The Strange Door (1951)

Noble-born cad Denis (Stapley) has been tricked into a forced stay at the eerie manor of the Sire de Maletroit (Laughton), an evil madman who can't get over the death of his beloved, twenty... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Jerry Sackheim (screenplay), Robert Louis Stevenson (story "The Sire de Maletroit's Door")

Stars:

Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Sally Forrest

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Laughton	...	Sire Alain de Maletroit
Boris Karloff	...	Voltan
Sally Forrest	...	Blanche de Maletroit
Richard Wyler	...	Denis de Beaulieu (as Richard Stapley)
William Cottrell	...	Corbeau
Alan Napier	...	Count Grassin
Morgan Farley	...	Renville
Paul Cavanagh	...	Edmond de Maletroit
Michael Pate	...	Talon

Storyline

Noble-born cad Denis (Stapley) has been tricked into a forced stay at the eerie manor of the Sire de Maletroit (Laughton), an evil madman who can't get over the death of his beloved, twenty years after she married his brother (Cavanagh) instead and subsequently passed away during childbirth. Maletroit is determined to have his revenge: the brother has been stowed away in the dungeon for two decades, while he's convinced his disreputable house guest will make a suitably hellish husband for his niece. As luck would have it, the young couple manage to fall in love, and with the help of manservant Voltan (Karloff), they try to make their escape, but not before a final confrontation with Maletroit in the dungeon's crushing deathtrap.

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Plot Keywords:

dungeon | escape | manservant | madman | fake murder | 

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Taglines:

Robert Louis Stevenson's masterpiece of TERROR

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

15 April 1952 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Door

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Sire Alain de Maletroit: I am desolated, Edmund, I cannot invite you to the wedding supper, but I fear a man who has been dead for twenty years might cast a gloom upon the company.

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Connections

Featured in Monsterama Sci-Fi Late Night Creature Feature Show Vol. 1 (1996)

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Soundtracks

Minuet (3rd movement from String Quintette E major, G.275)
(uncredited)
Music by Luigi Boccherini

User Reviews

Quite good, Laughton especially

Vastly underrated, at least compared to the IMDb rating (5.9). I mean, come on, a movie starring Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff? That alone makes it pretty awesome. And even aside from them, the movie's just darn good. It's a Gothic horror about a French nobleman (Laughton) who captures a rogue (Richard Wyler) and tries to force him to marry his niece (Sally Forrest) to spite her father (Paul Cavanagh), whom Laughton has imprisoned in his dungeon for the past 20 years. Karloff plays Cavanagh's guard. The only real problem, besides its having an utterly forgettable title, is the hero, Wyler, who is not that good an actor. Fortunately, it's the kind of film where all eyes are on the awesome supporting cast, so it's easy to forget about him. Joseph Pevney is probably best known for directing 14 Star Trek episodes, including "The Trouble with Tribbles".