Acclaimed Western director Budd ‘Oscar’ Boetticher branched out into Film Noir during the 1940s. Boetticher, who cut his teeth on pictures like COMMANCHE STATION, BLACK MIDNIGHT, and WINGS OF THE HAWK, hoped to broaden his horizons by bringing his hard-edged style to the genre. The now defunct Eagle Lion films, released Boetticher’s moody BEHIND LOCKED DOORS in 1948. Besides the stark atmosphere and sadistic tone of BEHIND LOCKED DOORS, cult film enthusiasts will appreciate the presence of genre icon Tor Johnson. Kino Video managed to secure a fine print of this film, which has never been seen on home video, and probably hasn’t been on Cable or TV syndication in years (if ever). Kino is one of those independent companies like Roan, All Day, and Criterion who really know how to restore classic films and present them properly on DVD.

The film stars Richard (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON) Carlson as Private Investigator Ross Stewart. Lucille (DARK DELUSION) Bremer plays spunky reporter Kathy Lawrence, who is also Ross’s love interest. Thomas Browne (BLOOD OF DRACULA) Henry portrays Dr. Porter, head of the sanitarium. Besides the principal performers, BEHIND LOCKED DOORS has many great character actors. Tor (PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE) Johnson is a deaf-mute inmate of the sanitarium called Champ. Douglas (CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON) Fowley is the sadistic attendant, Larson. Herbert (T-MEN) Heyes is the corrupt judge who is hiding out in the sanitarium.

As the film begins, Ross Stewart (Carlson) opens up his own private investigation agency. His first customer appears in the form of shapely reporter, Kathy (Bremer). She has reason to believe that a wanted corrupt official has been hiding out behind locked doors at the nearby La Siesta Sanitarium. She wants to get to the bottom of this, not only because it makes for a good story, but also the $10,000 reward for the capture of the culprit, Judge Drake (Heyes). Kathy proposes that Ross go undercover inside the sanitarium as an inmate, so he can obtain proof that Judge Drake is holding up there. At first, Ross doesn’t like the idea of checking himself into the sanitarium, but when Kathy offers to split the $10,000 reward money, he agrees to go along with the gig. Being a resourceful reporter that she is, Kathy sets up a scheme where she poses as a wife concerned for husband’s paranoid mental state. Ross does his best to act disturbed, and psychiatrist Dr Bell (John Holland) commits him to the sanitarium in question.

The head physician of La Siesta Sanitarium, Dr. Porter, welcomes Ross into the fold. At first, the sanitarium seems like a calm enough place. But when Ross comes face-to-face with the ratty attendant, Larson (Fowley), sparks fly. Ross practically blows his cover trying not to strangle the brutal attendant, who enjoys punishing the residents. Larsen warns Ross not to try to go over to the high security section of the sanitarium, where the truly dangerous inmates are kept under lock and key, like the brutish ex-boxer, Champ (Johnson). Ross figures out that if Judge Drake was hiding there, he would likely be in this remote section of the building where the dangerous inmates are kept. Ross bides his time until he can sneak over there, and discovers Judge Drake presiding over both Dr. Porter and Larsen. He notifies Kathy of this revelation when she comes to visit her "husband". However, the sinister triumvirate of Judge Drake, Dr. Porter, and Larsen discover the identity of Ross as well. They capture him, and throw him into the cell of the sadistic inmate, Champ. Ross must survive the brutal onslaught of the fighting mad ex-boxer if he is to successfully nab the corrupt Judge Drake.

BEHIND LOCKED DOORS was made on a shoestring budget, but the efforts of the crew really rise above the limited resources. The film has a great visual presentation and is the direction is surprisingly well handled. The story is combination of classic Film Noir themes with the behind-bars genre; only instead of a prison, these walls belong to a sanitarium. The pacing of the film is unrelenting, since BEHIND LOCKED DOORS is a scant 62 minutes. The film is not long enough to become boring, but on the other side of the coin, the characterizations take a huge hit. Usually during the span of a full-length motion picture, the viewer picks up clues about the background of the lead characters, from either visual means or through dialog. All we know about Ross Stewart is that he just opened up his own private investigation agency. We don’t know how long he has been an investigator, whether he was ever a cop, or worked for the government (things like this are usually relevant in any film). Ditto for the character of Julie. We know early on that she is a spunky cub reporter, but this is a cinematic stereotype that has been around since the dawn of cinema. So the biggest flaw to BEHIND LOCKED DOORS is the flat characterizations.

Though pigeonholed as a Western director, Budd Boetticher made an impact in the Film Noir genre, with his work on BEHIND LOCKED DOORS. The man really knows how to create atmosphere and suspense, get the most out of his actors, and stretch a low budget a long way. As a result, BEHIND LOOKED DOORS has a wonderfully hard-edged feel and claustrophobic tone, and the actors deliver performances you just won’t find in modern low budget Hollywood productions. Despite the relatively short running time, the leads like Richard Carlson, Lucille Bremmer, are Thomas Brown Henry are very good, and their performances help leverage the slim character definition. Richard Carlson does especially well, and brings some humor and vulnerability to the stoic private investigator character that we have come to expect from Film Noir. The characters actors like Douglas Fowly, Tor Johnson, and Herbert Heyes do equally well, and their villainous characters never come off as far-fetched or cartoonish (like villains from the serials of the day). Tor is his usual menacing self, though he is still typecast as a deaf-and-dumb type character. Still, Johnson enthusiasts will want to check out BEHIND LOCKED DOORS to see the icon in action.

-  Darren Collette 

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