Dr. Charles Kessler (Bela Lugosi), you see, has gone quite bonkers -- that is, ever since Mrs. Kessler (Betty Compson) left him for another man. Since then, a series of murders have occurred in the house. When Kessler's wife mysteriously shows up at his window, for some inexplicable reason he goes into a hypnotic trance and it doesn't take much to figure out after that who is committing all the murders. In the meantime, Mrs. Kessler is in reality stowed in the cellar of a shack in the back of the house by the caretaker. Every so often she gets loose and wanders the yard to the window where Dr. Kessler thinks he hears her.
Then the cops show up and the cigar-chomping police detective (George Pembroke) can't seem to figure things out and arrests the wrong man (the boyfriend of Kessler's daughter) who ends up being executed on nothing more than circumstantial evidence. When Mrs. Kessler finally gets inside the house, the cops are still there. She is led into the room where her husband is, causing him to go into another trance after which tries to murder the detective. While this is going on, Mrs. Kessler, out of nowhere, drops dead. Kessler is subdued and the slayings are finally solved.
I gave this a recent watch and still find it tedious, even for a film that is barely over an hour long. Originally released by Monogram in 1941 it was re-released in 1949 by Astor Pictures. The entire film is shot on a sound stage and mostly takes place inside Kessler's house -- and if I see another staircase for a while I'll go crazy myself.
I do have to say that it is fairly atmospheric at times and most of the cast do their best in the roles and lines that have been given to them. I was particularly impressed with the lovely Polly Ann Young who played Kessler's daughter, Virginia. This was her last film and she retired after getting married. I also liked Clarence Muse as Evans the butler who thankfully plays it straight and doesn't have to resort to the usual comedic banter that befalls most of the African-American actors in these types of roles.
And as for Lugosi? He does a good job and makes us sympathetic to his tortured psyche. At the very least we can enjoy him once more pronouncing his "w's" and "ing's" as only he can.
Lobby cards from the original Monogram Pictures release:
Stills from the 1949 Astor Pictures re-release:
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