Weird Woman

Professor Lon Chaney Jnr (Norman) returns from the jungle with his new wife Anne Gwynne (Paula). He slips back into life at the college but his wife has brought with her a multitude of voodoo trinkets. Two other women at the college, Elizabeth Russell (Evelyn) and Evelyn Ankers (Ilona), don't take kindly to Paula and her jungle ways. Two deaths follow and the guilty party must be brought to justice. Will superstition win the day and dish out some justice?

It's a well-paced film that has good performances from all, especially Elizabeth Russell. She is both funny and scary and has a very direct, no-nonsense approach which gives her the best lines. Evelyn Ankers is also good as Ilona. We know who the guilty party is as the film unfolds but this does not take any mystery away from the proceedings as we are never quite sure what to expect next. There is something lacking with the lead female role, though.

Another installment in the INNER SANCTUM series, WEIRD WOMAN once again stars Lon Chaney Jr. This time out, he plays Professor Norman Reed, whose wife, Paula (Anne Gwynne) just might be returning to her tribal ways.

Cue backstory, complete with bongo drums and leopard skin-clad dancing girls.

Indeed, Professor Reed fell in love with a "jungle woman" while on Safari in Africa. Now, after bringing her back to civilization and marrying her, bizarre hoodoo hijinks have ensued!

Arguably, the best of the SANCTUM films, it features a bevy of horror movie queens, including Evelyn Ankers, Elizabeth Russell, and Lois Collier, in addition to the aforementioned Ms. Gwynne.

Mr. Chaney Jr. Is his usual, remarkable self. This is enjoyable horror hokum for the whole family...

"Weird Woman" was the second of six "Inner Sanctum" mysteries adapted from the popular radio series of the day produced in 1943-45 by Universal and starring Lon Chaney Jr.

In this installment we begin with the young wife, Paula Reed (Anne Gwynne) of College Professor Norman Ried (Chaney), returning home in the middle of the night from an unknown destination. Reed is concerned about her irrational behavior. We then flashback to their initial meeting on an unnamed tropical island. It seems that Paula had been raised by a group that were involved in some sort of witchcraft and voodoo.

Norman and Paula marry and return to Norman's home in the US. They attend a welcome home party where Norman introduces the people to his new bride. Totally surprised is Ilona Carr (Evelyn Ankers) who thought that she had been the apple of Norman's eye. Others at the party who welcome Norman's new bride are Professor Millard Sawtelle (Ralph Morgan) and his wife Evelyn (Elizabeth Russell), the Dean of Reed's college, Septimus Carr (Harry Hayden), Ilona's brother and Norman's ally, Women's Dean, Grace Gunnison (Elisabeth Risdon).

Scorned by Reed's rejection of her, Ilona begins to lay a plan for his destruction. Meanwhile, Reed has become a successful author and scholar. Ilona meanwhile convinces the wimpish Professor Sawtelle that Reed is planning to expose him for plagiarizing a thesis in order to write his own successful book. Sawtelle becomes despondent and commits suicide. His wife blames Reed for causing her husband's suicide.

A young hero worshiping student Margaret Mercer (Lois Collier) goes to work for Reed and develops a crush on him. Her boyfriend David Jennings (Phil Brown) becomes insanely jealous and Ilona uses this to her advantage.

Reed follows his wife on one of her late night outings to find out where she is going. What he finds out changes the whole course of the story and results in further tragedy.

Chaney as always is excellent. He made even a low budget feature such as this better just by his presence. Anne Gwynne is lovely as Chaney's mysterious wife. Evelyn Ankers, Universal's Queen of the "B" horror movies stands out as the scheming Ilona. And yes you do get to hear her trademark blood curdling scream over the course of the film. Ralph Morgan has little to do and is killed off far too early in the story. The under appreciated Elizabeth Russell (who had appeared in several Val Lewton films of the same period) with her scary eye piercing stare also stands out in the supporting cast.

Pretty good little mystery.

This had always been the one "Inner Sanctum" I was most interested in because it was an adaptation of Fritz Leiber's "Conjure Wife", later filmed as a superior British horror film, NIGHT OF THE EAGLE aka BURN, WITCH, BURN! (1962). This version is highly enjoyable, even if some of the fun to be had is the result of its unexpected goofiness and campiness (at least when compared to the deadly serious 'remake'). The would-be sinister native rituals consist of nothing more than harmless Tahitian dancing and risible mumbo-jumbo! Lon Chaney's irresistibility to the female sex is unconvincingly stretched to no fewer than 3 women in the film when, ultimately, he is no more than an amiable beefcake of a leading man!

Still, the female roles here are surprisingly strong: Anne Gwynne (as Chaney's superstitious native wife), Elizabeth Risdon (as the acid-tongued Dean), Elizabeth Russell (as the ambitious wife of Chaney's senior colleague) and especially Evelyn Ankers (relishing a rare villainous role as Chaney's vengeful ex). Ralph Morgan (as Russell's ill-fated husband and Chaney's direct competitor) also makes a good impression. While the film is occasionally atmospheric, it suffers in comparison with NIGHT OF THE EAGLE and that film's memorable climax is sorely missed (especially since the supernatural element is heavily toned down here). A highlight of the film is Ankers' nightmarish vision as she is haunted by her victims into confessing her crimes.

P.S. As with the previous entry in the series, CALLING DR. DEATH (1943), the Ygor theme from THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942) is incorporated into the music score! By the way, am I the only one bothered by the fact that Chaney is billed merely as "Lon Chaney" rather than "Lon Chaney Jr." - or, for that matter, the fact that the credits merely state that the film is based on a story by Fritz Leiber without mentioning its actual title?

Universal's Inner Sanctum mystery series gets a lift with not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE horror queens from this genre: Evelyn Ankers, Anne Gwynne, Lois Collier, newcomer Kay (Jackie Lou)Harding, and borrowed from Val Lewton's RKO unit, Elizabeth Russell. Ankers, Gwynne and Collier all privately joked about the script which had them all competing for Chaney's affections, when in 'real life' Chaney was not any of the girls' favorite leading man; Ankers and Gwynne, being best friends, would constantly break up laughing during filming because the script had Ankers being so mean to Gwynne. The end result of filming shows none of the comedic goings-on and the mystery-chiller is a high camp surprise that only Universal could produce. Reginald LeBorg directed and according to Gwynne was a good sport dealing with the 'break-ups' between her and Ankers during filming. Flavorful music, very familiar to Universal horror fans, and spooky autumn-like surroundings on a dark college campus add to the suspense. Definitely the BEST of the Inner Sanctum series from Universal.