Estranha Revelação

As the fifth of Universal's six 'Inner Sanctum' mysteries, 1945's "Strange Confession" has the distinction of being the only one not included in the popular SHOCK! package of classic horror films issued to television in the late 50s. Out of circulation since its rerelease under the title "The Missing Head," it still hasn't made the television rounds to this day, but has been easily available with the other series entries on VHS and now DVD. The reason for its suppression is that this was an unauthorized remake of Jean Bart's unsuccessful play (a measly 28 performances) "The Man Who Reclaimed His Head," previously filmed by Universal in 1934, featuring 'Invisible Man' Claude Rains recreating his stage role opposite villain Lionel Atwill. Streamlined and updated for its star Lon Chaney, "Strange Confession" actually improves on its source, the Chaney protagonist, Jeff Carter, an impoverished chemist working for an unscrupulous boss, Roger Graham (J. Carrol Naish), who takes all the credit for himself; in the original, Rains was a too mild mannered pacifist writer mercilessly used by his employer (Atwill) to advance his warmongering agenda. Without the lengthy antiwar backstory, the remake flows much quicker, and Chaney's family has a charming little son (Gregory Muradian) rather than an insufferable little brat of a daughter, played by 'Baby Jane' (a LONG way from Shirley Temple). Roger Graham is just as ruthless as his inspiration, his company rushing formulas into production regardless of whether or not they actually succeed in curing the patients, and when Jeff Carter's wife (Brenda Joyce) discovers that Graham's 'miracle drug' failed to save her son from an influenza epidemic, she turns on him far more forcefully than Joan Bennett ever did. Among another solid supporting cast are Lloyd Bridges as a good sidekick, ubiquitous Milburn Stone as a bad one, and equally ubiquitous Addison Richards as a doctor, with Mary Gordon and Jack Norton playing neighbors. Lovely Brenda Joyce had just begun her five picture reign as Jane in RKO's 'Tarzan' series, only concluding with her final film in 1949, "Tarzan's Magic Fountain," opposite new Ape Man Lex Barker and former Universal starlet Evelyn Ankers. Brenda's other genre work included "Whispering Ghosts" (John Carradine), "Pillow of Death" (opposite Chaney again), "The Spider Woman Strikes Back" (Gale Sondergaard, Rondo Hatton), "Little Giant" (Abbott and Costello), and "Danger Woman" (Patricia Morison, from "Tarzan and the Huntress"). As for Chaney himself, this was perhaps his best showcase since "Man Made Monster" or "The Wolf Man," not an innocent man accused of murder (as in previous series entries), but a brilliant researcher driven to justifiable homicide by forces beyond his control. Contrary to the numerous naysayers, he is convincing in this role, thanks to a script seemingly tailor made for his personality, not exactly suave, just an all around decent family man; the final 'Inner Sanctum,' "Pillow of Death," found him wallowing in a weak film and bad script, concluding with him as the surprise killer, undeserving of sympathy. The non horror "Strange Confession" never looked better, arguably the best of the half dozen series titles.

"Strange Confession" was the fifth of six "Inner Sanctum" mysteries produced by Universal between 1943 and 1945 and starring Lon Chaney Jr.

The film opens with chemist Jeff Carter (Chaney) arriving on the doorstep of Parker (George Chandler) a lawyer he knew during his school days. He pleads with him to listen to his "strange confession".

In flashback, we see Carter content with his lot in life. He is a chemist whose boss Roger Graham (J. Carroll Naish) takes all of the credit for Jeff's work in developing new drugs. Jeff's wife Mary (Brenda Joyce) wants Jeff to be more ambitious and provide her and their son with the better things in life.

When Jeff refuses to provide Graham with his notes on a drug he is working on because of incomplete testing, he quits his job. Graham uses his influence to block Jeff's getting another job in the field. Jeff goes to work as a pharmacist and is content in that role. One New Year's Eve, Graham comes to Jeff's apartment to offer him his old job back with perks. At first Jeff refuses but at Mary's insistence, he takes the job.

Unbeknownst to Jeff, Graham has eyes for Mary. To that end he arranges for Jeff and his assistant Dave Curtis (Lloyd Bridges) to go to South America to continue work on an influenza drug. Meanwhile Graham and his assistant Stevens (Milburn Stone) steal Jeff's papers and market the drug based on an incomplete formula. Jeff eventually finds the missing link for his formula and wires the new formula to Graham. Graham and Stevens believe the re-working of the drug will take to long to produce, so they continue to market the drug made with the incomplete formula.

And then tragedy strikes. Jeff returns home and....................

This film is one of the better ones in the series. It has an excellent supporting cast and a good story to boot. Chaney as always is excellent. His performance as the meek and gentle chemist who is double crossed once too often is memorable. Naish makes a smooth villain. Brenda Joyce also stands out as Carter's wife.

Also in the cast are Addison Richards as Dr. Williams and Mary Gordon (Mrs. Hudson in the "Sherlock Holmes" series) as Mrs. O'Connor. For Naish and Stone, this was their second appearance in the series.

A compelling little drama with a few unexpected twists.

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.

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.

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!).