User reviews

"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.

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.

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!

In spite of its meaningless title, this is one of the better "Inner Sanctums" - though still not exactly a good film. Lon Chaney Jr. is at his most Larry Talbot-like here as a hypnotist constantly bemoaning his fate (thinking he may have killed a drunken and skeptical member of the audience by sheer will-power!). In fact, the opening hypnotism sequence features some unusually odd angles - which is then ruined by the stereotypical (and unfunny) intrusion of Arthur Hoyt as the drunk!!

The plot then contrives to incorporate the well-worn wax museum theme, which results in the establishment of an adequate atmosphere throughout the film (not to mention utilizing its furnace for the effective climax). Besides, it's aided immensely by the presence of Martin Kosleck as the unhinged museum 'curator' (with a secret medical past) and Douglass Dumbrille as the wily investigating detective with a fondness for quoting Shakespeare (there's a section of wax figures devoted to characters from the Bard's work). Once again, the star finds himself in a tug-of-war between three females - Evelyn Ankers (playing the good girl this time, as Chaney's assistant/fiancée), Tala Birell (as the jealous and ageing museum owner) and Elena Verdugo (as Birell's ingénue niece, also desired by Kosleck).

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.

This was the fourth film in Universal's "Inner Sanctum" series and the first one not to be directed by Reginald LeBorg, which could be only one of the reasons that THE FROZEN GHOST, aside from having a terrific title, scores way down low as the least satisfying of these six modest melodramas. This feature's got a competent cast and a few scattered good ideas, but they're only half-baked and just don't rise in the oven.

Lon Chaney plays Alex Gregor, a stage hypnotist who reads people's minds along with the aid of his female assistant and romantic interest, Maura (Evelyn Ankers again). During one of their live clairvoyant acts, "Gregor the Great" (ha!) tries to hypnotize a man from the audience and the subject collapses, stone cold dead. Now Alex thinks he killed the man with his mind and the inner turmoil he feels makes him ripe for a breakdown. There's no better way to relax from your troubles than a nice stay at a friend's wax museum, so Gregor takes up an offer to do just that for awhile. Once he arrives amongst the mannequins, he finds he still retains the power to kill with his eyes, as strange goings-on ensue.

That brief description sounds more interesting than it turns out, because this is a wasted opportunity to utilize a wax museum backdrop for the one and only time in a Universal horror film. Nothing really happens for the hour's running length of this thoroughly average snoozer. Chaney goes through his basic motions once again, and with Harold Young now directing there isn't as much suspense or intrigue as the previous installments managed to cook up under LeBorg. Milburn Stone is pretty good as Gregor's business manager, and pretty Elena Verdugo (the gypsy girl from HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN) is on hand as the darling niece of the museum owner. But once again, it's Martin Kosleck who gets a raw deal as an effectively menacing, knife-wielding stalker. It's just another case where poor Kosleck, perhaps the best thing in the whole picture, gets buried inside yet another of Universal's more mediocre movies. ** out of ****

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.

THE FROZEN GHOST (Universal, 1945), directed by Harold Young, the fourth in the "Inner Sanctum" mysteries by arrangement with Simon and Schuster Publishers, Inc., returns Lon Chaney Jr. in another one of his non-monster roles. Following his pattern of movie titles of "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942) and "The Mummy's Ghost" (1944), this latest installment of misleading "Ghost" titles doesn't deal with a scientific expedition in the Arctic Circle discovering a dead man inside a block of ice whose ghost haunts them by night. Instead, it's another tale of mystery and supernatural. In the tradition of its previous three "Inner Sanctum" mysteries ("Calling Doctor Death," "Weird Woman" and "Dead Man's Eyes"), there's that opening of a disembodied head of the Inner Sanctum (David Hoffman) seemingly floating back and forth inside a crystal ball addressing the movie audience once more with this statement: "This is the Inner Sanctum, the strange fantastic world controlled by mass of living, cult seeking flesh. The mind, it destroys, distorts, creates monsters. Yes, even YOU without knowing can commit murder." As the opening credits roll, the story scripted by Luci Ward and Bernard Shubert comes to life, sans any frozen ghost seeking seclusion in a warm haunted house.

The prologue starts off on a radio show (with good use of slanted camera angles) introducing a mentalist named Alex Gregor (Lon Chaney), professionally known as Gregor the Great, along with his assistant and fiancée, Maura Daniel (Evelyn Ankers), as his hypnotic subject reading inner thoughts from those selected from the studio audience. The show goes well until a drunken skeptic (Arthur Hohl) calls Gregor a fake, claiming his act is done with mirrors. Upset of being ridiculed and saying in an angry state of mind, "I could kill him," Gregor invites the drunk on the platform to prove him wrong. As Gregor puts the him under his hypnotic spell, the skeptic immediately dies. Although the coroner rules death from a heart attack, which prevents him from being arrested by Inspector Brandt (Douglass Dumbrille) from the Homicide Bureau, Gregor still insists that he's a murderer. Breaking off his engagement with Maura and canceling all future engagements, it's George Keene (Milburn Stone), Gregor's business manager and closest friend, who suggests Gregor go away for a mental relaxation, arranging a stay with Valerie Monet (Tala Birell) at her owned establishment of Madame Monet's Wax Museum who designs the costumes, accompanied by her young niece Nina Goldreau (Elena Verdugo), and Rudi Poldar (Martin Kosleck), who resents Gregor's presence at the museum. Gregor's stay is anything but restful when coping with expert dagger thrower Rudi and his jealous tendencies towards him and Nina; Nina finding her life in danger after discovering interesting facts about the wax figures; Gregor's argument with Valerie that causes to her mysterious disappearance; and the arrival of Inspector Brandt placing all suspicions on Gregor, who, by this time, is slowly going insane.

For the seventh and final of the Chaney and Ankers teaming, THE FROZEN GHOST belongs mostly to Chaney. What's interesting other than the use of hypnosis as the answer to the mystery and occasional use of voice over train of thought from Chaney's point of view, is how moments of the Wax Museum portions comes as a reminder to Lionel Atwill's MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Warner Brothers, 1933), when watching Rudi Poldar, formerly Doctor Feldon, a plastic surgeon whose career was professionally ruined, conversing with his created wax figures of Napoleon, Cleopatra or Marie Antoinette as though they were living beings. The final moments involving the fire burning furnace looks as if this idea for a climax were lifted from the little known poverty row movie mystery, A SHREIK IN THE NIGHT (Allied, 1933) starring Ginger Rogers. Other than that, THE FROZEN GHOST, once shown frequently on commercial television before being phased out of circulation by the late 1970s, is a not-bad one hour quickie made agreeable for fans of this type of entertainment.

Formerly presented on home video in the 1997 as a companion piece with WEIRD WOMAN (1944), THE FROZEN GHOST can be found on DVD on a triple bill with its fellow Inner Sanctum mysteries of "Strange Confession" and "Pillow of Death" all featuring the mustached/guilt-ridden Lon Chaney. Next installment: the rarely seen STRANGE CONFESSION (1945) (**)

Right in the beginning it seems to be the same old story with spiritualists and fake mediums: 'Gregor the Great' (Lon Chaney Jr.) hypnotizes his beautiful medium Maura (Evelyn Ankers) during his obviously quite successful radio broadcast to read the thoughts of some of the people in the audience. She evades difficult questions, and so a drunkard starts grumbling that it's all a phony - and Gregor accepts the 'challenge', invites him up to the stage and tries to hypnotize him... and the man drops dead!

From now on, although the autopsy proves that the alcoholic died of a perfectly natural heart failure, Gregor is absolutely convinced that he killed the man: he'd wished him dead because he threatened to spoil his radio broadcast, and then he'd hypnotized him and killed him that way - nobody, not even Maura, his fiancée, can get that obsession out of his mind. So his manager George suggests that he should spend some time at Mme. Monet's Wax Museum, a nice, secluded place - with murder scenes made out of wax all around, and a VERY weird young artist, a former plastic surgeon, who talks to the wax figures and is himself obsessed by Mme. Monet's pretty young niece Nina...

This fourth one of the six movies made from the hugely successful radio program "Inner Sanctum" certainly IS scary, a mixture of a murder mystery and a horror movie (Universal Studios were masters at that...); the cast is quite good, Lon Chaney Jr. is once more teamed with Evelyn Ankers (they co-starred in eight movies altogether), and once more seems doomed by a strange kind of fate to do bad, like in "The Wolf Man"... Although "The Frozen Ghost" is nothing too inventive, it's QUITE a treat for fans of the genre!

Frozen Ghost, The (1945)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Fourth in the Inner Sanctum series has Lon Chaney, Jr. playing a mentalist who blames himself for the death of a man. Trying to escape his past, he hides away in a wax museum but soon more deaths turn up. Evelyn Ankers co-stars but I found this one here to be somewhat boring due to the weak supporting cast. The story doesn't really bring any real excitement either.

You can now see all six Inner Sanctum films via Universal's set, which features all the movies digitally remastered.

"The Frozen Ghost" is another "Universal" studios film from their "Inner Sanctum" series with Lon Chaney Jnr. Released in 1945 to no critical acclaim of any kind, this feels a bit heavy-going and it's only on for barely 61 minutes! One good thing, is that Lon Chaney Jnr has Evelyn Ankers as his leading lady once again. Martin Kosleck makes for a good villain - he has that typical dodgy look!

The Frozen Ghost (1945) is the fourth of six Inner Sanctum films starring Lon Chaney, Jr. Alex Gregor 'the Great' is a stage mentalist. He and his stage assistant and fiancée Maura Daniel preformed a hypnotism act on stage. A member of the audience begins to heckle Alex. Alex invites him to be hypnotized to prove that he is not a fake - Alex then hypnotizes him on stage in front of an audience and the man dies. Alex is sure he killed the man with his eyes! The doctor says the man died of natural causes but Alex becomes obsessed with the notion that he possesses the literal power of "looks that kill". Can Alex kill by looking at someone and willing them to die? Or is just believing in hocus pocus nonsense?

Pretty good movie if you like films on wax museums, mesmerism, mysteries and the Hollywood classics.

7/10

After a promising start with Calling Dr. Death (1943), Universal's Inner Sanctum series hits near bottom with this turkey. Mentalist Gregor (Chaney) uses his hypnotic powers to read minds, which makes for a good stage act until he goes bonkers over a subject's accidental death. From then on events pile up in no particular order or reason. The only requirement appears that whatever the four writers come up with, it has to happen inside the cheesy wax museum where notorious villains of the past slouch around like department store manikins. I guess they're supposed to be scary. But that's hard to tell since director Young appears to have no discernible purpose in what he puts on-screen. The final product plays like it's assembled from 5-dollar odds and ends inside a single tacky set.

And that's too bad, because it's a waste of an outstanding supporting cast-- Dumbrille and Kosleck, Ankers and Birell. One thing about this series—it sure has its share of classy dames. However, part of the series' problem is a miscast Chaney. His hulking frame is not exactly the dress-up, lover-boy type. Yet his role in the series has him playing intellectual, irresistible types from one entry to the next. No doubt the studio was hoping to promote the films with his Wolf Man reputation. Also, note that he's not appearing with any body make-up as he does in so many of his other horror features. I wouldn't be surprised he had that written into his contract, maybe in hopes of elevating his career out of the horror genre. As a result, the scariest thing he does here is stare into the camera for bleary-eyed close-ups. Thus, about the only reason to scope out this disappointing 60-minutes is to catch Chaney in a Clark Gable moustache.

From 1943 through 1945, Universal Studios made a string of six movies that starred Lon Chaney, Jr. that were all termed "The Inner Sanctum". Many of the actors were seen in several of the films, though Chaney managed to play the lead in all of them. The stories were B-films--with small budgets and running at just over 60 minutes each. In many ways, they were similar to the later "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV series. In addition, Columbia Pictures apparently thought there was money in the concept and brought out The Whistler series just a year after the first Inner Sanctum film. Like the other series, the same actor was supposed to star in the films and they all had different stories about murder and mayhem. Of the two series, I think the Inner Sanctum ones were just a bit better and part of this was because Chaney was excellent in the films.

Chaney plays a stage mentalist who apparently accidentally killed an audience member using his psychic powers. Since Chaney is such a nice guy, he can't live with himself and gives up the stage. Oddly, he is offered a job working in a wax museum and things seem okay, until yet another person dies--seemingly from Chaney's power.

THE FROZEN GHOST is a fun movie to watch, though I'll also admit that the plot was a bit silly and there were a lot of plot holes. At times, characters behave irrationally due to poor writing and plot is incredibly convoluted and tough to believe. However, for lovers of the genre, it's still well worth a look.

"The Frozen Ghost" was the fourth of six low budget "Inner Sanctum" mysteries based on the popular radio series of the day, produced by Universal between 1943 and 1945 and starring Lon Chaney Jr.

The film opens with mentalist Alex Gregor, aka Gregor the Great (Chaney) and his assistant Maura Daniel (Evelyn Ankers) guessing the secrets of a radio audience. A skeptic (Arthur Hohl) goes on stage to prove that Gregor is a fake. When Gregor tries to hypnotize the man, he falls over dead. Alex blames himself for the man's death and becomes depressed even though police Inspector Brant (Douglas Dumbrille) proves the man died of natural causes.

Still depressed, Alex breaks his engagement with Maura. Alex' manager, George Keene (Milburn Stone) conspires with Valerie Monet (Tala Birell) to have Alex stay at her place to get some rest. Valerie's home also houses a wax museum which she runs with her partner Rudi Polden (Martin Kosleck) who turns out to be a disgraced plastic surgeon. When Valerie's niece Nina (Elena Verdugo) becomes enamored of Alex, Rudi becomes jealous. Meanwhile Maura confronts Valerie over Alex' affections,

When Valerie suddenly disappears, Alex again is convinced that he is responsible. Inspecter Brant is called in by Nina to investigate. Brant begins to suspect Alex. Then Nina also disappears. Who is responsible for these disappearances and possible murders? Is Alex really a murderer, as he believes? What is the sinister Rudi's involvement in all of this?

Chaney as always is better than his material. He conveys real fear and guilt as a man who believes himself a murderer. Ankers has little to do and we don't get to hear her trademark blood curdling scream in this one. Dumbrille, usually cast as a villain, gets a change of pace as the police inspector. Stone is good as Gregor's trusted (or is he?) friend and manager.

Milburn Stone is best remembered as "Doc" on TV's "Gunsmoke" (1955-75). "B" movie fans will spot Dennis Moore as the radio announcer and Eddie Acuff as a reporter.

A better mystery than some would have you believe.

Another uneven and lackadaisical performance by Lon Chaney Jr., accompanied by a cast of scenery-chewing melodrama players, somehow does not completely spoil this little mystery story from the "Inner Sanctum" series. Silly stuff, perfect for a Saturday morning in bed. Good, dopey fun in keeping with the tradition of '40s "B" pictures.

This is a fairly good movie. What really stands out to me, aside from the all-around good performances, is the superb, mysterious, evocative set design of Madame Monet's mansion/wax museum. There's an interior stairway that would not have been out of place in a castle (hey, maybe it was used for that!) and the furniture is very rich and interesting. I was thinking how Universal was still making those great Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes films at this period. One comment: I like this movie, but I like the Charlie Chan or Sherlock Holmes films of the time more, because there is also some element of humor. I feel the absence of that here; I get a bit weary of the constant angst of the self-doubting hero. Of course I realize, humor would be out of place in these Inner Sanctum movies; but for me, that means a movie I like, but don't love, as I do the Sherlock Holmes movies.

Lon Chaney, Jr. is the leading man here. It is fun watching him get unhinged as he thinks his gift of hypnosis has caused the death of a drunk who comes on stage plastered. What follows is Chaney's amazing overacting. He is beset with whininess and guilt. Soon, the women in his life begin to be problems for him, as is his manager, played by Milburn Stone. When one of those women disappears, the police start sniffing around. This is really a borderline horror movie. Once again, a wax museum takes up much of the action, along with its curator, a strange evil little man with a Peter Lorre accent. It is good fun and doesn't try to be something it is not.