mark.waltz When somebody knows the time automatically without even having to look at a watch, they are somebody whose warnings should be heeded. For the female passenger on the seat next to him, listening to his story of a murderer on the run might seem like a minor time-killer, but when destiny calls, you will be there to answer the phone.The story the elderly man tells concerns the killer on the run (Charles Russell) who picks up a ride with a chatty salesman (Billy House) who drops him off at a boarding house run by Nana Bryant. Ironically, staying there is the kid (Dale Belding) who saw Russell drop the body on a departing train, afraid to tell because his rather abusive mother (Lee Patrick in an extremely obnoxious performance) will hit him. Russell hits it off with Bryant's pretty sexpot niece (Mary Beth Hughes), a 9:00 girl in a 5:00 town who longs for life outside the boarding house. Russell, worried that the kid knows more than he's telling, plots to silence him.Some outlandish plot developments diminish what might have been an intriguing poverty row film noir. Belding, the freckle-faced kid, initially comes off as goofy and meddlesome (getting giggles with his toothy grin), but as his dangerous situation increased, he begins to win more sympathy. Veteran stutterer Roscoe Ates only gets to do a bit of his stuttering act for a moment, playing a drunken resident of the boarding house whose obviously had one too many. That's a relief, considering that his over-kill of this schtick from movies of the 30's made this gag tired beyond amusement.There's a brilliant denouncement at the end which wraps up everything neatly and explains everything in short and sweet detail. As far as film noir goes, this bottom of the bill second feature may not be great, but elements of the plot's structure will keep you rivited none the less.

Martin Teller I picked up the "Midnight Mysteries" cheapo DVD set for some other noirs (THE SCAR, THE RED HOUSE, WOMAN ON THE RUN) but I hadn't seen this one before. A low-budget thriller in which a murderer hides out in a boarding house... but one of the occupants may have witnessed his crime. There's nothing too special going on here, but it has a brisk pace, some snappy dialogue, and Mary Beth Hughes (most famous for THE OX-BOW INCIDENT, or perhaps the Mystery Science Theatre fodder I ACCUSE MY PARENTS) is a steamy presence. Radio star Charles Russell isn't particularly riveting or anything, but he carries the film well enough. Some of the comic relief is kinda stupid, but some of it actually works. The child actor who plays a key role is a bit annoying, but not intolerably so.

kidboots There is a footnote at the end of the opening credits that says the title is used with the special permission of Simon and Shuster, publishers,and that is because long before the radio show, "Inner Sanctum" was originally a book series. The book's binding colour indicated the genre with blue for serious drama, red for romances and green for detective and mystery stories. The first book was published in 1930 and the series was very popular considering it was in the dark days of the Depression. The film is a stand alone movie that is based on the very popular "Inner Sanctum" radio series. It is not connected with the film series that starred Lon Chaney Jnr. It was an okay film - unusual in that Charles Russell plays a cold blooded killer, not above plotting to murder a young boy and slugging a girl.A woman (Eve Miller) meets a strange gentleman (Fritz Leiber), a seer, on a train, who warns her not to leave the train. He tells her the story of a man, who commits a murder at a lonely station. Even though the murder was accidental, Harold Dunlap, is really a heartless killer, who spends most of the film trying to kill Mike, the young boy who saw him put the body on the train. He is having an effect on the residents of the boarding house where he finally ends up. Mrs Bennett (Lee Patrick) sees him as a future father to her son Mike (Dale Belding) and Jean (Mary Beth Hughes) wants to go back to her old job in San Francisco - if he will go with her.He finally gets Mike in his clutches and informs the residents that Mike has run off and must be found. In reality he has Mike tied up in his closet. After slugging Jean, for getting in his way, a scuffle breaks out and Mike escapes - he is found and confesses that it was Harold he saw putting the girl on the train. There is just one more twist and it makes the movie very satisfying.Charles Russell didn't have much of a movie career but did originate the role of Johnny Dollar on CBS radio in the late 40s. He was not very dynamic as Harold Dunlap. Mary Beth Hughes had a small role as one of "These Glamour Girls" (1939) - then she was on her way - specialising in tough dame roles throughout the 40s and lots of television work in the 50s.Recommended.

Cristi_Ciopron INNER … is exactly what it promises to be--yet somewhat better. Mrs. Hughes and Russell are good and even, though morally objectionable, likable leads. It's made with some sense of economy, varied and suspenseful. The supporting characters are well sketched. INNER … starts confusingly, with a succession of scenes given backwards (the descending from the car, THEN the picking, AND THEN the railway station episode); anyway, the device is nice. For its time, INNER … is disturbingly violent; the atmosphere is caught with great gusto, and, if Russell's character remains unexplored and unexplained, blank, as it were, he nevertheless functions in the flick. Thou may not like this kind of movies, so unpretentious and modest; but you can not ask them to be something they are not meant to be.