Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 42/52 | Shock Theater
Dr. Mark Steele, a neurologist, hypnotises a patient who became mute after a terrible accident. While under, he questions the patient and learns that she is heartbroken over the loss of her lover, Frank. Mark insists that the parents let her see Frank again, lest she take her own life. A success, I guess. But for all his professional accomplishments, his personal life is a failure.
His wife, Maria, is regularly cheating on him, and he ruminates on it constantly. Everyone knew Maria was a bad match, but Mark couldn’t see it. How could everyone else and not him? Finding Maria absent when he returns home, Mark waits until the early morning for her return. He insists on a divorce, but she won’t give up her cushy life. She says only murder will get him out of this marriage. That night, he dreams about strangling her.
The next day, Mark returns home to learn that Maria is on leave for the weekend. He jumps in his car and races off. On Monday, Mark’s secretary, Stella, finds him asleep at his desk. He doesn’t remember anything from the weekend. Two detectives arrive to question Mark — the police have discovered Maria, dead.
What did Mark do last weekend? Why can’t he remember? Did he kill his wife?
The movie’s script reads like a radio show, with characters describing the scene and Mark’s thoughts revealing their motivations and backgrounds. Supposedly, this constant stream of consciousness was at Lon Chaney Jr.’s request to overcome the stilted and technical dialogue. The result is a significant detriment to the film’s pacing and suspense, albeit not a total killer.
The cinematography is cut-and-dry, but there are some great POV shots, especially when Mark arrives at the lodge after Maria’s murder. It reminds me of The Silence of the Lambs.
It’s wild that these sorts of movies were so common that critics and audiences got bored with them. I get why folks might find it a little dry, but it’s well-shot and well-lit, and moves along quickly enough for an hour-long story (despite the narration).
Stray Thoughts / Spoilers
- My favorite part is when Maria’s lover, Robert Duval, walks in, and he looks nearly identical to Dr. Steele. Dr. Steele describes him as having “strong and clean” features and not looking “at all like a criminal.”
- Everyone is mad at Mark for ostensibly killing Maria because Maria was so beautiful.
- So, hypnotism allows you to see people’s memories physically.