Behind Locked Doors (1948)

Going undercover, a private detective (Richard Carlson) and a journalist (Lucille Bremer) pose as husband and wife when he checks into a private mental hospital to locate a corrupt judge (Herbert Heyes) hiding from the law. Directed by Budd Boetticher (THE TALL T). Some 15 years before Sam Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR, this B film noir set up the plot that Fuller would expand on luridly in 1963. Frankly, although I'm a great admirer of Sam Fuller, I enjoyed this one more. It's lean and tight and moves quickly and is quite enjoyable. The premise is far fetched but then again, so was SHOCK CORRIDOR. The acting is solid and Lucille Bremer is good enough to suggest that she was ill used at MGM, where they tried to make her into a musical star. With Douglas Fowley, Tor Johnson, Thomas Browne Henry and Kathleen Freeman.