Pillow of Death

CinematographyJerome AshEdited byEdward CurtissMusic byFrank SkinnerDistributed byUniversal Pictures66 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Pillow of Death is a 1945 film noir mystery horror film directed by Wallace Fox and starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Brenda Joyce.^[1] The last of the Inner Sanctum mystery films, it is based on a story by Dwight V. Babcock. The "Inner Sanctum" franchise originated with a popular radio series and all of the films star Lon Chaney Jr. It was the only entry in the series to dispense with the introduction by a disembodied head in a crystal ball, as well as the only one to feature comic-relief characters to alleviate the grim tone.

Plot

Attorney Wayne Fletcher intends to divorce his wife and marry his secretary, who comes from a wealthy family. When the wife is found suffocated to death, he naturally becomes the suspect. As others are killed in the same manner and a phony medium also claims Fletcher is guilty, Fletcher begins to imagine his dead wife is communicating with him, making it even more difficult for him to prove his innocence.

Cast

• Lon Chaney Jr. as Wayne Fletcher (billed as Lon Chaney)
• Brenda Joyce as Donna Kincaid^[2]
• J. Edward Bromberg as Julian Julian
• Rosalind Ivan as Amelia Kincaid
• Clara Blandick as Belle Kincaid
• George Cleveland as Sam Kincaid
• Wilton Graff as Cap'n McCracken
• Bernard Thomas as Bruce Malone (billed as Bernard B. Thomas)

References

External links

• Pillow of Death at IMDb
• Pillow of Death at AllMovie
• Review of film at Variety