Countdown to Halloween Day 11 – Shock (1946)

Countdown to Halloween Day 11 – Shock (1946)
Cast:       Vincent Price as Dr. Richard Cross
Lynn Bari as Nurse Elaine Jordan
Frank Latimore as Lt. Paul Stewart
Anabel Shaw as Mrs. Janet Stewart

Story by Albert deMond
Screenplay by Eugene Ling
Directed by Alfred Werker

Release Date: February 1, 1946

Plot: A woman witnesses a murder and, upon being committed to a hospital, finds that her doctor is the killer. Now, she desperately tries to convince everyone else she is not insane before he kills her. Will he get away with two murders?

Richard’s Review: This one isn’t too bad but not necessarily one of Vincent Price’s best films. His character is quite the weasel, allowing a woman to so easily push him into not one but two murders. His battle with his conscience was interesting but how nobody else seemed to question him was frustrating to watch. Paul Stewart also seemed way too trusting. Worth watching once or twice if you were doing something else but, ultimately, rather forgettable.

Karla’s Thoughts: I don’t think I’d rewatch this one again. It left me with a lot of questions, such as why the husband would just randomly trust a doctor he never met and, once he knew Price was trying to kill his wife, why did he not knock him out? Price was good but he played a really weak character, too easily swayed by the nurse. Not horrible but not worth watching again.

Trivia:

• Alfred Werker also directed The House of Rothschild (1934) with Boris Karloff, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) with Basil Rathbone, and A- Haunting We Will Go (1942) with Laurel and Hardy.
• Albert deMond also wrote The Sphinx (1933) with Lionel Atwill and The Crimson Ghost (1946).
• Eugene Ling’s last screen credit was the underrated classic, Hand of Death (1962), starring John Agar.
• Lynn Bari also starred in The Amazing Mr. X (1948) and Mr. Moto’s Gamble (1938) with Peter Lorre.
• Frank Latimore worked with Orson Welles in Black Magic (1949), as well as several classics later in his career, including Patton (1970) and All The President’s Men (1976).

Old Time Radio: Shock was presented on Hollywood Star Time on Feb. 3, 1946.

Availability: Shock is available on DVD.