With the recent release of the Universal INNER SANCTUM films
on DVD I’ve been revisiting that sextet. Always a fun hour & change
they are a great view for any fan of Lon Chaney Jr. as he is center stage in
every one. These were made in the 40s just as his alcohol abuse was starting to
be in evidence and you can see the beginnings of the eye bags that would come
to be so prominent just a few years later. But Chaney is clearly giving these
quickie programmers his all even when the scripts are less than great.
Much has been written about how sub-par this series is but
I’ve never felt that way. I love these mysteries much as I do the other genre
productions from Universal from the 1940s. They’re not perfect but they are
very entertaining with occasional flashes of amazing filmmaking skill. I
suspect that the directors of the IS films sometimes took the opportunity to
try new things here that might get stopped on larger, more prestigious movies.
And really, the only awful one of the series still has its charms, not the
least of which is the series’ reoccurring unintentionally humorous sight of
multiple ladies vying for Chaney’s affections. (No- I won’t defend THE FROZEN
GHOST as it is quite poorly written and sloppily plotted but I will say I have
enjoyed it several times and probably will several more.)
But on this pass through the films I’ve noticed another
similarity they share that has new resonance for me as I get older. In each
film Chaney’s character is often asking to please be left alone. Not in a
hostile way usually but simply to have some breathing room to think about his
predicament. Caught up in an elaborate murder scheme or fingered for a crime he
didn’t commit Chaney is constantly harried on all sides by friends, women of
dubious character, police detectives, lawyers, doctors and reporters. The poor
man can hardly get enough alone time to visit the bathroom it seems! So in each
of these movies I see him sometimes actually begging to just be left alone so
he can simply think about the mess his life has become. Maybe if he
can quietly consider the situation he can understand what he must do!
Boy do I identify with this. As I get older I find my time
is not my own so often that I struggle to carve out spaces each week just to
sit down and think. So many projects I want to work on and so little time to
devote to them. I’ve found myself looking in the mirror and wondering if I’m
starting to take on the hangdog look Chaney sports in most of these movies. Of
course, I’d be thrilled to have the beautiful ladies falling all over
themselves to gain my attention that seems to come with his sad state but….I
think a few hours alone with my thoughts would be better for me.
Who knew I’d find so much of myself in Lon Jr. –outside the
WOLF MAN of course. But then, all men identify with that lusty beast! Is this
just a part of getting older?
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