Dead Man's Eyes

Moviecut—Dead Man's Eyes

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Dead Man's Eyes is directed by Reginald Le Borg and written by Dwight V. Babcock. It stars Lon Chaney Jr, Jean Parker, Acquanetta, Paul Kelly and Thomas Gomez. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by Paul Ivano. Part of Universal Pictures Inner Sanctum series, plot finds Chaney as artist David Stuart, who after accidentally being blinded finds himself the suspected murderer of the man who had bequeathed his own eyes for cornea transplant. A steady if unspectacular entry in the Inner Sanctum series, Dead Man's Eyes is more a mystery who done it than a bona fide thriller. Clocking in at just over an hour, film makes the big mistake of taking too long to get to the actual murder that underpins the drama. For a full length feature film, the 30 minute build up of characters and set up of plot would be most welcome, but in a compact production such as this, for the final third it gives the feeling of cramming too much into too short a running time. There's barely time for proper detective work and suspects are hardly afforded time to become viable. However, on the plus side is that the killer is hidden well enough, the acting is mostly agreeable (except the woeful Acquanetta) and characters are interesting because they are such miserablists, the latter of which helps to feed the picture a sense of hopelessness. Enjoyable if forgettable come the end, there's enough atmosphere and mystery to keep it just about above average. 6/10

Lon Chaney Jr. plays David Stuart, an artist that is blinded by accident...or purposely by who and why? Reginald Le Borg directs this suspenseful drama. Stuart may have a second chance at resuming his livelihood; his fiance's father has offered his own eyes upon his death. While waiting on this eye-sight transfer, the donor is murdered. Now there is a double mystery fueled by jealousy and greed. Mr. Chaney plays his role garnering sympathy without seeming wooden. Other players in this the third of six in the Inner Sanctum series: Jean Parker, George Meeker, Edward Fielding, Thomas Gomez, Paul Kelly, Jonathan Hale and Acquanetta.

'Dead Man's Eyes' is an old Lon Chaney Jr Inner Sanctum mystery film that practically reviews it's self. These Inner Sanctum films were really the hokiest of B movie film noirs but anyone who is a fan of Universal can't condemn them. You'll notice I'm reviewing this film in an almost plural fashion and it is because all six or so of these films are all pretty much the same movie. Chaney Jr always starred in an odd murder mystery and is the object of obsession between two B movie starlets in a love triangle. It pretty much never changed and 'Dead Man's Eyes' is no exception. The nuances aren't all that interesting. 'Dead Man's Eyes' has Chaney blinded by an accident and really it doesn't matter. I just love Lon Chaney Jr too much to really trash a movie were he is the lead. And even if they are hokey they are hokey in a consistently entertaining fashion. They are the kind of film noirs that believe and put so much energy in their clichés that you feel you get your money's worth. And really with Chaney Jr in the lead you are getting significantly more than you would from any other boring handsome stock player Universal probably would have casted.

Lon Chaney Jr. plays an artist who accidentally blinds himself with acid(thinking it was normal eye wash) His jealous new model Tanya(played by Acquanetta) feels horribly guilty by her "mistake" and so agrees to take care of him during his period of adjustment. However, the father of the woman he was going to marry agrees to donate his eyes for an experimental cornea transplant upon his death, which occurs quite soon as he is murdered... Who killed him, and why, and will the operation be a success regardless? OK mystery has a number of suspects to choose from, and keeps viewer guessing until the end. Not a classic by any means, but still fairly entertaining.

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.

Dead Man's Eyes (1944) is the third of six Inner Sanctum films starring Lon Chaney, Jr. It is has a very intense atmosphere and is an overall good movie. David Stuart is an artist and engaged to be married to Heather Hayden. Heather's father, Dad Hayden, likes David. Tanya Czoraki is David's model - she falls for David, becomes jealous of his engagement and blinds David. David's friends tell him of a very expensive eye operation that may or may not work involving a dead man's eyes. David loves Heather, he wants to marry her but pushes her away due to his blindness. He's tired of everyone feeling sorry for him and wants his eye sight back. But at what price? Murder for their eyes? Or is David being set up? This one is quite interesting and worth watching if you like mysteries, crime, thrillers and horror. 7.5/10

With character actors like Paul Kelly, Thomas Gomez and Jean Parker, this Inner Sanctum outing has Lon Chaney as an artist and is one of the better vehicles for Lon. He starred in all six films in the Inner Sanctum series, and this one concerns him putting acid in his eyes by mistake, instead of his intended eye-wash. Or did someone plan it that way? When his future father-in-law says he has put it in his will that Lon gets his eyes for a surgical procedure, the old man is mysteriously killed within days. Did Lon - a blind man - do it? Did a young model, who loves him, do it, so that he will be blind and bound to her forever? Did the psychiatrist do it, because he loves her and he will only have her if Lon gets his sight back? Did the old man's daughter do it? Obviously not! They strike again, when she is on the phone with the next victim. But, you won't find out the answer, until you buy this neat Inner Sanctum series DVD set. Or see it on TV. But I think that's less likely. This b-picture is given grade A production with good actors and quick dialogue that pushes you along. So what are you waiting for? Go into the Inner Sanctum.

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).