Strange Confession

You would think no one would want to mess with the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, or Dracula -- all of whom the brawny, sinister-looking Lon Chaney Jr would play during his years on the silver screen. However, in Strange Confession he plays a good-natured, altruistic chemist, interested only in helping mankind by finding cures for diseases. So it's not surprising the amoral boss of the pharmaceutical lab he works for, played with slimy sophistication by J. Carrol Nash, takes advantage of his naive employee. It was bad enough he took credit and even won awards for Chaney's discoveries. But now he sends his star chemist out of the country so he can start selling an unproven influenza remedy Chaney would have objected was not reliable, and even more dastardly, so he can hit on Chaney's wife. When Chaney returns home unexpectedly and is confronted with all the distressing developments which have accrued from his sneaky boss's nefarious doings, look out! No more Mr. Nice Guy!

Strange Confession is one of the best of Universal Studio's six spooky little "B" potboilers inspired by the popular "Inner Sanctum" radio show. Each stared Chaney, enjoying a change of pace from his monster image as a suave, nattily dressed leading man. Instead of monster or moron, as in Of Mice And Men, in these nifty little thrillers he plays sophisticated, well-educated men, variously a psychiatrist, a professor, an artist, a hypnotist, a chemist, and an attorney. In the line of duty he receives the sexy attentions of some of Old Hollywood B-movie land's most beautiful babes, the glamorous likes of Evelyn Ankers, Anne Gynne, Patricia Morrison, Aquanetta, Elena Verdugo, and the afore-mentioned pretty Miss Joyce. Wow! Must have been an ego boost for he not-so-handsome Chaney. Could all the cigarettes he smoked in these movies have been to cover up the steam coming out of his ears!

But Chaney was a better actor than his later unrewarding roles would indicate, and he carries these short but quite good little movies with his measured portrayals of the tormented heroes. I would rate Strange Confession as the third best of the series with Weird Woman (see my review) as the best. Calling Dr. Death (1943), first in the series, perhaps has a slight edge over Strange in spite of lesser production values, because it incorporates a strong mystery-suspense angle with a tense psychological element. Strange Confession is more of a straight melodrama and the least spooky of the series. Also, Dr. Death gets a boost from the always reliable Nash's scintillating performance as a sardonic detective. Because the six pictures of the series were big studio second features, rather than impoverished independent "B" productions, a lot of mileage was made out of small budgets by borrowing sets from other, often bigger productions and by tapping a stable of on-the-payroll solid character actors such as Nash, Thomas Gomez, Milburn Stone, Douglas Dumbrille, Lloyd Bridges, and Ralph Morgan. While tacky looking in places, these little flicks are not without artistic merit. Though seldom mentioned in the context, all six movies are fine examples of the period film noir style, all loaded with night scenes, darkly shadowed and obliquely angled cinematography, femme fa-tales, doom-laden ambiance, and themes of murder, corruption, and betrayal. All the Sanctums are well-acted, well-directed, handsomely filmed, and stylishly scored.

Strange Confession and the rest of the Inner Sanctum series are enduring examples of how the big studios of Hollywood's Golden Era could turn out good-looking, entertaining pictures while only half-way trying. Once you have watched the entire series on Universal's economically priced album of meticulously restored DVD's, you may wish, as yours truly does, they had made sixty of them, instead of only six!

This is possibly the best of the "Inner Sanctums", though it's also not a typical one - being based on Jean Bart's impressive anti-war drama "The Man Who Reclaimed His Head" (already filmed by Universal in 1934 with Claude Rains; in retrospect, it's amusing to note that the remake starred the actor who had played Rains' son in THE WOLF MAN [1941]!). Still, even if the setting is effectively updated - the original had a pre-WWI backdrop - its dealing with the crooked marketing of an untried drug is not quite the same thing as the philosophical war-themed discussions which distinguished the play (and earlier film)!

Again, we're supposed to believe Lon Chaney Jr. is something of a genius in his field - in this case, medical research - but he allows himself to be exploited by his unscrupulous boss J. Carrol Naish (who even has designs on his wife!). Chaney is typically flustered but Naish is an ideal villainous substitute for Lionel Atwill; Brenda Joyce, then, fills in for Joan Bennett as the heroine yearning for a fuller life but, ultimately, unwilling to sacrifice her domestic harmony to satisfy her own selfish ends.

The pace is necessarily slow - there are no murders or detectives this time around - with Chaney recounting his tragic tale to a childhood friend, and the resolution rather skimps on the hero's particular 'crime' (which was certainly more explicit in the 1934 version, even if STRANGE CONFESSION itself was also known as THE MISSING HEAD!) - but, as I said, it's the most satisfying entry in the series (which, ironically enough, was the one to go unseen for decades due to a copyright dispute!).

Lon Chaney, Jr. plays an idealistic chemist who creates a drug that may cure influenza. His unscrupulous and greedy boss (J. Carrol Naish) wants to release the drug right away but Chaney insists on doing more tests to make sure its safe. Naish releases the drug on the market anyway with tragic results. You really shouldn't tick off Lon Chaney, Jr.

The fifth of six Inner Sanctum movies from Universal starring a mustachioed Lon Chaney, Jr. This one has a somewhat troubled history as it was a remake of an earlier Universal film, The Man Who Reclaimed His Head. The first film was based off of a play by Jean Bart. There was some dispute about whether Universal had the rights to do more than one adaptation of Bart's play. So this one was out of circulation for decades.

As was often the case with the Inner Sanctum series, the cast is excellent. Chaney does some of his finest acting here. Legendary character actor J. Carrol Naish makes a particularly rotten villain. Lloyd Bridges, Milburn Stone, Addison Richards, and beautiful Brenda Joyce round out the cast. This is considered by many to be the best of the series. This may be because it has less in common with the others. There are some who don't appreciate the bizarre and quirky charms of the other films in the series. This one is more straightforward and less fantastic, so perhaps that's why it seems to have a better reputation. Regardless, it's a fine B movie that I happen to enjoy even if I wouldn't go so far as to call it my favorite of the bunch.

Strange Confession (1945)

*** (out of 4)

Fifth in the Inner Sanctum series once again features Lon Chaney, Jr.. This time around he plays a brilliant scientist who's trying to find a cure for influenza. His greedy boss (J. Carrol Naish) puts the stuff out on the market before it has been proved to cure and this leads to a tragedy. This is probably the best of the series as it mixes some Frank Capra like quiet moments with some rather mean spirited stuff towards the end. Chaney gives a very good performance and Naish lends a very strong supporting performance.

Of the six Inner Sanctum movies Lon Chaney made at Universal, for me this one constantly switches positions with two others in "Top Three" status. Chaney plays Jeff Carter, a good husband and father who's too soft when it comes to handling his domineering boss Roger Graham (J. Carrol Naish). Jeff's a skilled, meticulous lab chemist busy developing medicines with his partner (played by a very young Lloyd Bridges), but for all his achievements still lives modestly with his family in a tiny apartment. Jeff works hard while watching Graham take all the money and credit, and ultimately becomes a pawn in Graham's game when the boss sends Jeff away for a month on a job in South America for his own selfish ulterior motives.

STRANGE CONFESSION benefits right away for being somewhat different in style and approach from all the other Inner Sanctum mysteries, and it ropes you in from its prelude where we see a tormented Jeff desperately consulting with a lawyer while carrying a black bag with something unspeakable inside it. The film is then told as a flashback where we can find out what happened and why. Chaney gives a good performance, and J. Carrol Naish (who was so perfect with him in CALLING DR. DEATH) again makes for a fine match. *** out of ****