The Sealed Room (1909)

In this movie suggested by Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado", The king constructs a cozy, windowless love-nest for himself and his concubine. However, she is not faithful to her sovereign, but ... See full summary »

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (novel), Frank E. Woods,

Stars:

Arthur V. Johnson, Marion Leonard, Henry B. Walthall

Cast

Credited cast:
Arthur V. Johnson	...	The Count
Marion Leonard	...	The Countess
Henry B. Walthall	...	The Minstrel
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Linda Arvidson	...	A Lady-in-Waiting
William J. Butler	...	Nobleman at Court
Verner Clarges	...	Nobleman at Court
Owen Moore	...	Nobleman at Court
George Nichols	...	Workman
Anthony O'Sullivan	...	Workman
Mary Pickford	...	A Lady-in-Waiting
Gertrude Robinson	...	A Lady-in-Waiting
Mack Sennett	...	A Soldier
George Siegmann	...	Nobleman at Court

Storyline

In this movie suggested by Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado", The king constructs a cozy, windowless love-nest for himself and his concubine. However, she is not faithful to her sovereign, but consorts with the court troubadour. In fact, they use the king's new play chamber for their own lovecraft. When the king discovers this, he sends for his masons. With the faithless duo still inside, the masons use stone and mortar to quietly seal the only door to the vault...

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Plot Keywords:

mason | film d'art | countess | count | castle | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 1909 (USA)

Also Known As:

La chambre scellée

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

11 min 11 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released as a split reel along with the comedy The Little Darling.

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Connections

Featured in Flicker Flashbacks No. 2, Series 5 (1947)

User Reviews

A Decent Rendering of the Familiar Idea

There are enough positives to this short feature to make it a decent rendering of the idea of "The Sealed Room", familiar from a number of horror stories. The leading performers all give plenty of energy to their performances, and for the most part they are believable. Among its best aspects are the scenery and the costumes, which make the general atmosphere convincing. The physical limitations of the sets and the fixed camera field do, though, somewhat hinder how well the "sealed room" effect can work.

The story is simple, and at one or two points its plausibility is rather strained. But it is the kind of macabre tale that holds your attention in spite of yourself. There have probably been other versions that were more effective, but this one tells the story clearly and efficiently, and it works reasonably well.