The Frozen Ghost (1945)

The Worst Film Ever

Excellent but underrated film

Best movie of this year hands down!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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!

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!

Lon Chaney stars as a famous hypnotist, Gregor the Great, crippled emotionally after a belligerent, alcoholic volunteer drops dead while in the middle of his act, performing for an audience, believing he is responsible despite a coroner's report clearing him of any sort of murder. Alex Gregor felt hate for the volunteer due to the idiot's bad behavior, even mentioning that he could kill him, and this is what torments the hypnotist. He is so tormented, Alex quits his gig and decides to help Valerie Monet (Tala Birell) with her wax museum business, using the former celebrity to help bring in customers. Maura Daniel (Evelyn Ankers) was to marry Gregor (she is his assistant, often put under hypnosis and foretells what certain people in the audience are thinking) before the embarrassing death, which led Alex to call of their engagement and leave the profession. Of course, she still loves Gregor and wants to rekindle their broken relationship. Valerie Monet and her niece, Nina (Elena Verdugo; the gypsy in "House of Frankenstein"), both fall for Gregor (haha, these Inner Sanctum mysteries always have all the ladies completely enamored with Chaney's characters) leading to multiple complications. Martin Kosleck (the mad sculptor in "House of Horrors" co-starring Rando Hatton) is a former plastic surgeon, driven from the practice due to a patient's "miscalculation", now Madame Monet's wax sculpture artist, Dr. Rudi Polden, one of those creepy, *eccentric* weirdos who talks to his figures as if they were alive. Rudi is infatuated with Nina and has a severe dislike for Gregor because he "bosses him around". In actuality, Rudi is jealous because Nina carries a torch for Gregor (who considers her a child). There's plenty of jealousy to go around, though, as Valerie competes for Gregor even if he doesn't have the same feelings for her as he does for Maura. Milburn Stone is Gregor's business agent, George Keene, who seems interested in helping his client get over this obsession with causing death through hypnotic suggestion. When Valerie disappears after an argument with Gregor results in him using his hypnotism, out of anger, to "predispose" her, Alex is worried that he has killed again, blacking out for a period before finding himself near a pier. Douglass Dumbrille rounds out the cast as a pesky inspector who considers everyone a suspect in Val's disappearance, soon eyeing Gregor when Nina also vanishes (after making a startling discovery when one of Rudi's wax sculptures is a bit *too* lifelike.).A wax museum, a diabolical sculptor, a double-cross in the works for poor Gregor, hypnotism, disappearances, suspended animation, and a hero's tormented psyche questioning his unique ability as if it were a dangerous weapon he cannot control, "The Frozen Ghost" has a lot going on. I think by this point, the "Inner Sanctum Mysteries" series was starting to show its age, the fourth film has some pretty bland writing and practically little imagination, not to mention, Chaney's role isn't as interesting as, say, Kosleck's. Chaney is a weary, tortured soul—sound familiar? That's all it is, honestly, I wish the series had mixed things up (like they did in "Weird Woman" when Evelyn Ankers was given a juicy villainous part), and given Chaney a chance to play the corrupt character instead of always being saddled with the Lawrence Talbot victim. It isn't that Chaney cannot portray a heel, just watch "The Alligator People".Anyway, there's one surprising moment out of left field, when the story reveals a plot to have Gregor committed, the mastermind perhaps not who you would expect. Evelyn Ankers, after probably her best part at Universal Studios with "Weird Woman", resorts back to beautiful love interest to Chaney, a supporting part that doesn't require much from her other than the "stand by your man" aspect her characters are often provided. Kosleck has a keen ability at portraying the kinds of characters who can make your skin crawl; his love for Nina unrequited, only fueling his psychopathic behavior. The screenplay certainly throws in everything but the kitchen sink so there might be something for fans of Universal horror to enjoy.

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.