RyothChatty ridiculous rating

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

mark.waltz For private detective Richard Carlson, a job is a job, and a risk is an every day occurrence. But in his latest assignment, he is forced to go behind locked doors as a patient in a private institution. Reporter Lucille Bremer hires him for the assignment with the hopes for getting the scoop on a crooked judge whom she believes to be hiding there. Danger lurks around every corner here, and the film only briefly details the reasons why some of these dangerous patients are there. But the majority of the staff is ruthless and abusive, and the head of the agency is clearly up to no good. An evil orderly gets the goods on Clarkson which leads to a violent scene where he locked in the same cell as the silent (but deadly deranged) Tor Johnson (of all people!) for a fist-pounding workover.At just over an hour, this poverty row film noir takes you into the mad world of a madhouse gone nuts thanks to stop at nothing to put some extra cash into their pocket. Even though this is obviously made on the cheap, it keeps you glued because there just isn't time for nonsense. The actors do their best to flesh out the characters with little help from the stream-lined screenplay, but tight editing, excellent photography and a tense atmosphere makes for a surprisingly gripping thriller.One of the patients is played by Dickie Moore who, like in "Out of the Past", plays a character that never speaks and is protected by an overworked orderly, perhaps the only compassionate character working in the private institution.

Alex da Silva Reporter Lucille Bremer (Kathy) convinces private investigator Richard Carlson (Ross) to go undercover as a patient into the "Siesta Sanitarium" where she believes wanted man Herbert Hayes (Judge Drake) is hiding out. Indeed, he is there. Behind locked doors and with the protection of the staff at the institution, headed by Thomas Browne Henry (Dr Porter) and sadistic warden Douglas Fowley (Larson). Once inside, Carlson also comes face to face with violent inmate Tor Johnson (the "Champ").The film is OK. It needed a little more pace during the beginning sequences at the asylum. While it is not a bad film, it is all familiar stuff these days, and you can probably predict the ending. The staff and patients at the mental hospital are stereotypical and somewhat cartoonish but the film keeps you watching during its short running length.There is an interesting fun game to play at the beginning of the film where Bremer and Carlson decide to pick a mental illness to have. Hmmm….what to choose…they consider schizophrenia before settling for depression. Yep, nice choice. They then read up about all the symptoms and behaviours associated with the condition before getting their deception past the doctor. Everyone plays this game nowadays in their quest to get off sick from work. So, it's a film ahead of its time in that respect.I thought Lucille Bremer got the more memorable scenes – the interview with Thomas Browne Henry in order to get Carlson admitted into the hospital and her sudden appearance in a scene towards the end of the film. She also had some good dialogue to keep the rather slimy Carlson at arm's length. Unfortunately, the film's quality is poor with interference throughout.Sanitariums no longer exist, so you can no longer bluff your way into these places, but if you fancy 3 years off work – approach your boss with details of a new mental illness which manifests itself in an ability to actually show up and do some work as required. There won't be any psychologist theories about this and you should ask to be rushed immediately home to recuperate.

David (Handlinghandel) A nasty little noir by Budd Boetticher. The story involves a woman's hiring a struggling private detective to have himself committed to a private psychiatric hospital. A corrupt judge is holed up there.Richard Carlson is good, very good, as the main character. The supporting cast is excellent. It's a tough little story.Don't expect an expose like "The Snake Pit" or metaphor like "Shock Corridor." The sanitarium itself is one of the problems: Would a private sanitarium really have such sadistic, violent staff? It comes across much more like a state psychiatric hospital.Also, the rationale behind the woman's action is never really clear.However, it's a very scary movie, with no fat at all. The character's loss of his true identity once he's behind the doors is reminiscent of another small, though better, movie: "My Name Is Julia Ross." In passing, I wonder whether that movie, "When Strangers Marry," and the entire Republic noir catalog still exist. The first two are superb little movies that pack tremendous wallop. "Julia Ross," though atypical of the genre in many ways, may be my single favorite film noir. Where are these movies? And why don't we ever see the Republic noirs of the 1950s? That, however, is a digression. This movie is very well worth seeing. It's very tense and exciting and has fine character development.

Dennis Littrell (Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.)It seems like everything done in black and white in the forties, unless there was some singing and dancing in it, is now a film noir. (Well, excluding Olivier's 1949 Hamlet, I suppose.) When this "Poverty Row" production came out in 1948 I'm sure it was billed as a mystery/suspense tale, but never mind. "Film noir" is now a growth industry.There's a gumshoe, Ross Stewart played by Richard Carlson, whom I recall most indelibly as Herbert A. Philbrick of TV's cold war espionage series "I Led Three Lives" from the fifties when HUAC had us all looking under our beds for commies. Lucille Bremer, near the end (which was also near the beginning) of a very modest filmland career, co-stars as Kathy Lawrence, a newspaper woman with a story idea. She needs a private eye to do the investigative dirty work.Ross Stewart has just hung out his gumshoe shingle and had the frosted glass door of his office lettered and is paying the painter when Kathy Lawrence shows up. (I love all the private eye movies which begin with the dame showing up at the PI's office needing help. So logical, so correct; so like a noir "Once upon a time.") She wants him to pretend to be insane so that she can get him committed to a private sanitarium where she believes a corrupted judge is hiding, thus the locked doors in the title.What I liked about this is the way the low-budget production meshed with the gloomy and aptly named "La Siesta Sanitarium," the scenes shot in rather dim light giving everything a kind of shady appearance. The story itself and the direction by Oscar "Budd" Boetticher defines "pedestrian," but there is a curious and authentic period piece feel to the movie that can't be faked. Postmodern directors wanting to capture late-forties, early fifties L.A. atmosphere would do well to take a look at this tidy 62-minute production.Tor Johnson, the original "hulk" (perhaps) plays a dim-witted but violent punch drunk ex-fighter who is locked in a padded cell. He comes to life when the fire extinguisher outside his door is sadistically "rung" by one of the attendants with his keys, thereby springing the hulk into shadow boxing imaginary opponents. Could it be that he will get a live one later on...?See this for Richard Carlson who made a fine living half a century ago playing the lead or supporting roles in a slew of low budget mystery, horror and sci fi pictures, most notably perhaps The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).