Inner Sanctum #3

 

DEAD MAN'S EYES-1944-Third in the Universal Pictures “Inner Sanctum” series, all of them starring Lon Chaney Jr. Up and coming artist Dave Stuart (Chaney) is accidentally blinded when he uses acetic acid on his eyes instead of boric. His fiancée Heather (Jean Parker) and her wealthy father (Edward Fielding) blame Dave's model Tanya (Acquanetta). Dave breaks off his engagement to Heather and says he loves Tanya but he's just pretending 'cos he doesn't want to burden Heather. His best friend Alan (Paul Kelly) tries to help (he's in Iove with Tanya). “Dad” Hayden says that after he dies, his eyes will go to Dave. Somebody kills Dad and Dave is found with blood on his hands. He arrested for murder. Since Dad's dead and it was stated Dave would get his eyes, the family doctor (Jonathan Hale) performs an operation (after getting the eyes back after Tanya steals them). 

Meanwhile Nick Phillips (George Meeker) tries to woo Heather away from Dave (she believes Dave killed her father). Captain Drury (Thomas Gomez) investigates. Later Tanya figures out who the real murderer is but she's killed. Dave and Drury eventually capture the real murderer. 

It's another uneven murder mystery directed by Reginald Le Borg who made another entry into the series, WEIRD WOMAN and THE MUMMY'S GHOST both also starring Chaney the same year.

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Inner Sanctum #2

 

 (imdb)

WEIRD WOMAN-1944-Dr. Norman Reed (Lon Chaney), a skeptic of the supernatural, brings his new wife Paula (Anne Gwynne) home from her South Seas native island. His former fling, Ilona (Chaney's THE WOLFMAN co-star Evelyn Ankers) is jealous and starts trouble. One night Reed follows Paula and discovers she's still doing her pagan rituals. She says she's doing it to protect Reed from his enemies. He doesn't believe it and burns all her equipment. No sooner does this happen when Prof. Sawtelle (Ralph Morgan) kills himself. His shrewish wife Evelyn (Elizabeth Russell) blames Reed. 

When he rejects the come-ons of his young secretary Margaret (Lois Collier), her suitor, David (Phil Brown) tries to punch Reed. Then Paula hears a death chant. Then Reed suspects he's losing his mind (a typical topic in the Inner Sanctum series). David tries to shoot Reed but someone else gets shot instead. Everyone teams up to trick Ilona into confessing. It works too well. She winds up dead! 

Second in the series of 6 “Inner Sanctum” features. It was directed by Reginald Le Borg and based the story “Conjure Wife” by Fritz Lieber, Jr.

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More Shorties

 

 (imdb)

TRIAL BY TRIGGER-1944-Warner Brothers short about crooked lumber barons but basically, it's a love triangle between lumberjack Bill Cardigan (a very young Robert Shayne), sleazy lumber baron Dan Fallon (Warner Anderson) and saloon owner Lee (Cheryl Walker). There's fights, a big train wreck and some daring dos by Bill. Also with Monte Blue, Harry Cording, Ralph Dunn and the voice of Art Baker. Directed by William McGann (SHH! THE OCTOPOUS (1937).

 (imdb)

DARK SHADOWS-1944-This is part of MGM's “Crime Does Not Pay” short subject series. The case history of a killer is examined. The first victim is a doctor. The police are baffled by the murder. Lt. Pat McKay (Morris Ankrum) brings in Dr. Colner (Henry O'Neill), a police psychiatrist. They suspect one of the doctor's dead patients. Unfortunately, the killer's next victim is the dead doc's nurse. Colner assembles 6 of the murdered MD's patients who fit the killer's profile (they include Arthur Space, Paul Guilloye and Dorothy Adams). They believe the killer hated his/her mother. When Colner gets a confession, the killer says “I'm a murderer!” and jumps out a window. Also with Paul Langton. Although only 21 minutes long, two directors are credited.

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 (imdb)

NARCOTICS: PIT OF DESPAIR-(1967)-A cobra is shown and the narrator sounds like Vic Perrin from The Outer Limits. The focus is then on a high school athlete failing in English and Math. He thinks “bennies” will help him do it all but then Pusher Pete (with an Amish beard) invites him to a swinging party. He turns Pete down but then gets bored (his parents are away so he has “no guidance"). At the party he swings and drinks. When his senses are “dulled”, floozy Helen takes him to the garage to smoke pot. Later he flunks at school. When smoking pot with Pete, he watches a pathetic guy shoot up. He shoots up anyway and becomes a heroin addict. While going cold turkey, some addicts tie him to a bed and Pete shoots him up. When Helen blabs, he's arrested and put in a government hospital. He's cleaned up but in the end he goes looking for Pete...Directed by Mel Marshall. 

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Short Break

 

 

 (imdb)

ART TROUBLE-1939-Two rich brothers (one is James Stewart in his film debut) don't want to go to art school in Paris. To fool their parents, they hire two mugs (Harry Gribbon & Shemp Howard) to take their place. It's full of slapstick and one liners and Shemp does a funny violent dance with a woman. Also with Marjorie Main and Mary Wicks. 

Directed by Ralph Staub who made several other shorts with the Gribbon/Howard team. Co-star Gribbon had worked in vaudeville, on Broadway and for Mack Sennett and in his day was very well known.

 (imdb)

CHARACTER STUDIES-1927-In this silent short subject, actor/director Carter DeHaven “impersonates” well known Hollywood stars. The gimmick here is that he doesn't really impersonate them, they play themselves: Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Fatty Arbuckle, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks and Jackie Coogan all appear (uncredited) as themselves. It has a new piano score by Phillip Carli. Carter DeHaven later Chaplin's assistant director on MODERN TIMES (1936) and acted in THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940). 

 (themoviedb.org)

TRADER HOUND-1931-Crazy short film where all the main characters are played by dogs! This is part of a series of 9 “Dogville” shorts released by MGM from 1929-1931. They were directed jointly by Zion Meyers (who wrote many 3 Stooges shorts) and Jules White (who directed many 3 Stooges shorts). There's a fight involving a phony gorilla and some racist humor. The series was banned in England due to animal cruelty. 

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Antsy

 

(imdb)

ANTS!-1977-Boring TV movie where aggressive ants terrorize a construction site at The Lakewood Hotel. Construction boss Mike (Robert Foxworth) investigates while his girlfriend Valerie (Lynda Day George) and her mom (Myrna Loy) deal with an unscrupulous real estate agent Fleming (Gerald Gordon), his assistant Vince (Bernie Casey) and his mistress (Suzanne Somers). Some health inspectors (Steve Franken, Anita Gillette) cause trouble. The ants are pretty deadly as the cook (Rene Enriquez) finds out. Later a young boy (Moosie Drier) dies. Brian Dennehy is a fire chief and Stacey Keach Sr. is a doctor. 

Ridiculous ending has Mike and Valerie breathing through some paper tubes while ants crawl all over them. Director Robert Scheerer spent most of his career in TV.

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Very Early Western

 (tcm.com)

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY-1903-Outlaws rob a moving train. They blow out the strong box and the engine. All passengers are forced off the train and robbed. One dumb guy tries to flee and is shot dead. The gang escapes into the woods. A posse pursues them and they are all shot and killed. It ends with a desperado shooting his gun at the camera, an effect Sam Peckinpah copied 70 years later in BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA (1974). 

Some say it was the first western film and the first film with an actual storyline but both are up to debate. The director, Edwin L. Porter wore many hats working for Edison and Famous Players in the early days of American filmmaking. In 1913, he directed Mary Pickford in her first feature film. In 1915, he directed his last film NIAGARA FALLS, the first movie in 3-D!

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Doll M For Murder

 

 (themoviedatabase)

ANNABELLE-2014-A cutesy couple Mia (Annabelle Wallis) and John (Ward Horton) are attacked in their house by their neighbor's deranged daughter and her boyfriend. The pregnant wife is stabbed, endangering her unborn baby. After the crazy couple are killed by the police, some of the crazy woman's blood drips into the eye of a creepy doll the husband bought his wife as a gift. 

Coming home after the attack, things seem normal but weird noises occur. The husband eventually throws the doll away. After a fire in their house, the wife gives birth to a daughter. Then after the baby is christened, the creepy doll shows up again. A strange apparition seems to haunt the house and they go see a priest. A detective tells them the dead daughter belonged to a Satanic cult who were trying to “conjure something”. Evelyn (Alfe Woodard), a bookstore owner, clues the wife in on some stuff. The priest (Tony Amendola) believes the creepy doll is some kind of conduit the devil worshipers are using to get the couple's baby's soul. Then weird things happen at the house to terrorize Mia and Evelyn, who sacrifices herself to save them. Six months later, someone else gets the doll. 

Long, drawn out false scares obviously inspired by BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL (1984). It's sequel/prequel to THE CONJURING (2013). Directed by John R. Leonetti (MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION (1997), it was a huge hit despite a lot of bad reviews

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