VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Davis Parks I am taken aback by all the 7s and 6s. This movie was practically perfect in every way. It doesn't follow the film noir tropes and instead has an original feel. This movie's run time if only 61 minutes which is a result of the story keeping a constant pace and expecting its audience to be smart enough to follow. Much like a Hitchcock movie, Behind Locked Doors has many subtle details and scenes that seem there for no apparent reason but will instead cleverly foreshadow events to come. In several scenes, Richard Carlson's character has short interactions with characters that don't seem relevant yet are there to progress either his character or to set up future events. This makes the movie flow so well. Richard Carlson plays his character brilliantly, adding wit and idiosyncrasies really making the character his own. He and Lucille Bremer have fantastic chemistry together. Each scene they are believable together. The dialogue is filled with wit and flirting which is something refreshing, seeing how most film noirs have the main characters attracted to each other very abruptly. Their relationship arcs beautifully throughout the movie. There are many other side characters, who, again, all have their own unique traits. All this makes this quite simple story really shine and be engaging to watch.

MartinHafer There was only one reason I sought out this low-budget noir film--it was directed by Budd Boetticher--a man known for squeezing a lot out of low budgets and simple scripts. And, boy, did this film deliver! This film stars Lucille Bremer and Richard Carlson--not exactly household names today. Bremer's most famous role was the oldest daughter in "Meet Me in St. Louis" and Carlson played many mostly anonymous leading or supporting roles in mostly secondary films but is a name few remember today.Bremer plays a reporter who is looking for a judge who is on the lam from the law. Her leads suggest he might be hiding in a sanitarium but getting in to find him is a problem. So, he pays a detective (Carlson) to pretend to be insane and get himself admitted to the place in order to prove her theory. A bit implausible but an interesting idea for a film--especially as you wonder what awaits Carlson.Once Carlson is admitted to the place, it's pretty obvious that the staff is amazingly cruel or indifferent towards the patients. Patients are routinely beaten and the place is dreadful. You also get to see that the Judge IS hiding out there--but not in a part of the hospital that Carlson has access to, so through much of the film he's unsure about this. So, he tries repeatedly to sneak into the locked unit but to no avail. Will he be able to find the fugitive or will he lose his mind instead?! Or will he be discovered?! The film is a lot like the Olivia DeHavilland film, "The Snake Pit"--but this asylum is run by sociopaths who are worse than any of the residents of the place! And, it's also VERY exciting and I am shocked the film is pretty much forgotten today, as it's an excellent noir thriller.By the way, the child star Dickie Moore appears in a small role as a mute patient. It's a far cry from his starring roles in the 1930s. Also, Tor Johnson (from "Plan 9 From Outer Space", "The Beast of Yucca Flats" and other cheesy films) makes a small appearance as a violent maniac kept locked in a cell throughout the movie--or at least most of the movie.

oldblackandwhite That is, the private detective who agreed to pretend he was a nut case so he could get locked up in private loony bin where the pretty reporter who hired him suspects a corrupt judge on the lam from the law is hiding out. Only a beautiful dame and a healthy hunk of dough could entice a private eye to take on such a tough case. The dame was beautiful enough, if somewhat distant, and the ten thousand dollar reward was healthy enough. That's the plot of minor 1948 noir thriller Behind Locked Doors, and it works well enough in the hands of tough action specialist director Bud (billed Oscar) Boetticher. His taut direction, a tight script by Eugene Ling and Malvin Wald, and good work by the supporting cast, overcome low production values and lackluster leads.Richard Carlson, the detective, was a competent actor, but if somebody gave an award for the blandest leading man of all time, he would be in the running. Lucille Bremer, the beautiful reporter, was indeed beautiful, but she was undoubtedly at her best as a dancer (she could keep up with Fred Astaire!). As an actress, her talents were suspect. She is not even at her best in Behind Locked Doors. Since she was set to marry a millionaire and retire from the screen, it is likely that this, her last picture, was just fulfilling a contract obligation. It shows in her unenthusiastic performance. The obligatory romance between her and Carlson is sort of like a cigarette lighter with a used-up flint -- no spark. Lucille is more convincing when she's resisting his advances in the early going than when eliciting them in the later reels.No Matter. This is an action, suspense picture, and their is plenty of both. Solid support to prop up the flaccid leads is provided by Thomas Browne Henry as the troubled doctor in charge of the institution, Douglas Fowley as a sadistic warder, and the always interesting (in a bizarre way) Tor Johnson as a homicidal maniac. Shadowy cinematography by Guy Roe heightens the sinister mood of the story and no doubt at the same time covers up cheap sets. Boetticher's sharp direction keeps the pace snappy and the suspense taut with nary a wasted shot in this little 63 minute programmer.Take a gander at the poster pitching Behind Locked Doors. Beautiful Miss Bremer is pictured apparently swooned and lying limp and seductive while being carried by menacing hulk Tor Johnson. Nothing of the sort happens in this picture! Hollywood didn't invent the art of deceptive advertising -- surely it goes back at least as far as the early Roman Empire -- but the movie studios of Old Hollywood were certainly among its top exponents. Lurid and often sexy "promo shots" bearing little or no relation to the actual content of the picture were standard fare for movie posters of the era.Nevertheless, much does happen in a short time in Behind Locked Doors, much of it lurid, though none sexy -- except perhaps for those of the persuasion that gets a kick out of seeing a woman tied up. If you're looking for a short, filler type of movie, this well-made thriller will keep your attention for and hour and three minutes.

blanche-2 Richard Carlson goes "Behind Locked Doors" in this 1948 film also starring Lucille Bremer. Carlson plays detective Ross Stewart who enters an insane asylum as a patient at the behest of a reporter Kathy Lawrence (Bremer) to find a judge who is on the lam from the police. For his trouble, there is a $10,000 reward, which he and Lawrence will split, but she has to make sure the Judge is in the asylum first. They play man and wife, and she has him committed. Once inside, Stewart discovers that the place is run somewhat inhumanely, and that the judge may be in a ward of the asylum that is locked and inaccessible to other patients.This is a B movie all the way with decent performances by Carlson and Bremer, Douglas Fowley and Tor Johnson and good direction by Budd Boetticher. I sort of hoped that, although the Bremer character was on the trail of the judge, that she might have been interested in some of the bad conditions at the asylum and wanted to expose them. Though things don't stay as they are there, it would have been nice if earlier, she had mentioned having any interest in it. Guess she just wanted the big story.Good but not exceptional.