Is It a Party Line- with Lon Chaney Jr AND Gilbert Gottfried “Calling Dr. Death” in the Inner Sanctum?

Tonight on MeTV- we again enter the walls of the Inner Sanctum- to find hypnotic treatments- an unfaithful spouse- and a persistent policeman out to solve a murder by "Calling Dr. Death"! Plus- we get some extra anytime minutes with an all-new visit from comedian and Universal horror fan Gilbert Gottfried!

It's another entry from the “Inner Sanctum” movie series, based on  the once popular radio program- in fact, this was the first in the series of films, which all starred Lon Chaney Jr., and were , for the most part, introduced by a floating head in a glass globe! Lon plays Dr.  Mark Steele, a neurologist whose unique  use of hypnotism to treat patients seems to garner amazing results. However, it's a "physician, heal thyself' situation, as Mark just can't remedy his problems with his stunning wife Maria, who seems to be playing the field as far as men (other than her husband)  go. She knows that she has a good thing going with him, though, in one aspect- she enjoys sharing his wealth, and, for that reason alone,won’t grant him a divorce. She laughs in her distraught hubby's face, not even worried about concealing her tawdry affairs.

After yet another confrontation, Maria gets fed up- and departs for yet another weekend away from her husband, as she heads off for the remote cabin they own- leaving Mark home alone again.  Mark can't take it any more- and heads out on an aimless drive, feeling the spite and rage that Maria instills in him.

The following Monday morning, Mark wakes up in his office at his desk - with no memory of where he spent the weekend, or how he ended up back at his office! His beautiful nurse Stella  is concerned about the shape he's in- and things get even more tense with the arrival of a couple of detectives- bearing the sad tidings that Maria has been killed- and it's definitely  a case of murder!

Mark heads to the scene of the crime- his own cabin. Maria’s disfigured corpse is still there- and Mark is already reeling when one Police Inspector Gregg enters- and obviously thinks Mark could be the number one suspect in the murder. Mark isn't the only one under the police microscope-  an architect who appears to have been Maria's latest boy toy is taken into custody, with some thinking he had both the motive and the opportunity. Regardless,Inspector Gregg doesn't think so- and neither does Mark. Both of them are determined to find the truth- with Mark , aided by Stella, trying to uncover some solid evidence- and figure out  exactly where he was during his "lost weekend". A small item found at the scene of the crime only adds to the confusion- and, finally, a desperate Mark  must rely on his own hypnotic methods in an attempt to reveal what really happened!

This 1943 entry that began the series pretty much sets the blueprint for the all following Inner Sanctum films. Let us introduce you to the terrific cast, including the versatile  J. Carroll Naish as Inspector Gregg,  two screen beauties in Ramsay Ames and Patricia Morison- plus another lady who's shown up in some of our Universal horrors, and, of course, big Lon. We add some music to the murder mystery, thanks to the hot horn playing our own Doug Graves- and-  you may recall that, last time we showed this film, we had a visit from a celebrity fan- the amazing comedian, voice actor , and proprietor of “Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast”- Gilbert Gottfried. By a strange coincidence of timing - Gilbert dropped by once again- so we have some BRAND NEW segments with him, again sharing his knowledge  of the Universal films- and providing new laughs!

"Calling Dr. Death" shows up tonight on MeTV at 10 pm eastern/pacific, 9 central, or check your local listings for time and channel where you are (you can also find that out at www.metv.com ). Our Chicago viewers can get another look at "The Land Unknown" at 11 am on WCIU, the U.

Flashback Weekend is fast approaching- for info on when and where to see me there, please check in our "appearances" area on this website.

Heed the call tonight and  join us in the Inner Sanctum!( Do you think Gilbert knows his way in?)