Behind Locked Doors (1948)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

****SPOILERS*** In an effort to track down on the lamb judge-for taking bribes-Finlay Drake, Herbert Hayes, reporter Ross Stewert, Richard Carson, with the help of of fellow reporter Kathy Lawrence, Lucille Bremer, goes undercover as a mental patient in the La Siesta Sanatorium in order to smoke him out and have him arrested by the police. First getting a clean bill of health that he in fact is nuts by psychiatrist J,R Bell, John Holland, Ross tries to find out if in fact Drake is a resident or inmate of the sanatorium before he himself is found out by the staff headed by Dr. Clifford Porter, Tom Brown Henry, that he's not nuts but a totally sane undercover reporter.Much like Samuel Fuller's 1963 movie "Shock Corridor" the film "Behind Locked Doors" follow or introduced the same storyline of a man faking insanity to track down a criminal in a mental institution that in this case, unlike in Fuller's movie, he doesn't end up being insane in doing it. It turns out that Dr. Porter is in on the scheme in hiding Judge Drake in his sanitarium but he gets cold feet when it's discovered that Stewart isn't what they think he is-a nut-case-and is told by the judge to off him: Hiding a fugitive from justice is one thing but murder is quite another! ***SPOILERS*** Trying to get Stewart killed in a staged accident he's locked in a cell with "The Champ" former heavyweight boxing champion suffering from in the ring brain damage, he always hears bells ringing, played by the hulking 400 pound Tor Johnson. Johnson was later to become immortalized in the 1955 Ed Wood classic "Bride of the Monster" as Bela Lugosi's hulking and mute assistant Lobo. It's in fact "The Champ" or Tor who's believe it or not not even in the film credits who turns out to be the hero here. After manhandling Stewart he suddenly turns on Dr. Porter and his goons and puts an end to their plans as well as to them themselves.

Move along, there is nothing to see here. This was a completely forgettable film that takes place entirely inside a sadistic sanitarium. Now at first that may sound promising but with boring characters and ridiculous situations you will soon find yourself losing interest in this short b-movie. This film stars Richard Carlson who also featured in "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." Do you remember his standout performance in that classic? Yeah, me neither. The directer Oscar Boetticher, would go on to direct many successful Westerns, but only after he changed his name to Bud. Apparently his new studio never bothered to Google him.

There was only one reason I sought out this low-budget noir film--it was directed by Budd Boetticher--a man known for squeezing a lot out of low budgets and simple scripts. And, boy, did this film deliver! This film stars Lucille Bremer and Richard Carlson--not exactly household names today. Bremer's most famous role was the oldest daughter in "Meet Me in St. Louis" and Carlson played many mostly anonymous leading or supporting roles in mostly secondary films but is a name few remember today.Bremer plays a reporter who is looking for a judge who is on the lam from the law. Her leads suggest he might be hiding in a sanitarium but getting in to find him is a problem. So, he pays a detective (Carlson) to pretend to be insane and get himself admitted to the place in order to prove her theory. A bit implausible but an interesting idea for a film--especially as you wonder what awaits Carlson.Once Carlson is admitted to the place, it's pretty obvious that the staff is amazingly cruel or indifferent towards the patients. Patients are routinely beaten and the place is dreadful. You also get to see that the Judge IS hiding out there--but not in a part of the hospital that Carlson has access to, so through much of the film he's unsure about this. So, he tries repeatedly to sneak into the locked unit but to no avail. Will he be able to find the fugitive or will he lose his mind instead?! Or will he be discovered?! The film is a lot like the Olivia DeHavilland film, "The Snake Pit"--but this asylum is run by sociopaths who are worse than any of the residents of the place! And, it's also VERY exciting and I am shocked the film is pretty much forgotten today, as it's an excellent noir thriller.By the way, the child star Dickie Moore appears in a small role as a mute patient. It's a far cry from his starring roles in the 1930s. Also, Tor Johnson (from "Plan 9 From Outer Space", "The Beast of Yucca Flats" and other cheesy films) makes a small appearance as a violent maniac kept locked in a cell throughout the movie--or at least most of the movie.

Richard Carlson goes "Behind Locked Doors" in this 1948 film also starring Lucille Bremer. Carlson plays detective Ross Stewart who enters an insane asylum as a patient at the behest of a reporter Kathy Lawrence (Bremer) to find a judge who is on the lam from the police. For his trouble, there is a $10,000 reward, which he and Lawrence will split, but she has to make sure the Judge is in the asylum first. They play man and wife, and she has him committed. Once inside, Stewart discovers that the place is run somewhat inhumanely, and that the judge may be in a ward of the asylum that is locked and inaccessible to other patients.This is a B movie all the way with decent performances by Carlson and Bremer, Douglas Fowley and Tor Johnson and good direction by Budd Boetticher. I sort of hoped that, although the Bremer character was on the trail of the judge, that she might have been interested in some of the bad conditions at the asylum and wanted to expose them. Though things don't stay as they are there, it would have been nice if earlier, she had mentioned having any interest in it. Guess she just wanted the big story.Good but not exceptional.