Chamber of Horrors (1940)

A murder is found to be connected to a false heir and a secret underground torture chamber.

Director:

Norman Lee

Writers:

Edgar Wallace (novel), John Argyle (treatment)

Stars:

Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge

Cast

Cast overview:
Leslie Banks	...	Dr. Manetta
Lilli Palmer	...	June Lansdowne
Romilly Lunge	...	Dick Martin
Gina Malo	...	Glenda Baker
Richard Bird	...	Det. Inspector Sneed
David Horne	...	Edward Havelock
J.H. Roberts	...	Silva
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Ann Cody
Harry Hutchinson	...	Bevan Cody
Philip Ray	...	Cawler (as Phil Ray)
Robert Montgomery	...	Craig the Butler (as R. Montgomery)
Aubrey Mallalieu	...	Lord Selford
Ross Landon	...	John Selford

Storyline

A murder is found to be connected to a false heir and a secret underground torture chamber.

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Plot Keywords:

heir | murder | torture | suicide | poisoned drink | 

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Taglines:

What dark secrets lie hidden behind...

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chamber of Horrors

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rialto Productions, John Argyle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gina Malo's final film.

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Goofs

On his death-bed Lord Selford says he is fifty-five years old. When on his tombstone the date of his death (1928) and birth (1872) equates to 56.

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Quotes

Insp. Cornelius 'Andy' Sneed: Women are like tiger cats. They ought to be caged at sixteen and shot at twenty!

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Connections

Featured in Creature Features: The Wolf Man/Chamber of Horrors (1971)

User Reviews

Don't Lock Up the Cows for This One... ;=8)

"The Door with 7 Locks", aka "The Chamber of Horrors", is a mildly entertaining, quaint little English mystery from the early 40's. An eccentric old coot passes away, leaving his deformed son as heir to an estate, but locks up the family jewels in his tomb, cowplete with a door with 7 locks. Various family members/servants/gawkers try to embezzle the loot and get away with murder. Lovely snugglebunny Lilli Palmer, fresh from Canada, comes to make her claim on the loot, along with buddy Romilly Lunge from Scotland Yard. The evil Dr. Manetta, his pet monkey, and his mute Spanish servant almoost rule the day! Manetta has ancestors from the Spanish Inquisition(Nooooobody expects...), and he cowlects grisly little torture devices and poisoned chalices. This is a fun little flick, despite the cliches - Manetta dresses like Fu Manchu on downers, the plot twists are obvious, and the characters seldom rise above 2 dimentional. Still, the film is brisk, the cinematography excellent, and the setting and mood are cowvincing enough to forgive these udder oversights. Snuggly Lilli Palmer only worked in 6 decades-worth of moovie making, had her own tv show in the 50's, twice, and even married Rex Harrison. The MooCow says this dusty old flick deserves moore attention; find it and rent it soon! ;=8)