Behind Locked Doors (1948)

A well-known judge has become a fugitive from the police, with a large reward on his head. A reporter believes that the judge is hiding in a private sanitarium, so she seeks out a private ... See full summary »

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writers:

Eugene Ling (screenplay), Malvin Wald (screenplay),

Stars:

Lucille Bremer, Richard Carlson, Douglas Fowley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lucille Bremer	...	Kathy Lawrence
Richard Carlson	...	Ross Stewart
Douglas Fowley	...	Larson
Ralf Harolde	...	Fred Hopps
Thomas Browne Henry	...	Dr. Clifford Porter (as Tom Brown Henry)
Herbert Heyes	...	Judge Finlay Drake
Gwen Donovan	...	Madge Bennett

Storyline

A well-known judge has become a fugitive from the police, with a large reward on his head. A reporter believes that the judge is hiding in a private sanitarium, so she seeks out a private investigator and asks him to pretend to be insane, so that he can get inside the sanitarium and look for the judge. The investigator is admitted to the asylum, and encounters many dangers while trying to prove that the judge is there.

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Plot Keywords:

judge | police | fugitive | asylum | reporter | 

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Taglines:

MURDER was the ONLY way out!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Human Gorilla

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aro Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Dr. Clifford Porter: Larson! How many times have I told you not to abuse the patients?

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Connections

Referenced in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005)

User Reviews

Tough and Gritty But Not Always Plausible

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.