The Strange Door (1951)
Genre: Horror
Duration: 81 minuten
Alternative titles: Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Door / Levend Ingemetseld
Country:
United States
Directed by: Joseph Pevney
Stars: Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff and Sally Forrest
IMDb score:
6,3 (1.423)
Releasedate: 21 June 1951
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
The Strange Door plot
"Robert Louis Stevenson's masterpiece of Terror !"
A libertine nobleman is ambushed, captured and taken to a bleak castle by Sire de Maletroit, an evil madman unable to cope with the marriage and death of his beloved. His brother married his childhood sweetheart, who died in childbirth. He locked his brother in a dungeon for two decades and still wants to exact revenge on his daughter, forcing her to marry a villain. But the infamous house guest turns out to have a heart and even falls in love with the girl. They decide to escape, are helped by a servant, but the insane Sire de Maletroit gets through their plan and wants them to die a terrible death together with his brother in his torture dungeon.
Actors and actresses
Sire Alain de Maletroit
Voltan
Blanche de Maletroit
Denis de Beaulieu
Corbeau
Count Grassin
Renville
Edmond de Maletroit
Talon
Reviews & comments
klara
-
- 814 messages
- 20367 votes
I don't think this film exactly falls under the horror category, despite its setting
castle and some horror elements. Charles Laughton sometimes acts slightly over the top
still delicious and which turns out to be a bit crazy with feelings of revenge. Nice role
also for Karloff. Atmospheric film that keeps moving pleasantly, and with a nice ending.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Collins
-
- 7353 messages
- 4350 votes
The Strange Door is loosely based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson. The Universal Studios film was released at a time when the horror genre was not very popular. The great years of the genre were with the depiction of literary monsters in films such as Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) several years ago. The resurrection of the horror genre at the hands of the British Hammer Studios, which presented the literary monsters to the public with a makeover and in color, was still a number of years in the future.
The Strange Door never became very popular and therefore remained relatively unknown. Not entirely correct. The film is not the best horror ever shown, but it is certainly worth seeing. A nice small-scale romantic horror film with a narrative progression that was not unusual in Hollywood in the 1950s. Shot in moody black and white and with a beautiful leading role for Charles Laughton as the sinister villain. No frightening creatures or fantasy elements in the film, but a pleasantly moving action, an exciting finale and Boris Karloff who does not portray a monstrous character here.
However, it is Laughton who carries the film in his shadowy role as a cowardly schemer consumed by revenge without any ounce of emotional warmth. It's a joy to watch Laughton's performance. Most of the entertaining factor is down to him. The Strange Door is an entertaining film. Not groundbreaking work. Not a classic. Simply entertaining.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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