Harvey Bogardus (Tom Powers) kills a guy who was having an affair with his wife Betty (Marion Martin). He is caught, found guilty and sentenced to the electric chair. Before he is executed he is visited by Dr. Paul Renwick (Stanley Ridges). Renwick is the author of a book called “Contact with the World Beyond”. Renwick believes that a strong willed soul can return from the dead. Having studied Bogardus, Renwick thinks that he has as strong a will as Renwick himself. He tells Bogardus that if he concentrates on coming back from the beyond as the last thing on his mind before he dies he can return in spirit.
After Bogardus’ execution Renwick spends days in his office concentrating on Bogardus. His daughter Joan (Lynne Roberts) is worried about her father. His secretary Cornelia Wilmont (Charlotte Wynters) is also worried about the doctor. They are unaware of what he is doing locked away in his office hours on end without rest or food. Finally one night Renwick manages to contact Bogardus’ soul. His body manifests in a chair across from Renwick.
Renwick knew that Bogardus’ will was strong but he didn’t know how strong. Bogardus takes over Renwick’s body and his will. Now that Bogardus has control over Renwick he says he is going to seek revenge on everyone he feels if responsible for his being executed. He forces the doctor to go to the office of the attorney that defended Bogardus. He shoots him. The killing of the attorney is just the first from a list of people that Bogardus will force Renwick to kill.
Joan’s fiancé is Matt Fraser (Richard Arlen). Matt is a reporter who was at Bogardus’ execution. He has been following the trail of dead people that have a connection with Bogardus that includes the man’s wife Betty and a witness that saw him at the park the day he killed Betty’s lover. Matt has also been noticing little things that point to not only Bogardus as the killer but Renwick as well.
“The Phantom Speaks” was released in 1945 and was directed by John English. It is a horror movie and a supernatural film noir. The movie was produced by Republic Pictures, a low budget poverty row film company.
Not all poverty row “B” movies are bad. In fact a lot of them are good. Case in point “The Phantom Speaks”. From beginning to end the movie was excellent. There are great performances all around and especially Stanley Ridges as the Dr. Renwick/Bogardus duo personality. Ridges has done this before in “Black Friday” 1940. The method of transference in “Phantom” is a little strange but that adds to the noir feel of the movie.
The film has been compared to “Black Friday” 1940 as well as “The Man with Two Lives” 1942. The themes of the three films are similar; the soul of a criminal is put into the body of a regular guy or mild mannered scientist. The soul of the criminal takes over the body of the mild mannered person and seeks revenge on those he feels were responsible for his being put to death or his being killed. It is also a similar theme to that of “Donovan’s Brain” 1953. In that one a mild mannered scientist is taken over by the mind of rich tycoon Warren Donovan. The movie was based on Curt Siodmak’s novel “Donovan’s Brain” which was previously made as “Lady and the Monster” 1944.
Evil brains or spirits taking over the will of people and changing them is nothing new. One of the differences between these movies is in how the criminal manages to take over the mind of someone whose spirit is not as strong. In “Donovan’s Brain” and “Lady and the Monster” it is done telepathically. In “The Man with Two Lives” the spirit is transferred at the time of imminent death of the two people. In “Black Friday” the brain is transplanted from one person to the other and in “The Phantom Speaks” the soul of the dead man is welcomed in by the scientist through concentration and a psychic connection.