Pillow of Death

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 is the last of the six Inner Sanctum mystery / thriller films that Universal made in the 40s. And, in my opinion, it's one of the two best (Weird Woman being the other). In this one, Lon Chaney Jr is Wayne Fletcher, a lawyer in love with his secretary. The problem is, he's got a wife at home. So when she's found dead under mysterious circumstances, Fletcher is the natural suspect.

Despite what I consider to be a rather silly title, Pillow of Death is a solid little film. The writing is excellent with a surprising (at least surprising to me - even on a repeat viewing) solution that works nicely. The atmospheric "old dark house" trappings, complete with a seance, and plot twists keep things interesting. The direction is crisp as the film moves along at a good pace. And, like most of Universal's B output from this time period, the sets and cinematography look better than they have any right. It really is quite beautiful to look at. Overall, Pillow of Death is a well made movie.

As for the acting, there's very little to complain about. Chaney is fine in the lead, but I admit the "tormented soul" routine he perfected in The Wolf Man gets a bit old. Co-star Brenda Joyce, taking a break from playing Jane in the Tarzan series, is more than capable. There are a number of notable performances in the supporting cast, but none quite like George Cleveland. What a joy!

7/10.

Pillow Of Death is the last of Universial's well-made, entertaining Inner Sactum series of second feature thrillers, all utilizing the often wasted talent of Lon Chaney, Jr., off-beat stories, a rather spooky, Gothic atmosphere, a battalion of fine character actors, and a covey of beautiful "B" leading ladies, and second female leads as the love interests of the unglamorous Chaney. All get the job done in under seventy minutes, Pillow being the longest by a bit at an hour and six minutes. It is also the only picture of the series not to use the spooky, distorted talking head in a crystal ball as a prologue, a device apparently inherited from the popular radio show which inspired the movie series. It wasn't really missed. Neither the worst nor the best of the series, Pillow has arguably the best production values with most of the action set in a lavish Victorian mansion.

Chaney's secretary the beautiful Brenda Joyce, also his love interest in Strange Confession (see my review), lives in the "old dark house" with a set of eccentric, querulous relatives. Chaney, an attorney, leaves her there in the opening scene, then drives home and "have it out with" his wife. You see, he wants to marry said pretty secretary, who has apparently been sitting on big, strong bossy-wossy's lap while taking dictation. But he finds that his wife has been murdered by suffocation (with the title pillow no doubt). He becomes suspect numero uno of course and for the rest of the movie is subjected to investigation and harassment by the police and a goofy, fat spiritualist (J. Edward Bromberg). Seances and bodies pile up.

This well done "old dark house" mystery has you suspecting everyone, including Chaney and Joyce, before it is over. The suspects, as is traditional in one of these, are eliminated by becoming victims -- except for the resident ghost of course, which turns out to be a raccoon in the attic. I'm not so sure I didn't suspect that pest, too. The identity of the killer did in fact come as a surprise! Big hint: it wasn't the butler. The clever drawing room mystery style was what kept this rather confused entry in the Inner Sanctum cycle interesting. Well-acted by all. Chaney was always fascinating, and Brenda Joyce deserved better than swinging through the jungle on a vine with Tarzan.

Not as good as some of the others in the series, but mild entertainment for 66 minutes with the a/c going full blast on a hot August evening.

"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.

On video, this film is part of a two film set of Inner Sanctum mysteries--the other being the more interesting DEAD MAN'S EYES.

PILLOW OF DEATH is a "B-movie"--a shorter film with a lower budget that is meant as the second film at a double-feature. In most cases, people came to the theater to see the "A-picture" and the B-movie was more like an added bonus. Most B-films are definitely on the cheap side and have pretty anemic budgets, though occasionally one rises above these lower expectations. While most of this film is purely average and not particularly noteworthy for the genre, the film definitely ends very well as a murder mystery--catching me by surprise by who the real murderer was. So, for lovers of mystery and suspense, this film is well worth seeing, though others might be a bit unimpressed by the overall product. Not bad at all, but far from great or memorable.