inner Sanctum name would be mentioned. The publishing company profited through this arrangement. So the studio got permission from S&S to use the Inner Sanctum name and instructed very specific in the press books to theater owners not to make any mention of the radio program to avoid lawsuits. Brown owned the rights to the creaking door and nothing else. Hence the reason why no creaking door in the beginning of each movie, and the on-screen credit to S&S. September 26, 2008

What a stud!!!

I was pleasantly surprised by this series. Very entertaining.
I find "Strange Confession" the most realistic and plausible: Chemist invents drug, wants to perfect it yet the boss who takes all the credit wants to prematurely release the drug and this leads to tragic consequnces. I can see that happening nowadays...
On the screen, there is a lot of introspection and self-analysis on Lon Chaney Jr.'s Part. Helps the viewer calm down and analyze the facts.
Now the reason for my title: What I found hillarious is how all 6 movies have plots that at least partly develop due to the attraction of some to either Lon Chaney or to his significant other... some being ready to kill because of that attraction... January 14, 2008

GREAT COLLECTION AND FUN TO WATCH!!!

On Sunday afternoons when I was growing up, our local station used to have a program called "Horror Theater". I remember every one of these movies popping up once in a while. The one that stood out for me back then was "Weird Woman". When VHS released this set a few years ago I nabbed it immediately. Imagine my elation when I saw this for sale on DVD! I didn't even know they were releasing them. This films are moody, funny and sometimes even a little creepy with top-notch production values the only way Universal could do them. Sure they're B films, each only over an hour in length but they move along at such a brisk pace that they are fun to watch! I'll pull these out on a late Sunday afternoon (right before dark of course)and have a ball. Highly entertaining and worth getting. They are all good but I'll rank them in order of my preference:
1. Weird Woman 2. Pillow of Death 3. Dead Man's Eyes 4. The Frozen Ghost 5) Dead Man's Eyes and 6) Strange Confession. Enjoy!! September 14, 2007

Pleases all ages, from Grandma to kids.

Can't beat this movie collection if you are like me and like the old B/W campy "scary" movies. Ones that really deals with the implied rather than showing the gory stuff.
And the movies can be watched together as a family. Get out the popcorn and drinks and settle back some rainy night. Enjoy. September 9, 2007

Six with Chaney

In the days before television really took over, the rough equivalent of TV series were put out by movie studios. Churned out quickly by "B" movie units, these movies tended to be produced every few months and short (like TV shows, they would all run around the same length). For example, Universal put out a whole series of Sherlock Holmes and Abbott and Costello movies. Another example from Universal Pictures was the Inner Sanctum Mysteries, a series of six mystery movies all starring Lon Chaney, Jr. The Inner Sanctum of the title was the mind, which as the Spirit of the Inner Sanctum would warn us at the beginning of every movie (but the last one) was capable of plotting murder.

The earlier Inner Sanctum movies would provide voice-over "thoughts" from Chaney to demonstrate his inner turmoil, a gimmick which diminishes as the series goes on. In general, the movies also are plotted similarly, with Chaney accused of a murder and his attempts to vindicate himself. Even this storyline would eventually get a little more variety in the final movies.

The first disc in this two disc set features three movies: Calling Dr. Death, Weird Woman and Dead Man's Eyes. In Calling Dr. Death, Chaney is a neurologist accuses of killing his wife while having an affair with his nurse. It also features Patricia Morison, most notable in Dressed to Kill as the villainess who matches wits with Sherlock Holmes in the final Rathbone movie. (Since these movies all featured contract players, actors repeatedly show up in all sorts of Universal movies).

Weird Woman has Chaney as an anthropologist who marries a woman who believes in witchcraft. When he destroys her magic charms, bad things begin to happen. This movie also stars Evelyn Ankers, a frequent Chaney costar (including The Wolf Man and Son of Dracula). In Dead Man's Eyes, Chaney is an artist accidentally blinded; a corneal transplant provides a possible chance at sight, but he is accused of killing the donor.

Frozen Ghost (the first of three movies on the second disc) has Chaney as a hypnotist who believes he can kill with his gaze. Much of this movie takes place in a wax museum, where death and intrigue occur, and once again, Evelyn Ankers costars. The last two movies have Brenda Joyce as the female lead. Strange Confession has Chaney as a chemist developing an influenza cure, only to be derailed by his duplicitous boss. And while Pillow of Death may have the weakest title in the bunch, it offers a bit of a different plot, with Chaney - as in Calling Dr. Death - accused of murdering his wife to be with his assistant. This is also the longest of the movies, at 67 minutes.

Unlike the two actors Chaney is often associated with, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Chaney comes off as relatively normal, which is why he is often given normal romances; relationships featuring Karloff or Lugosi tend to be either sexless or warped. As an actor, however, Chaney is just average and these movies are only passable. There are more than a few cliches in the writing and even at just an hour, the films can sometimes drag. They're not awful movies and at least they look reasonably good. On the other hand, with no extras, I can only give the set a low three stars. If you are a fan of these old movies, there will be some value to getting this set, but there are also a lot better movies available; this set should only be for either novelty value or for completists.
May 13, 2007

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