Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

bkoganbing Shot on a shoestring budget Calling Dr. Death is not a half bad murder mystery. It has elements of I Wake Up Screaming and it anticipates Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound in its use of hypnotic sequences while a murder suspect is under.Calling Dr. Death also gives Lon Chaney, Jr. a starring role in a film that's not a horror feature. Chaney plays a neurologist whose wife Ramsay Ames flagrantly steps out on him time and again. But when she winds up murdered it's her married lover David Bruce who winds up in the jackpot. Tried and convicted he's scheduled for execution. Still that doesn't satisfy police inspector J. Carrol Naish who thinks Chaney is the guilty party.The mark of a good mystery for me is the fact that I did not pick the murderer out early on. In fact one of the strengths of this film is that it shifts your attention from one suspect to another just when you think you figured it out. Calling Dr. Death is a cheapie from Universal's B picture unit. But it still delivers some fine entertainment.

simeon_flake As many astute reviewers have already pointed out, this was the beginning of the "Inner Sanctum" series--a series that gave Lon Chaney Jr. the chance to break from his heavily made up monster roles and stretch his acting skills a bit. "Calling Dr. Death" is a good start--although, if I had to rank the entire series, I would probably have this one down near the bottom with "Pillow of Death"--which is not to say that CDD or POD are bad movies; far from it. It's just that there were better Innner Sanctum Mysteries to come--namely "Dead Man's Eyes" and "Strange Confession."Some points of CDD that I liked--Chaney of course, was very good in his role as was J. Carrol Naish as the tough police inspector--watching this and "Strange Confession" just makes me marvel more at how Naish was able to literally transform himself and become the pitiable hunchback for "House of Frankenstein."Patricia Morison herself was another highlight of the film for me. I was very captivated by her--one of those classic Hollywood beauties and a good actress too.The few minuses of the picture--well, there is Ramsay Ames as the Doctor's wife. Ms. Ames was very talented when it came to filling out her nightgowns in "The Mummy's Ghost", but as far as her acting ability (or lack thereof), maybe the less said the better.And the ending is kind of a downer for me, if only because I wanted to see the 2 principles of the story have a happy ending together, but I won't go into too much detail--trying not to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen it.Overall, I rate it a 7 out of 10...

utgard14 The first of Universal's fun series of thriller films under the Inner Sanctum banner. Each one starred Lon Chaney, Jr. in different roles. In this one, Chaney plays Dr. Mark Steele, a neurosurgeon and expert hypnotist. Steele's unfaithful wife (Ramsay Ames) is found murdered and he's a prime suspect. But Steele has lost his memory of the last few days and can't remember if he killed her or not! So he gets his nurse (Patricia Morison) to hypnotize him so he can try to remember what happened.Chaney's great in this. I'm sure at the time he welcomed the chance to get out of playing movie monsters. Morison and Ames are lovely to look at and good in their roles. The always-solid J. Carrol Naish plays the hard-nosed police detective investigating the case. Holmes Herbert appears in one of his many butler roles. I really like this series. A little silly at times but it just adds to the entertainment value for me. It has that distinct look and feel Universal movies had at the time. Calling Dr. Death is a very good start to a fun, enjoyable series of mystery thrillers.

kevin olzak 1943's "Calling Dr. Death" began Universal's six film 'Inner Sanctum' series based on the thriving radio show, all but one included in the popular SHOCK! package of Universal classics issued to television in the late 50s. The first three definitely benefit from the ambitious direction of Viennese-born Reginald Le Borg, recently graduating to features after nearly 30 shorts in seven years. All six titles starred the studio's top horror icon Lon Chaney, who does look the part of neurologist Dr. Mark Steele, despite awkward dialogue and characterization. Playing his faithful nurse Stella is luminous Patricia Morison, in her element as cool femme fatales in such films as "Hitler's Madman," "Dressed to Kill," "Danger Woman," "Tarzan and the Huntress," and "Song of the Thin Man." Steele is married to the beautiful (and faithless) Maria (Ramsay Ames), who enjoys her wealth and stature, refusing to grant him a divorce. Naturally, he becomes the prime suspect when she's horribly murdered, struck dead by a fireplace poker, then her face destroyed by acid. The most striking element used by Le Borg comes when Steele arrives at the scene of the crime, the camera effectively 'becoming' the doctor as he slowly approaches the front door and meets Inspector Gregg (J. Carrol Naish). Alas, the mystery angle falls flat, the killer's identity fairly obvious, so it's up to Naish's tenacious investigator to maintain a faithful vigil on things, and his Columbo-like determination does not disappoint. There was a detective in all but one future Inner Sanctums, none of which enjoyed the stature held by Naish. Other notable roles are played by David Bruce ("The Mad Ghoul") and Fay Helm ("The Wolf Man," "Night Monster," "Captive Wild Woman"), while actor David Hoffman provided the same mysterio crystal ball introduction for all but the last entry, "Pillow of Death." Reginald Le Borg had made his feature debut with the still unreleased "The Mummy's Ghost" (also with Chaney and Ames), and did two more for this series (along with "Jungle Woman" and "Destiny") before moving over to PRC (later titles included "The Black Sleep," "Voodoo Island," "Diary of a Madman," and "So Evil My Sister"). "Calling Dr. Death" made four appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater- May 24 1975 (in the middle of a rare triple bill, preceded by 1940's "Chamber of Horrors" and followed by 1933's "Secret of the Blue Room"), Aug 14 1976 (following 1965's "Monster Zero"), Sept 10 1977 (following 1941's "The Wolf Man"), and Feb 19 1983 (solo).