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Get ready for unlimited thrills and chills as all six of Universal's classic Inner Sanctum Mysteries come to DVD for the first time ever. You'll have a hauntingly good time with horror icon Lon Chaney, Jr., as he gives timeless performances in these spooky feature-length films: Calling Dr. Death, Weird Woman, Dead Man's Eyes, The Frozen Ghost, Strange Confession and Pillow of Death. Based on the popular radio shows of the 1940's, this collectible set is a must-own for every classic mystery and horror fan. Death, dementia, dark arts...it's just another day in the forbidding and fascinating world of the Inner Sanctum! Calling Dr. Death (1943): A distraught doctor is tormented by voices in his head that are urging him to end his unhappy marriage - forever. Weird Woman (1944): Sorcery and superstition take a walk down the aisle when a professor marries a woman raised in the jungle by voodoo witchcraft practitioners and then dismisses her ominous warnings. Dead Man's Eyes (1944): When an artist loses his sight in a freak accident, his future father-in-law promises to bequeath his own eyes upon his death - which ends up being much, much sooner than anyone could foresee. The Frozen Ghost (1945): Things are certainly not what they seem when a hypnotist takes refuge in the spectacular mansion of a female friend who made her money from a creepy wax museum. Strange Confession (1945): A brilliant chemist with the key to the cure for influenza is force to take drastic measures when his greedy boss prematurely releases the unfinished drug to the public. Pillow of Death (1945): A psychopathic killer is on the loose, so the eccentric and wealthy Kincaid family calls in a psychic investigator to put an end to the mysterious murders haunting their household.
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"This is the Inner Sanctum...." And this is the world of B-movies, where Hollywood studios churned out entertaining little numbers to fill out an evening back in the Golden Age. Universal's Inner Sanctum series, released in 1943-45, was inspired by the successful radio show of the same title. They're gathered on Inner Sanctum Mysteries: The Complete Movie Collection, a fun grouping of a minor cinematic achievement.
All six films star the phlegmatic Lon Chaney Jr., and most begin with a floating head in the crystal ball, welcoming us to the inner sanctum, "A strange, fantastic world, controlled by a mass of living, pulsating flesh... the mind." The vaguely supernatural promise of this grabby opening is rarely fulfilled by the movies, which tend to be acceptable murder mysteries with--despite the wacky titles--very little horror content. Chaney plays a man of some distinction (a professor in Weird Woman, famous mentalist in The Frozen Ghost, physician in Calling Dr. Death) who runs afoul of women (among them Evelyn Ankers and Patricia Morison) and murder. At some point in each movie he has some elaborate voice-over agony, making clear the connection to the radio series' interior monologue. The one-hour-and-change productions are handsome, considering their budget restrictions, and Universal's prints are well-preserved; the literacy of the writing is surprisingly high--although decent writing can't put much zip into the proceedings.
Weird Woman is probably the best of the bunch, an adaptation of Fritz Leiber's novel Conjure Wife (later filmed as Burn, Witch, Burn!). Chaney is an expert on superstition who marries a voodoo-obsessed woman, whose spells might be responsible for his rapid professional rise. The influence of Cat People is as strong as the source novel. Calling Dr. Death, the first in the series, is duller, with a hypnotism-minded Chaney bedeviled by a wanton wife who conveniently dies under mysterious circumstances. Dead Man's Eyes and the amazingly-titled Pillow of Death are more fun, the former a variation on the old eye-transplant story and the latter a whodunit with lawyer Chaney accused of his wife's murder (the supernatural touch this time: séances).
Strange Confession has Chaney as an honest chemist battling an evil pharmaceutical tycoon (J. Carrol Naish), and The Frozen Ghost combines two horror staples, the unstable mentalist and the wax museum. It's just crazy enough to be entertaining, even if there's no ghost (and hardly any freezing). All in all, the DVD set is a good look at Universal's second-tier output of the era. And then there's Chaney, whose jowly steadfastness can become weirdly fascinating if you watch a few of these close together. Universal put him hard to work after the success of 1941's The Wolf Man, and alongside his monster-movie excursions and his singular triumph in Of Mice and Men, the Inner Sanctum pictures represent Chaney's best moment as a leading man. Despite his limitations, he'll always have his spot in the Universal galaxy. --Robert Horton
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- Color; Dolby; DVD; Full Screen; Subtitled; NTSC
Inner Sanctum Mysteries Complete Movie Collection (Calling Dr. Death / Weird Woman / The Frozen Ghost / Pillow of Death / Dead Man's Eyes / Strange Confession) Reviews
Inner Sanctum Mysteries Complete Movie Collection (Calling Dr. Death / Weird Woman / The Frozen Ghost / Pillow of Death / Dead Man's Eyes / Strange Confession) Reviews
| 81 of 88 people found the following review helpful:  ANOTHER GREAT COLLECTION FROM UNIVERSAL!!, By Ghoulchick "Old-school horror film fiend" (Bronx, New York United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: Inner Sanctum Mysteries Complete Movie Collection (Calling Dr. Death / Weird Woman / The Frozen Ghost / Pillow of Death / Dead Man's Eyes / Strange Confession) (DVD) From the silent era to the late 1940's no other studio could do horror and mystery films like Universal. The lighting, shadows, great sets, music, awesome camera work and actors gave their films a very distinct atmosphere. They gave us Dracula, The Mummy, The Old Dark House and the Wolfman making legends of Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney, Jr. Now Universal has opened up their movie vaults once more, to give us another classic collection. The Inner Sanctum films were based on the popular radio series of the same name. The Inner Sanctum Mysteries Complete Movie Collection set includes the following films: Calling Dr. Death (1943) Weird Woman (1944) Dead Man's Eyes (1944) The Frozen Ghost (1945) Strange Confession (1945) Pillow of Death (1945) Check out their upcoming Karloff Collection as well! 52 of 56 people found the following review helpful: Who Woulda' Believed It ????, By This review is from: Inner Sanctum Mysteries Complete Movie Collection (Calling Dr. Death / Weird Woman / The Frozen Ghost / Pillow of Death / Dead Man's Eyes / Strange Confession) (DVD) I purchased these on VHS years ago. And, over the years, I have watched them several times. They are some of Universal Studios best short movies and well deserve wide distribution. I must admit that I am a great fan of Lon Chaney, Jr. and the additional talents of Evelyn Ankers in any Universal production is a definite plus. Without previewing each episode, I will summarize in saying that these short movies are well worth the money, the time, and I am grateful to Universal for releasing them. They are a treasure and a collection of movie history. 27 of 28 people found the following review helpful: Horror is Universal (and so is Mystery!), By This review is from: Inner Sanctum Mysteries Complete Movie Collection (Calling Dr. Death / Weird Woman / The Frozen Ghost / Pillow of Death / Dead Man's Eyes / Strange Confession) (DVD) Once again, the folks at Universal have given us something to get excited about. Here are all 6 of the studio's "Inner Sanctum" mysteries in one low-priced set. Fans of Lon Chaney Jr. who were disappointed with Image's recent "Lon Chaney Collection" will certainly find much to love here. I'll readily admit that he lacked the acting chops of his contemporaries like Karloff and Lugosi, but his roles here are varied and give this "black sheep" of Universal horror a chance to shine. Remember, these feature-length (well...most of them clock in at just over an hour) films were based on the popular radio series of the same name. As such, they tend to be a bit "talky." But the production values are high, and a couple of the stories actually generate some suspense. In addition to the sharp black & white photography, the best thing about these films is probably the supporting cast. Frequent Chaney co-star Evelyn Ankers, as well as Universal players Anne Gwynne and J. Carroll... Read more |
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