Shock (1946)- Drive-In Fodder at its Best

If one has even a passing interest in the world of horror films and the many stars it has given us over the years, it is almost certain that the name Vincent Price is familiar. A man who has been ubiquitous with the genre for over 80 years, Price’s work has become the standard for classic suspense and horror. His piercing eyes and signature cadence of speech have successfully spooked up productions across radio, television, and the big screen. Shock, a thriller from 1946, is one of the earlier examples, and a surprisingly adroit little suspense movie.

Price portrays Richard Cross, a renowned psychologist in the midst of a dying marriage. After his wife surprises him at his hotel trying to catch him cheating, he finally admits that he is having an affair with his head nurse. In the ensuing argument, Cross snaps and strikes his wife over the head, accidentally killing her. 

Meanwhile, young Janet awaits her husband Paul at the same hotel. Paul has been a POW for the last several years and is finally returning home. Unfortunately, Paul misses his flight, causing Janet to need a hotel room for the night–coincidentally, the room  just across the way from Cross’ room. In the night, Janet awakes from slumber and witnesses Cross murdering his wife. Being the 1940s, poor Janet’s constitution is obviously too sensitive for such a scene, and she enters a sort of catatonic “Shock” (ooh, he said the title of the movie!) 

The next morning, Paul finds Janet in her catatonic state. Desperate to help her, he calls upon a specialist in the field at the behest of the house doctor– the specialist happening to be Richard Cross. Realizing that Janet witnessed the murder of his wife, he and his mistress resolve to keep Janet catatonic and paranoid in order to avoid the truth from being revealed.

Initially panned according to contemporary reviews, a second look all these years later reveals a competently made, if low-budget,  thriller. Price is a young man, pre-pencil thin mustache and less vampire-like than most viewers would probably be used to seeing. His iconic voice suits the practice of Dr. Cross extremely well, and he really shines alongside Lynn Bari as his head nurse Elaine, while the rest of the cast delivers fair to middling performances. The film is definitely a bit of a cheese-fest at times, which can’t really be avoided when it comes to movies of the era, but the premise of Shock– isolating a person and making them believe that they are crazy– is a terrifying idea that is mostly executed well here.

At just over an hour, the film is a bite size piece of B-Movie fun, and a clear print has been uploaded to Youtube for free. From my perspective, Shock is more than worthy of being included in your next spooky schlockfest.