Pillow of Death

Trailer—Pillow of Death

source: Pillow of Death

OK, so maybe my title line for this review doesn't apply--seeing as how by this point in the Inner Sanctum series, the prologue with the floating head in a crystal ball was not used. "Pillow of Death" was the last of the popular Inner Sanctum series--a series that gave Lon Chaney a chance to act minus arduous monster makeup & I would agree with the sentiments that this is the least of the 6 films that were made--which is not to say it's a bad movie; far from it--but it does have a very slow pace to it. The story itself is engaging enough to overcome the slow movement of the film & the cast is first rate. Aside from Chaney--who I'm a big fan of--I enjoyed J. Edward Bromberg as "Julian Julian" & George Cleveland was quite the hoot as Sam Kincaid. POD probably stands out from the rest of the Sanctum series as it's the sole picture where Lon turns out to be a true bad guy. I also enjoyed the dark atmosphere of the film as seemingly all the action takes place at night--making for some interesting visuals and use of shadow. Overall--while I probably would dock this one a few points--I think it only speaks to how highly I thought of the previous Inner Sanctum mysteries that came before it. 7 stars

"Pillow of Death" is the last one of the six adaptations for screen of the hugely popular radio mystery show "Inner Sanctum" (which itself continued until 1952) - and it's a real shame that the movie series, made so excellently by Universal Pictures and all starring Lon Chaney Jr. in some of his best performances, ends here, because there would have been a potential for quite some more creepy, suspenseful murder mysteries in the same style... After some really 'modern' 40s Noir-style entries, this last "Inner Sanctum" movie returns to the good old-fashioned 'dark old house mystery', with all the ingredients from a spooky old manor with 'ghosts' in the attic to secret passages to doors opening and closing by themselves - and, of course, a whole series of murders, which begins with the wife of lawyer Wayne Fletcher (Lon Chaney Jr.), who's having an affair with his secretary Donna, who happens to be the heir to the big fortune of an old aristocratic family, whose female members are very much intrigued by the dubious 'medium' Julian Julian (J. Edward Bromberg), who had also worked with Fletcher's wife... Providing a REALLY twisted plot, with great performances, a wonderfully old-fashioned mystery atmosphere, and quite some funny moments amidst all the suspense, this last "Inner Sanctum" movie will be a BIG enjoyment for all the fans of the GENUINE 'old dark house mystery', which was almost on the verge of extinction at the time of the making of "Pillow of Death"; and it's a REAL challenge for every 'whodunit' fan to find the murderer!

Lon Chaney is suspected of murder when his wife is found dead. It doesn't help any, when it's discovered he's been out with his secretary. This is my first experience with The Inner Sanctum mysteries. In the beginning, I didn't quite know how to take it, seriously or campy. The dialogue and stiff acting by Lon made the film feel amateurish and unintentionally funny. But I have to admit, watching more, I seemed to forget myself and was totally into it. A lot of it was due in part to other actors, adept at what they're doing, like Brenda Joyce, as the secretary, J. Edward Bromberg as a supposed psychic, and Rosalind Ivan as the eccentric housekeeper. Oh, and George Cleveland was especially good as the old man. Even now knowing the twist ending, I would watch it over and enjoy its spirit! So join in the séance and talk to dead people! They help find the murderer in "Pillow of Death."

"Pillow of Death" is such a ridiculous title that one figures it must be good, and for the first two-thirds it more or less is so. Jerome Ash's cinematography is outstanding, Frank Skinner's music is appropriately dramatic; the sets -- left over from something else -- are fabulous and the performances are at least adequate in most cases to suit Babcock and Bricker's rather prosaic tale. However, a sense of routine starts to set in as the storyline advances -- each turn of the plot is accompanied by a shot of a screaming headline; characters begin to behave in a potted way and don't have very much dimension. Even given that, one can still have fun trying to figure out whodunit in this whodunit, but my crystal ball tells me very few will find the solution of this riddle particularly satisfactory. Ultimately, some may find the time spent watching "Pillow of Death" spent better in the company of one's own pillow, catching one hour's sleep rather than patiently enduring this title.

The sixth, last and least of the "Inner Sanctum" mysteries and, curiously enough, the only one not to feature the 'talking head' intro. It's still fairly enjoyable, particularly in its first half (and, that, thanks largely to the presence of heroine Brenda Joyce's curmudgeonly uncle - played by George Cleveland), but rather sluggishly-paced (this being the longest in the series). At least, the final revelation provides a welcome change of pace. The plot involves a lot of archaic (and, ultimately, irrelevant) haunted-house clichés, including a couple of séances presided over by J. Edward Bromberg as a medium who goes by the silly name of Julian Julian (the sight of his head tilted backwards in trance-mode is sure to provide convulsions of laughter - as does his deadpan delivery of the preposterous dialogue, my favorite being the film's very last line: "The word 'abracadabra' is anathema to the true believer in the occult"!)...but equally hilarious are Rosalind Ivan's melodramatic fainting spells (the script contriving to have her discover each and every corpse!). Regrettable, too, is the monotonous regularity of Bruce Thomas' unannounced appearances (as an insufferable teenage neighbor smitten with Joyce) at the Kincaid household - made via a secret passage in their basement. In the end, I have to wonder whether director Fox's involvement (who specialized in Grade-Z stuff) has something to do with the fact that this particular film is the one that comes closest to the level of a "Poverty Row" potboiler, with respect to its look and overall quality (as a matter of fact, even the cast is lackluster this time around)!

Pillow of Death (1945) * 1/2 (out of 4) Final installment in the Inner Sanctum series has a lawyer (Lon Chaney, Jr.) suspected of murdering his wife. After her death he gets involved with a group of psychics. This film, even at 61-minutes, dragged along and bored the hell out of me from the start. Chaney is very bland here as are the supporting characters. The story really isn't too interesting and all the spiritual stuff comes off silly. This is certainly the worst in the series but you can now view all six films via Universal's DVD collection.

"Pillow of Death" was the sixth and final film of Universal's "Inner Sanctum" series based on the popular radio series of the day and starring Lon Chaney Jr. Lawyer Wayne Fletcher (Chaney) and his attractive secretary Donna Kincaid (Brenda Joyce) return to Donna's home after working late one night. Fletcher promises her that he is going to talk to his wife that night about a divorce so that he and Donna can be together. Fletcher returns home to learn that his wife has been murdered and is greeted by Police Captain McCracken (Wilton Graff) and his wife's psychic Julian Julian (J. Edward Bromberg). McCracken immediately suspects Fletcher and arrests him. Next he goes to the Kincaid house, a creepy old mansion, to question the family. Among those questioned are Belle Kincaid (Clara Blandick), her brother Sam (George Cleveland), an English relative Amelia Kincaid (Rosiland Ivan) and Donna. McCracken discovers a neighbor, Bruce Malone (Bernard B. Thomas) peeping through a window and brings him in for questioning. Julian arrives and is also under suspicion. Fletcher is released for lack of evidence and he and Donna try to identify the killer. Julian later holds a séance where the voice of Fletcher's wife is apparently heard. Strange noises emanate from the attic of the old house. Secret panels are revealed. Suddenly other murders begin to take place. Finally, the murderer is discovered to be.............. And I'll bet you'll never guess what the murder weapon turns out to be. For Chaney, this film marked the end of his Universal contract. He would appear in two more films for them, "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948) and "The Black Castle" (1952). Over the period 1941-45 Chaney managed to appear as all four of the Universal monsters (Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, The Wolfman and The Mummy) as well as, in several other films and serials. They never really developed the promise he showed in "Of Mice and Men" (1939) and was effectively type cast for the rest of his career. The "Inner Sanctum" series (1943-45) at least gave him a chance to star in his own series, playing a different character in each film. The series, although a low budget "B" series was nonetheless an entertaining six mysteries and served to further display Chaney's talent. Brenda Joyce is probably best remembered as "Jane" in the RKO "Tarzan" films with Johnny Weissmuller produced between 1943-48. Watch for old timer J. Farrell MacDonald as the cemetery Sexton. Arguably the best of the six "Inner Sanctum" mysteries.

This is super good whodunit for those who have not seen it. The film will keep you changing your mind on who you think the murderer is up until the very end. If you like trying to solve a mystery then you might like this film. It has some cute moments and leaves you in suspense for most all of the movie. Someone killed Wayne Fletcher's (Lon Chaney Jr) wife - but who and why? Wayne is in love with Donna Kincaid (Brenda Joyce) she is in love with him. Bruce Malone (Bernard Thomas) is in love with Donna but Donna only likes him as her friend. So you have a strange love triangle going on in the film. Donna comes from a family with money. Her family has hired a medium Julian Julian to find the ghost in their home. Ironically, Wayne's wife was talking to the same medium before her death. Between the money, love triangle and the spirits in the home this sets up a strange but good whodunit story that is quite fun to watch. 9/10