Dead Man's Eyes (1944)

the audience applauded

A Masterpiece!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Exotic Aquanetta, aka the captive wild woman, shows off her thespian talents in the third of the "Inner Sanctum" series as the model of that seductive romantic idol, Lon Chaney Jr. Jealous over his engagement to Jean Parker, the cold Acquanetta arranges an accident that leads to Chaney's blindness. The segment of Chaney losing his sight is very scary as his pupils fill the screen all white and the vision blurs down to darkness. A corneal transplant has eye doctor Jonathan Hale hoping that they can restores his sight. Paul Kelly as the psychiatrist friend of Chaney's notices Acquanetta's "primitive" nature, giving way to her obsession growing as she takes care of him after he dumps Parker. When a potential donor is murdered, Chaney's sight is restored, but the so-called dead man's eyes take over Chaney's personality as he faces trial for the murder of the person whose eyes he now possesses. With some intelligent medical information in regards to medical advancements, this has some intriguing developments, but predictably takes some strange twists. Chaney continues his thought process of speaking over the action, but fortunately he's not whispering this time around. The acting isn't bad here, and even Acquanetta is sincere, if unremarkable, but at least she's not insipid. There's just a lack of consistency in her line delivery. I just didn't find her obsession with Chaney realistic. Thomas Gomez is amusing as an easy going police detective with a knack of manipulating the truth out of suspects. Interesting to notice that a nightclub sequence features an outtake of a musical number from a Universal 1932 crime drama, "Night World", superimposed over shots of Chaney and Parker at a night club. A fun but far fetched story, it has periods of superb psychiatric visions into the human soul, but suddenly switches into the absurd with plot developments so outlandish that the film suddenly becomes cartoon like in its development.

1944's "Dead Man's Eyes" was third of the six 'Inner Sanctum' mysteries, later included in Universal's popular SHOCK! package of classic horror films issued to television in the late 50s. Unlike its predecessors, this pretty much ranks as a straight up whodunit, with some macabre touches borrowed from a previous SHOCK! title, "Mystery of the White Room," a 1939 'Crime Club' mystery wherein one character has his sight restored by a corneal transplant from the murder victim. Lon Chaney again is a tortured victim, the (justifiably) starving artist Dave Stuart, whose latest painting is believed to be the masterpiece that will put his career on the path to success. Engaged to wealthy Heather (Jean Parker), Dave is blind to the devotion of his attractive model, Tanya Czoraki (Acquanetta,) who mishandles identical bottles on the artist's top shelf, one containing eye wash, the other acetic acid (surely any man keeping such items side by side gets what he deserves). The unthinkable happens, Dave falling victim to the (intended?) switch, rendered sightless by the acid's corrosive effects. Heather's devoted father (Edward Fielding) wills his eyes to his prospective son-in-law, then winds up murdered in his own home, the blind Dave himself stumbling over the body before his fiancée discovers what happened. Were it not for the endless bickering and/or bellyaching, it might have been the best of the entire series, the too-slow buildup and mostly mediocre acting sinking the whole enterprise. After a horrendous showing in "Jungle Woman," the woeful Acquanetta is once again entrusted with dialogue, displaying all the downtrodden acting prowess of Rondo Hatton in a sadly indifferent display that cannot be considered a performance; rather fittingly, this was her farewell to Universal. Underrated beauty Jean Parker was enjoying her best year in the genre, starring with Lionel Atwill in "Lady in the Death House," Bela Lugosi in "One Body Too Many," and John Carradine in "Bluebeard." As the police inspector, Thomas Gomez, usually cast as villains, doesn't enjoy the kind of juicy dialogue that J. Carrol Naish had in "Calling Dr. Death," but he definitely has more depth than his successors in both "The Frozen Ghost" and "Pillow of Death." The smarmy Paul Kelly is certainly in his element as a psychiatrist mooning over Tanya's questionable qualities, with similar turns in "Star of Midnight," "The Missing Guest," and "The Cat Creeps." Beatrice Roberts, Queen Azura in "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars," had an almost continuous run of unbilled bits, her beauty always standing out, as it does here, easily catching the eye of police guard Eddie Dunn. As for Chaney, this pity party is just a dreary bore, unfortunately foreshadowing the very next entry, "The Frozen Ghost," which at least boasts a much stronger cast. "Dead Man's Eyes" made three appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater- Mar 23 1968 (following 1962's Mexican "The Bloody Vampire"), July 30 1977 (following 1967's Japanese "King Kong Escapes"), and Feb 26 1983 (solo).

The Inner Sanctum Mysteries starring Lon Chaney often feature the star in a whole heap of trouble, usually getting the better of the true killer who has set him up as the fall guy at the very end. "Dead Man's Eyes" is a strong entry in the series because the mystery is less predictable and more gripping, casting doubt towards every character but Chaney's love interest, Heather, played by Jean Parker. Chaney is a struggling artist, David Stuart, who uses eye wash after his sessions with exotic model, Tanya (Acquanetta), engaged to Heather Hayden. Dr. Alan Bittaker (Paul Kelly), a psychiatrist, is David's friend, infatuated with Tanya. Tanya, however, is in love with David. Heather's wealthy father adores David, and vice versa, while the constantly rejected Nick Phillips (George Meeker, portraying a sniveling drunk, whose continual pathetic advances towards Heather always result with him being denied) cannot seem to take no for an answer( in regards to his own marriage proposal to Heather). When Tanya accidentally places a bottle of acid where the eye wash is supposed to sit, David's promising life and career will suffer. David, thinking the acid is eye wash, applies the liquid to his eyes and is blinded. What will ensue is the murder of Heather's father with numerous suspects, including David (who is caught by Heather in the room with blood on his hands, having stumbled over the deceased's body) and Tanya (who claimed that she planned to confront "Dad" Hayden (Edward Fielding) about his scathing comments about her being responsible for David's condition and worsening psychological state). Could the suspect be someone else, though? "Dead Man's Eyes" is as much a soap opera as it is an Agatha Christie mystery. Lots of people in love with the next, each love unrequited because the other wants somebody else. David wants to end his engagement because he has become a sad sack (although he is angered that everyone wants to offer their assistance to him, being treated like an invalid doesn't sit well with him to say the least) informing Heather that he's in love with Tanya. Tanya, who cannot escape the delusion that David actually loves her, denies Alan's intentions for romancing her. Whether David and Heather have a happy ending hinges on an eye surgery (Dad Hayden's eyes were to be used to help David via cornea procedure upon his death) and uncovering the murderer. Thomas Gomez (The Twilight Zone) is entertaining as the detective who gets under David's skin offering his opinions and insight on the case and who he thinks are plausible candidates for killing Dad Hayden.This series seems to often feature certain identifiable tropes per film such as the detectives confronting Chaney's lead characters, conversing about their suspects/theories, while relating information/reasons that less-than-subtly imply that he (or someone he cares about) could be responsible for the murder(s). Each film stacks the deck against Chaney, with us wondering how he'll get out of his predicament. Chaney is always adored by women (nice) in these films, coveted and revered, with some Lawrence Talbot crisis throwing his life into a tailspin. While not an atmospheric Gothic horror, "Dead Man's Eyes" has enough red herrings—and an interesting motive behind the murders of the film—and a sympathetic victim of circumstance, I think many will find this one of the more entertaining entries in the Inner Sanctum series. Nice twist at the end when it seems Chaney's blind artist is doomed to fall victim to the killer due to his supposed handicap.

In this above average offering from Universal, Inner Sanctum series regular Lon Chaney plays a talented painter named Dave Stewart who is in love with a girl he intends to marry (Jean Parker). His beautiful model (CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN's Acquanetta) is jealous of their romance and would rather have Dave all to herself. One day after a grueling painting session, Dave's eyewash gets switched with acid, and the artist is rendered blind when he accidentally douses his tired eyes with it. His fiancé's elderly father generously offers to donate his eyes to Dave upon his death, so when the old man is subsequently murdered, all suspicion points to the blinded painter. This mild whodunit offers a variety of possibilities as to who the murderer might be -- is it Dave Stewart? His jilted model? Or perhaps one of two other men who harbor a jealousy (one loves Acquanetta, the other desires Dave's woman)...? It's a pity the exotic beauty Acquanetta never learned to act (and if you think she's horrible here, you should see her in 1944's JUNGLE WOMAN!). This entry also features Thomas Gomez as a pushy policeman who keeps on Chaney's trail, much as J. Carrol Naish did (but better) in the first Inner Sanctum Mystery, CALLING DR. DEATH. **1/2 out of ****