The Black Room (1935)Ignoring an ancient prophecy, evil brother Gregor seeks to maintain his feudal power on his his Tyrolean estate by murdering and impersonating his benevolent younger twin. Director:Roy William Neill |
|
| 0Share... |
The Black Room (1935)Ignoring an ancient prophecy, evil brother Gregor seeks to maintain his feudal power on his his Tyrolean estate by murdering and impersonating his benevolent younger twin. Director:Roy William Neill |
|
| 0Share... |
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Boris Karloff | ... |
Baron /
Anton
|
|
|
|
Marian Marsh | ... |
Thea
|
|
|
Robert Allen | ... |
Lt. Lussan
|
|
|
Thurston Hall | ... |
Col. Hassel
|
|
|
Katherine DeMille | ... |
Mashka
(as Katherine de Mille)
|
|
|
John Buckler | ... |
Beran
|
|
|
Henry Kolker | ... |
Baron de Berghman
|
|
|
Colin Tapley | ... |
Lt. Hassel
|
|
|
Torben Meyer | ... |
Peter
|
Prophecy has it that younger twin Anton will kill brother Gregor in the castle's Black Room. Anton returns to the castle after a 10 year hiatus. Gregor, a Baron, has many attempts on his life as his subjects detest his tyranny. However, good natured Anton earns the subjects' respect, and the admiration of Col.Hassel, uncle of the beautiful Thea. When Gregor kills young servant Mashka, his subjects storm the castle to remove him. Devious Gregor renounces his title in favour of brother Anton to appease them. He then kills Anton to assume his identity and the Baronship again. He is free to pursue Thea with Col.Hassel's blessing. When Col.Hassel discovers Gregor's impersonation, he also meets death. With Thea's true love, Lt. Lussan, wrongfully convicted of Hassel's murder, it appears nothing can stop evil Gregor from ambushing her into marriage. But what of that prophecy? Written by Gary Jackson <garyjack5@cogeco.ca>
The Black Room: 7 out of 10: In the Tim Burton film "Ed Wood" Martin Landau's Bela Lugosi complains about his rival Boris Karloff continuing to work even though he played Frankenstein which required only grunting under heavy make-up as opposed to accented seductive Dracula.
Well I hate to point this out to a long dead actor but Karloff can really act. The Black Room is a tour de force performance.
Karloff plays three roles (two twins and one twin pretending to be the other) and manages to give them such a distinctive nuanced performances I squinted at the screen to make sure it really was the same actor in the roles.
The story itself is quite a good set-up. With one brother a devilish tyrant with a taste for village girls and the other a slightly fey traveler with a birth defect. Hanging over their head is a family curse that states one brother will kill the other in the titular Black Room.
There are twists and turns and as many reviews have pointed out this is more a costume drama/mystery than straight horror film. The supporting cast is competent and the sets are well done but this is Karloff's show and he runs away with it.