Weird Woman (1944) dir. Reginald Le Borg, Universal Pictures
Continuing with the Inner Sanctum series, this one had the advantage of being based on the book Conjure Wife, as written by Fritz Leiber.
Dr. Norman Reed (Lon Chaney) is a professor with Monroe College. While on an expedition in the South Seas, Dr. Reed went to an isolated island to look for his old mentor. By the time he arrives, the man has been dead for about a decade. His daughter Paula (Anne Gwynne), however, stayed there and grown up seeped in the native faith and beliefs.
Which is good, as Reed stumbles through a sacred circle during a ritual, effectively offering himself as a sacrifice. Only the intervention of Paula saves his life. Reed is so impressed he takes her away and marries her once they arrive back in the US of A.
Which annoys Ilona Carr (Evelyn Ankers), since she and Reed were dating before he left. She complains bitterly to her brother, Dean Septimus Carr (Harry Hayden). Reed's career, meanwhile, begins a rise that can only be described as meteoric. His books are best sellers, his classes are full, and the other deans are considering promoting him to the chairmanship of the sociology department. Professor Sawtelle (Ralph Morgan) technically has more seniority but he's easy going enough not to care. His wife, Evelyn (Elizabeth Russell), on the other hand, has greed and ambition for three and she's not going to take this slight without a fight.
There are some problems though. While Reed is head over heels in love with his wife, his student Margret (Lois Collier) feels the same about him. Her boyfriend David (Phil Brown) is a meathead but he's smart enough to see how she feels about her teacher. So when Reed makes her his intern, David takes this as proof of an affair.
Ilona, meanwhile, has not been idle. As the school's librarian she is in a position to toss some major monkey wrenches into everyone's life. Paula has been busy too, as Redd discovers one night when he comes home and find her praying over a shrine to her old gods. Reed, being a rational fellow, stomps the shrine to bits and all but calls his his wife a moron for believing in that native crap.
That's when everything starts to go wrong for Reed. Accusations start to fly, going from plagiarism all the way to murder. Was Paula right?
Better than Calling Dr. Death. Characters at least have a reason for doing what they do. Pity most of them are jerks. Lon is still out of his depth as a charismatic professor.
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