| 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 | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Enrique Acosta | ... | Judge (scenes deleted) (uncredited) | |
| John Beck | ... | Court Clerk (uncredited) | |
| Daniel Joseph Bleifer | ... | Anton as a Child (uncredited) | |
| John Bleifer | ... | Franz - Captured Assassin-Villager (uncredited) | |
| Sidney Bracey | ... | Gregor's Hairdresser (uncredited) | |
| Egon Brecher | ... | Karl - Lead Villager (uncredited) | |
| Carrie Daumery | ... | Member of the Court (uncredited) | |
| Edwards Davis | ... | Member of the Court (uncredited) | |
| Victor De Linsky | ... | Michael the Footman (uncredited) | |
| Abe Dinovitch | ... | Gatekeeper (uncredited) | |
| Von the Dog | ... | Thor (uncredited) | |
| Herbert Evans | ... | Minor Role (uncredited) | |
| Phyllis Fraser | ... | A Bridesmaid (uncredited) | |
| John George | ... | Inn Waiter (uncredited) | |
| Octavio Giraud | ... | Judge (uncredited) | |
| Grace Goodall | ... | Member of the Court (uncredited) | |
| James Gordon | ... | Gentleman (uncredited) | |
| Helena Grant | ... | Anna the Housekeeper (uncredited) | |
| Bert Howard | ... | Gentleman (uncredited) | |
| Edith Kingdon | ... | Member of the Court (uncredited) | |
| Richard Lancaster | ... | Gentleman (uncredited) | |
| Marion Lessing | ... | Maria the Chambermaid (uncredited) | |
| Lois Lindsay | ... | A Bridesmaid (uncredited) | |
| Ivan Linow | ... | Gatekeeper (uncredited) | |
| George Burr Macannan | ... | A Servant (uncredited) | |
| George MacQuarrie | ... | The Judge (uncredited) | |
| Michael Mark | ... | Peasant (uncredited) | |
| Eric Mayne | ... | Member of the Court (uncredited) | |
| Alex Melesh | ... | Judge (uncredited) | |
| Louis Merrill | ... | Story Teller in Trailer (uncredited) | |
| Robert Middlemass | ... | The Prosecutor (uncredited) | |
| Wilfrid North | ... | Member of the Court (uncredited) | |
| Reinhold Pasch | ... | Gregor's Tailor (uncredited) | |
| Constantine Romanoff | ... | Peasant (uncredited) | |
| John Singer | ... | Raoul the Butler (uncredited) | |
| Bert Sprotte | ... | A Peasant (uncredited) | |
| Count Stefenelli | ... | Member of the Court (uncredited) | |
| John M. Sullivan | ... | The Archbishop (uncredited) | |
| Edward Van Sloan | ... | Doctor (uncredited) | |
| Frederick Vogeding | ... | Josef, Resentful Villager with Heavy Moustache (uncredited) | |
| Hans von Morhart | ... | A Servant (uncredited) | |
| Paul Weigel | ... | A Peasant (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Roy William Neill | (as R. William Neill) | ||
Writing credits | ||
| Arthur Strawn | (screenplay) & | |
| Henry Myers | (screenplay) | |
| Arthur Strawn | (story) | |
Original Music by | |||
| R.H. Bassett | (uncredited) | ||
| Milan Roder | (uncredited) | ||
| Louis Silvers | (uncredited) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| Allen G. Siegler | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Richard Cahoon | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Stephen Goosson | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Murray Mayer | |||
Sound Department | |||
| Edward Bernds | .... | sound recordist (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Jack Cosgrove | .... | matte painter (uncredited) | |
| Roy Davidson | .... | process shots (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Gert Andersen | .... | assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Fayte M. Browne | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Louis Silvers | .... | musical director | |
| Mischa Bakaleinikoff | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
| Edmund Ross | .... | composer: stock music (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Harry Cohn | .... | president | |
| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Filming Locations? | leejh4 |
| SPOILER--re the pit scene | Bou |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section |
The Black Room is a great movie. The sets are poor, it lacks the grandeur necessary for a period movie, it obviously had an incredibly low budget, even the premise is poor (though the script had a good twist), mostly Z-grade material, and if that weren't enough, the acting by Karloff's colleagues is abysmal. However Boris Karloff is GREAT in this, I have seen many of his films, which range in quality quite staggeringly, my favourites being the Tourneur movies (least favourite the mad doctors), however in this film his acting is EXTRAORDINARY.
In what is perhaps his greatest performance he plays twin brothers Anton and Gregor so incredibly convincingly. One is an innocent sensitive fop, the other an evil sociopath, what range, what awesome acting! Somehow he seems to make both of them endearing! Let me tell you they certainly don't do it like this anymore.
I am an identical twin myself and it is hard to believe that you aren't watching the performances of twin brothers. The twin dynamic is certainly there, and the scenes when both characters are on screen together are seamless, due to some obviously very clever trickery and Karloff's skill. I can't think offhand of many examples of greater acting in film history, certainly few other actors have Karloff's range.
Highly recommended movie. A fratricidal epic!