The Sealed Room (1909)

A king exacts vengeance upon his faithless mistress and her lover.

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Stars:

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

Cast

Cast overview:
Arthur V. Johnson	...	The Count
Marion Leonard	...	The Countess
Henry B. Walthall	...	The Minstrel

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 | count | countess | castle | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama | History | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released as a split reel along with the comedy The Little Darling (1909).

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Goofs

Early in the film, the lovers cannot hear the king raving with jealousy, even though a single curtain separates the king from the lovers. Yet later, he can hear them perfectly through the newly constructed brick wall.

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Connections

Version of Secrets of a Ballerina (1943)

User Reviews

Griffith and Poe

Sealed Room, The (1909)

*** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith's version of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado' has a King learning that his wife is cheating on him so he seals her and her lover behind a brick wall. This short film manages to have some nice suspense as well as some very good direction from Griffith who gets everything he can out of the story in such a short running time. The ending is wonderfully wicked as well.

You've got several options when viewing this title. Image, Kino, Grapevine and a couple public domain companies have released it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None English

Release Date:

2 September 1909 (USA)

Also Known As:

Det forseglede Værelse

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

11 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1