In this, the fifth film of the "Inner Sanctum" franchise, the regular star Lon Chaney Jr. Is cast as Jeff Carter, a chemist relating his desperate story to attorney Mr. Brandon (Wilton Graff), an old schoolmate. Most of the film is then told in flashback, as Jeff is exploited by a greedy pharmaceutical executive (a memorable and excellent J. Carrol Naish). Jeff is hard at work on "Zymurgine", a supposed cure for diseases like influenza. But the boss is so eager to get the drug on the market, that he does NOT wait for Jeff to complete his testing. Therefore, this untested version of the drug proves to be very ineffective. Jeff becomes determined that his sleazy boss be held accountable.
"Strange Confession" is not as thickly atmospheric as most of this series, although it begins on an ominous note as Jeff works hard to avoid cops while going to see the attorney. Its tale (scripted by M. Coates Webster, based on a composition by "Jean Bart") has little to do with "plots" or murder, relating a reasonably interesting sequence of events and giving Lon a less mentally tortured character (for the balance of the film, anyway) than was the norm for these pictures. His wife (a luminous Brenda Joyce) does genuinely love him, but can't help but want a little more out of life, including the finer things. She encourages him to be more ambitious, and to work harder at being recognized by his boss for his "brilliant mind".
The whole cast is wonderful: a young Lloyd Bridges (in his first movie after his wartime service) has a cheery presence as Dave, Jeffs' assistant. Milburn Stone, Addison Richards, Mary Gordon, and the adorable Gregory Marshall (as Jeffs' son) co-star. Lon does a good job as could be expected, but "Strange Confession" truly belongs to a brilliantly slimy and sinister Naish as the antagonist. He's such a scumbag that viewers patiently wait through the whole film for his hoped-for comeuppance. (And, although it's of course not shown on camera, the implication is gruesome.). Naish had previously played a suspicious detective in "Calling Dr. Death", the original "Inner Sanctum" feature, and it's a treat to see him and Lon together again.
All of these "Inner Sanctum" features are good fun, packing a fair amount of entertainment value into movies that typically ran barely over an hour long.
Seven out of 10.
"Strange Confession" is not as thickly atmospheric as most of this series, although it begins on an ominous note as Jeff works hard to avoid cops while going to see the attorney. Its tale (scripted by M. Coates Webster, based on a composition by "Jean Bart") has little to do with "plots" or murder, relating a reasonably interesting sequence of events and giving Lon a less mentally tortured character (for the balance of the film, anyway) than was the norm for these pictures. His wife (a luminous Brenda Joyce) does genuinely love him, but can't help but want a little more out of life, including the finer things. She encourages him to be more ambitious, and to work harder at being recognized by his boss for his "brilliant mind".
The whole cast is wonderful: a young Lloyd Bridges (in his first movie after his wartime service) has a cheery presence as Dave, Jeffs' assistant. Milburn Stone, Addison Richards, Mary Gordon, and the adorable Gregory Marshall (as Jeffs' son) co-star. Lon does a good job as could be expected, but "Strange Confession" truly belongs to a brilliantly slimy and sinister Naish as the antagonist. He's such a scumbag that viewers patiently wait through the whole film for his hoped-for comeuppance. (And, although it's of course not shown on camera, the implication is gruesome.). Naish had previously played a suspicious detective in "Calling Dr. Death", the original "Inner Sanctum" feature, and it's a treat to see him and Lon together again.
All of these "Inner Sanctum" features are good fun, packing a fair amount of entertainment value into movies that typically ran barely over an hour long.
Seven out of 10.