The Frozen Ghost

Another "Inner Sanctum" mystery with Lon Chaney Jr. giving another so-so performance.

Here he plats a mentalist who (he thinks) accidentally kills a man with his mind. It seems the man died of natural causes but he can't shake the feeling. He breaks up with his girlfriend (Evelyn Ankers) and goes to Madame Monet's Wax Museum to relax (!!!). There he thinks he accidentally kills Madame Monet (Tala Birell) with his mind. But the body disappears. What's going on?

It's just OK. It's very well-directed (especially during the opening hypnotic show & the shots of Chaney's feet) and has some pretty good acting by Ankers, Birell and Milburn Stone (as his manager). Also it's nicely atmospheric. But it meanders, there's plenty of padding (even at an hour) and tons of plot holes. Also the final resolution is pretty silly but it DOES fit.

OK undemanding fare.

"The Frozen Ghost" might just be the quintessential wacky 1940s B-movie mystery, packed with enough plot to fill any six films, and uncertain of which of those six films it really wants to be. While it may not be the most serious of the "Inner Sanctum" series of low-low-budget thrillers made by Unversal between 1943 and 1945, it is likely the most entertaining. Part murder mystery, part wax museum horror film, part romance, "The Frozen Ghost" gallops along at a nonsensical pace and features a rich group of actors, all of whom are peculiarly cast. Leading the pack is Lon Chaney, who tried to escape the heavy Wolf Man and Mummy makeup with this series, and who does a pretty good job as a stage hypnotist tormented by the thought that he might have killed someone during his act. This might be Chaney's best stab at a leading man role, though it is undermined by the fact that every single female character in the film, from age 16 to 40, falls madly in love with him at sight, much in the way Roger Moore's version of James Bond was a walking aphrodisiac. While Chaney was a passable leading man, ascribing this rampant sex appeal to him is as fantastical as brain transplants. Douglas Dumbrille, a smooth British actor given to silky villains, plays the tough American detective, and Martin Kosleck, usually cast as a cold as ice Nazi, here appears as a road-company Peter Lorre lunatic. And Milburn Stone -- "Doc" on "Gunsmoke" -- shows up as Chaney's harried agent. But don't even worry about the caprices of the casting or plotting. Just sit back, try to keep up with it, and enjoy the kind of anything-goes film-making that doesn't exist anymore.

Lon Chaney, Jr. plays mentalist Gregor the Great, who believes he killed a guy with his psychic powers. Distraught over this, he quits and goes to work at a wax museum (naturally). Things are okay for awhile but then Gregor gets into an argument with a friend and, once again, believes he killed someone with his mind.

The fourth movie in Universal's Inner Sanctum series. Like the other movies, it's a fun B mystery thriller with a good cast. A bit silly at times but that adds to the fun if you're in the right frame of mind. The cast includes Universal regular Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, Martin Kosleck, and Douglas Dumbrille. But the star is Lon Chaney, Jr., whose surly demeanor and sometimes overwrought acting are infinitely entertaining to watch. Not to mention his stylish mustache!

Lon Chaney Jr. stars as Alex Gregor, a stage mentalist who has a terrible mishap occur when he tries to hypnotize a drunken fool in his act. The man dies, and Alex blames himself, even though police claim it was a heart attack, he decides to retire. His manager persuades him to stay with his friend Valerie, who runs a wax museum, where he meets her attractive niece Nina(played by Elena Verdugo) and the jealous and sinister wax worker Rudi(played by Martin Koslek). When Valerie mysteriously disappears, suspicion falls on Alex, but his assistant/fiancée(played by Evelyn Ankers) helps him uncover the real culprit. Entertaining film with a good cast and story, which may be obvious to a point, but film remains fun for a low budgeter.

1944's "The Frozen Ghost" was fourth of the six 'Inner Sanctum' mysteries (released only an entire year after completion), later included in Universal's popular SHOCK! package of classic horror films issued to television in the late 50s, its intriguing title and stronger than usual cast perhaps explaining its more frequent showings than the four other SHOCK! titles. As a vehicle for Lon Chaney however, it's probably the weakest, repeating his pity party from the previous entry, "Dead Man's Eyes," this time as Alex Gregor, successful stage hypnotist, whose latest subject, an alcoholic skeptic (Arthur Hohl), succumbs while going into a trance. The amazingly cloddish and unsympathetic Gregor has no one but himself to blame for all his subsequent troubles, blaming his mesmeric powers for the man's fatal heart attack, and ending his engagement to his lovely partner, Maura Daniel (Evelyn Ankers). Gregor's business manager, George Keene (Milburn Stone), hits upon the brilliant idea of having his downtrodden client begin working at the wax museum of Valerie Monet (Tala Birell), whose teenage niece, Nina Cordreau (Elena Verdugo), quickly develops a crush on the older man. Unhappily, this conflicts with Valerie's own designs on Gregor, who continues to behave in such a crestfallen manner that one would think that any self respecting female would preferably flee from him with great haste. Once the action shifts to the waxworks, Chaney's hapless histrionics fade into the background, actually not a bad thing, as Universal's latest discovery, Martin Kosleck, was making his feature debut for the studio (following a 13 chapter serial, "The Great Alaskan Mystery"), as Rudi Poldan, curator and former plastic surgeon of dubious accomplishment, who hasn't entirely given up his experiments. With so many broads hot for the disturbed yet dull-as-dishwater Gregor, Rudi has his sights set on young Nina, displaying his knife throwing abilities when rebuffed (as they were in "The Mad Doctor," "The Mummy's Curse," and "Pursuit to Algiers"). This entry's police detective is played by Douglass Dumbrille, usually cast as surprise killers, rather more amiable than his predecessors, but also more bland. Exotic beauty Tala Birell, an enticing 36 at the time, was mainly reduced to Poverty Row titles at this juncture, others of interest including "The Lone Wolf Returns," "One Dangerous Night," "Isle of Forgotten Sins," "The Monster Maker," "The Power of the Whistler," "Philo Vance's Secret Mission," and "Philo Vance's Gamble." Dimpled darling Elena Verdugo was no stranger to Lon Chaney, previously providing his love interest in "House of Frankenstein," and still proving an eyeful opposite Lon in 1952's "Thief of Damascus." She also did "Little Giant" (Abbott and Costello), "The Sky Dragon" (Charlie Chan), "The Lost Tribe" (Jungle Jim), and "The Lost Volcano" (Bomba the Jungle Boy), before switching to television, where she endured as Robert Young's devoted nurse on MARCUS WELBY. It was a bittersweet swansong for the departing Evelyn Ankers (after 29 Universal features in four years), clearly pregnant with her only child, whose movie career covered only 11 more films. As for Chaney, this lukewarm repeat role clearly did him no favors, somewhat reviving himself for the climax, which also allowed Evelyn Ankers a chance for redemption.