Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

So much average

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The first of the "Inner Sanctum" series of six films based on a popular radio show at the time. This is a well made, atmospheric almost film noir murder mystery. Good performances from Lon Chaney Jnr and J Carroll Naish , here cast in a good guy role. It's rather easy to guess who the guilty party is, but that's beside the point, this is a well made little film.

After the radio mystery show "Inner Sanctum" had been running for two years with huge success, Universal Pictures decided to make a movie out of it - which was itself so successful that it became a movie serial, consisting of six films altogether, all of them starring Lon Chaney Jr. in different roles; just like Richard Dix in the "Whistler" series - only with MUCH more suspense, mystery and a DEFINITE touch of Film Noir, especially this first and enormously impressive entry...Here, Lon Chaney Jr. plays a successful neurologist who's helping lots of people with severe psychological problems by entering into their subconscious hypnotizing them, and finding the underlying reasons for their diseases - only he can't help HIMSELF: his marriage has been unhappy for years, his beautiful wife has turned away from him, cheating on him with other men, making him feel ridiculous and jealous - and ANGRY... And one day, after another quarrel about her affairs, she is found murdered - while Dr. Steel finds himself in his office the next morning, suffering from amnesia. And while hard-boiled Inspector Gregg starts bothering him immediately, trying to get a confession out of him, Steel himself begins to believe that he's guilty; so the only way to find out the truth (while his wife's boyfriend, who keeps protesting his innocence, is waiting on Death Row for his execution), he thinks, is by having his faithful assistant Stella hypnotize him and record his memories on disk...There are SO many twists and turns in this REALLY 'noirish', gloomy and fateful story (underlined by surrealistic camera and sound effects) that towards the end, we all feel almost like being under hypnosis ourselves, and no one knows anymore who the real killer is - and those who are realistic enough to guess, just don't want to believe it... But the MOST unbelievable thing is - that a movie of THIS class today seems almost forgotten, and isn't even considered by most people as 'Noir'!! While in comparison to this dark masterpiece full of doomed men, reckless femmes fatales and cynical cops, even some of the greatest and most celebrated Noirs (like, let's say "The Big Sleep", which is full of murders, but also of playful jokes, and does have its cheerful happy ending) look almost like children's films...

I hadn't intended to purchase this Set - and only did so after constant prodding by Joe Karlosi; in essence, these films are no worse than the lower-profile sequels of the Universal monster pictures, such as the follow-ups to THE MUMMY (1932) and THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933).This was the first of six "Inner Sanctum" mysteries all starring Lon Chaney Jr. (with his frequent voice-over linking them rather naively with the concurrent noir subgenre) and featuring portentous - and hilarious - intros by a disembodied head in a crystal ball! It's not too bad in itself, with the plot overly familiar but fairly involving - Chaney's mind goes blank one weekend and when he comes to, discovers his unloving wife has been murdered! Of course, he's the chief suspect of dogged detective J. Carroll Naish (the best thing about the entire film) though it's the woman's lover, named Robert Duval(!), who's actually accused - and convicted - of the crime. The characters are all relatively engaging (Chaney is a celebrated neurologist with beautiful Patricia Morison as his devoted assistant) and the plot development plausible enough, making for an entertaining and fast-paced 63 minutes. The final revelation, then, is at once surprising and satisfying.

"Calling Dr. Death" was the first of six "Inner Sanctum" mysteries produced by Universal between 1943 and 1945 starring Lon Chaney Jr. They were adapted from the popular radio program of the day of the same name.In the opener, Chaney plays neurologist Dr. Mark Steel who is stuck in a loveless marriage with gold digging wife Maria (Ramsey Ames) who is having an affair with Robert Duval (David Bruce). After he learns that the two plan a weekend together at the Steel's country house, Mark becomes despondent and drives aimlessly around the country.The following Monday morning Mark's assistant Stella Madden (Patricia Morison) finds him asleep at his desk. He is unable to remember his whereabouts for the last part of the weekend. Suddenly he is arrested for Maria's murder. Detective Inspector Gregg (J. Carroll Naish) is assigned to the case.Later it is learned that Maria's lover Duval has been arrested for the murder. He is convicted and sentenced to death. Meanwhile Insp. Gregg who believes Duval to be innocent, continues to dog Mark. As Duval's execution date approaches, Mark allows himself to be hypnotized in order to find the truth. Who done it? Hmmmmmmm.Universal continued to use Chaney to the maximum, not really knowing how to handle his talent. In addition to his horror roles (Wolf Man, Dracula, Frankenstein's Montster etc.) he would also show up in the studio's serials, westerns or even in Abbott & Costello comedies.Watch for 30s "B" movie hero Rex Lease as one of the detectives who arrest Chaney.