INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES
INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES
2-Disk, 6-Movie Box Set from Universal
As a fan of the old time radio show, Inner Sanctum, I'd been dying to see these films for years. This two-disk set does not disappoint! The prints and sound are fantastic, as are the films themselves. Lon Chaney and Evelyn Ankers are backed up by a solid supporting cast in each of the six films. Each film runs for an hour and change, so they move along at a good clip and never outstay their welcome, unlike some of the bloated "epics" clogging theaters these days.
Disk 1 is the best; all three films ("Calling Dr. Death," "Weird Woman," and "Dead Man's Eyes") are winners start to finish. "Weird Woman" is an adaptation of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser creator Fritz Lieber's classic "Conjure Wife."
Disk 2 leads off with the excellent "The Frozen Ghost" (a precursor to "House of Wax"), but "Strange Confession," while good, and benefitting from a young Lloyd Bridges as Chaney's sidekick, takes half its run time to set up the plot, and "Pillow of Death" is a bit weak in the script department (though it will keep you guessing "whodunnit"), and Chaney takes awhile to show up, then disappears again for a bit before taking center stage.
Note that just like most episodes of the radio show, there is no supernatural horror here, despite some window dressing (witches, haunted houses); these are more like melodramatic, moralistic mystery/thrillers than horror films. A lot of the so-called "horror" from the 1930s-1940s, regardless of the media in which it was presented (film, fiction, radio), fit this bill, so that's not surprising to me, but might be to those unfamiliar with it...
You can find episodes of the long-running Inner Sanctum radio show online and I highly recommend picking some up and giving them a listen on some dark, lonely night at home or on the road. You might just get hooked!
Also, check out this taut 1948 Poverty Row version of Inner Sanctum (minus Lon Chaney). It's available from Alpha Video in a DVD bargain bin near you and is worth the $6.98 if you're into this sort of film.
2-Disk, 6-Movie Box Set from Universal
As a fan of the old time radio show, Inner Sanctum, I'd been dying to see these films for years. This two-disk set does not disappoint! The prints and sound are fantastic, as are the films themselves. Lon Chaney and Evelyn Ankers are backed up by a solid supporting cast in each of the six films. Each film runs for an hour and change, so they move along at a good clip and never outstay their welcome, unlike some of the bloated "epics" clogging theaters these days.
Disk 1 is the best; all three films ("Calling Dr. Death," "Weird Woman," and "Dead Man's Eyes") are winners start to finish. "Weird Woman" is an adaptation of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser creator Fritz Lieber's classic "Conjure Wife."
Disk 2 leads off with the excellent "The Frozen Ghost" (a precursor to "House of Wax"), but "Strange Confession," while good, and benefitting from a young Lloyd Bridges as Chaney's sidekick, takes half its run time to set up the plot, and "Pillow of Death" is a bit weak in the script department (though it will keep you guessing "whodunnit"), and Chaney takes awhile to show up, then disappears again for a bit before taking center stage.
Note that just like most episodes of the radio show, there is no supernatural horror here, despite some window dressing (witches, haunted houses); these are more like melodramatic, moralistic mystery/thrillers than horror films. A lot of the so-called "horror" from the 1930s-1940s, regardless of the media in which it was presented (film, fiction, radio), fit this bill, so that's not surprising to me, but might be to those unfamiliar with it...
You can find episodes of the long-running Inner Sanctum radio show online and I highly recommend picking some up and giving them a listen on some dark, lonely night at home or on the road. You might just get hooked!
Also, check out this taut 1948 Poverty Row version of Inner Sanctum (minus Lon Chaney). It's available from Alpha Video in a DVD bargain bin near you and is worth the $6.98 if you're into this sort of film.
posted by Todd Tjersland at 2:06 PM
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