Pillow of Death ** (1945, Lon Chaney Jr, Brenda Joyce, J Edward Bromberg, George Cleveland, Clara Blandick) – Classic Movie Review 3762

Lon Chaney Jr again stars, this time as Wayne Fletcher, in Universal’s sixth and final Inner Sanctum series mystery as a dodgy-seeming attorney whom the police suspect when his wife is suffocated under a pillow.

Chaney Jr loves his secretary Donna Kincaid (Brenda Joyce), whose uncle Sam (George Cleveland) and aunt Belle (Clara Blandick) are then bumped off.

Dwight V Babcock’s story (screenplay by George Bricker) is not much of a mystery thriller – being uncosmic, predictable and cosily familiar – and the revelation at the end is something of an anti-climax.

But professionalism all round keeps director Wallace Fox’s entertaining 1945 film going quite nicely and, once more Chaney Jr is a welcome star presence, and the support players are equally welcome.

Also in the cast are J Edward Bromberg, Rosalind Ivan, J Farrell MacDonald and Bernard B Thomas.

Universal’s six Inner Sanctum movies with Lon Chaney Jr based on the popular 1941 to 1952 radio show are: Calling Dr Death (1943), Weird Woman (1944), Dead Man’s Eyes (1944), The Frozen Ghost (1945), Strange Confession (1945) and Pillow of Death (1945).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3762

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