Behind Locked Doors

That is, the private detective who agreed to pretend he was a nut case so he could get locked up in private loony bin where the pretty reporter who hired him suspects a corrupt judge on the lam from the law is hiding out. Only a beautiful dame and a healthy hunk of dough could entice a private eye to take on such a tough case. The dame was beautiful enough, if somewhat distant, and the ten thousand dollar reward was healthy enough. That's the plot of minor 1948 noir thriller Behind Locked Doors, and it works well enough in the hands of tough action specialist director Bud (billed Oscar) Boetticher. His taut direction, a tight script by Eugene Ling and Malvin Wald, and good work by the supporting cast, overcome low production values and lackluster leads.

Richard Carlson, the detective, was a competent actor, but if somebody gave an award for the blandest leading man of all time, he would be in the running. Lucille Bremer, the beautiful reporter, was indeed beautiful, but she was undoubtedly at her best as a dancer (she could keep up with Fred Astaire!). As an actress, her talents were suspect. She is not even at her best in Behind Locked Doors. Since she was set to marry a millionaire and retire from the screen, it is likely that this, her last picture, was just fulfilling a contract obligation. It shows in her unenthusiastic performance. The obligatory romance between her and Carlson is sort of like a cigarette lighter with a used-up flint -- no spark. Lucille is more convincing when she's resisting his advances in the early going than when eliciting them in the later reels.

No Matter. This is an action, suspense picture, and their is plenty of both. Solid support to prop up the flaccid leads is provided by Thomas Browne Henry as the troubled doctor in charge of the institution, Douglas Fowley as a sadistic warder, and the always interesting (in a bizarre way) Tor Johnson as a homicidal maniac. Shadowy cinematography by Guy Roe heightens the sinister mood of the story and no doubt at the same time covers up cheap sets. Boetticher's sharp direction keeps the pace snappy and the suspense taut with nary a wasted shot in this little 63 minute programmer.

Take a gander at the poster pitching Behind Locked Doors. Beautiful Miss Bremer is pictured apparently swooned and lying limp and seductive while being carried by menacing hulk Tor Johnson. Nothing of the sort happens in this picture! Hollywood didn't invent the art of deceptive advertising -- surely it goes back at least as far as the early Roman Empire -- but the movie studios of Old Hollywood were certainly among its top exponents. Lurid and often sexy "promo shots" bearing little or no relation to the actual content of the picture were standard fare for movie posters of the era.

Nevertheless, much does happen in a short time in Behind Locked Doors, much of it lurid, though none sexy -- except perhaps for those of the persuasion that gets a kick out of seeing a woman tied up. If you're looking for a short, filler type of movie, this well-made thriller will keep your attention for and hour and three minutes.

I am taken aback by all the 7s and 6s. This movie was practically perfect in every way. It doesn't follow the film noir tropes and instead has an original feel. This movie's run time if only 61 minutes which is a result of the story keeping a constant pace and expecting its audience to be smart enough to follow. Much like a Hitchcock movie, Behind Locked Doors has many subtle details and scenes that seem there for no apparent reason but will instead cleverly foreshadow events to come. In several scenes, Richard Carlson's character has short interactions with characters that don't seem relevant yet are there to progress either his character or to set up future events. This makes the movie flow so well. Richard Carlson plays his character brilliantly, adding wit and idiosyncrasies really making the character his own. He and Lucille Bremer have fantastic chemistry together. Each scene they are believable together. The dialogue is filled with wit and flirting which is something refreshing, seeing how most film noirs have the main characters attracted to each other very abruptly. Their relationship arcs beautifully throughout the movie. There are many other side characters, who, again, all have their own unique traits. All this makes this quite simple story really shine and be engaging to watch.

Summary: Excellent B Thriller about a Sinister Sadistic Asylum

This is a very good zero-budget B thriller about a sadistic mental asylum. A corrupt judge who was meant to be sent to jail is on the run and hiding out in this asylum, which is run by a corrupt crony of his. So Lucille Bremer (in her last film) decides to try to collect the $10,000 reward for his capture by the police. She approaches Richard Carlson, a handsome and engaging private dick on his very first case, with the proposition that they split the reward if he will pretend to be her husband and be a manic depressive, and get himself committed to the asylum, which he does. But things go wrong! The asylum is a sadistic and criminal institution, and Carlson now cannot get out. Everybody's worst nightmare! The judge is hiding in the locked ward adjoining the violent psycho cases. One of these is 'the Champ', a psychotic former boxer who still thinks he is in the ring and wants to punch everybody to death, hence has to be kept in a locked ward. He never speaks and is wonderfully played by Tor Johnson, with such a mournful, tormented expression, glassy eyes, and as if totally stoned. No prizes for guessing that someone might end up locked in with him! Things get really sticky, and Lucille who is on the outside has to figure out some way to help Carlson who is on the inside, and time is running out. What can be done? I won't tell!

This little b movie , made for next to nothing has more suspense & interest than most of todays so called big films we were completley enthralled especially by Lucille Bremer. a very beautiful actress who had too short a career

see this little gem

Jay Harris

This works pretty well for a B-grade film noir. The atmosphere is mostly convincing, and the story is interesting, even if not always entirely plausible. It has some creative touches and some moments of real tension that make up for the routine leading characters and the occasional lack of believability.

The story opens with a reporter visiting the office of an inexperienced private investigator (Richard Carlson), with a proposition. The reporter believes that she knows where to find a prominent judge who has become a fugitive from the police (and for whom there is a $10,000 reward). She thinks that the judge is hiding in a private sanitarium, and wants the investigator to pretend to be insane so that he can get inside and find out. Most of the story that follows takes place inside the asylum, as the investigator tries to find the judge and stay out of danger.

The asylum setting is done well, and furnishes a suitable atmosphere. They use the setting in several ways to further the action, most notably with horror-film favorite Tor Johnson appearing as a dangerous inmate, along with a number of other strange inhabitants. The unusual setting adds considerably to the more routine aspects of the film.

"Human Gorilla" (also called "Behind Locked Doors") works rather well, and this is not a bad movie to check out if you like film noir or crime movies, and wouldn't mind the generally low production values.