Die Tür mit den 7 Schlössern (1962)

A woman arrives at a lonely mansion and finds herself mixed up with a lunatic who has built his own torture chamber, which is already crowded with victims - and he plans to make her his next one.

Director:

Alfred Vohrer

Writers:

Edgar Wallace (novel), Harald G. Petersson (as Harald Petersson-Giertz)

Stars:

Heinz Drache, Sabine Sesselmann, Eddi Arent

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Heinz Drache	...	Inspektor Richard "Dick" Martin
Sabine Sesselmann	...	Sybil Lansdown (as Sabina Sesselmann)
Eddi Arent	...	Kriminalassistent Holms
Pinkas Braun	...	Dr. Antonio Staletti
Hans Nielsen	...	Mr. Haveloc
Gisela Uhlen	...	Emely Cody, geb. Cawler
Werner Peters	...	Bertram Cody
Jan Hendriks	...	Tom Cawler
Ady Berber	...	Peter Cawler / Giacco
Siegfried Schürenberg	...	Sir John
Friedrich Joloff	...	Hausmeister Burt
Klaus Kinski	...	Pheeny

Storyline

A woman arrives at a lonely mansion and finds herself mixed up with a lunatic who has built his own torture chamber, which is already crowded with victims - and he plans to make her his next one.

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Plot Keywords:

krimi | snake | secret passage | scotland yard | multiple murder | 

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

West Germany France

Language:

German

Release Date:

6 February 1963 (France)

Also Known As:

The Door with 7 Locks

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Jacques Leitienne,Rialto Film Preben-Philipsen,Rialto Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Klangfilm Eurocord)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first cut of the film featured a pre-title sequence showing the first murder (which is mentioned verbally later in the film). For unknown reasons, this sequence has been removed and remains missing (as of 2008).

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Connections

Remake of Chamber of Horrors (1940)

User Reviews

More Fun From The Edgar Wallace Team

Having enjoyed Rialto Film's later, color filled Edgar Wallace adaptations, I recently decided to give the earlier black and white adaptations a try. So far, my favorite from that period, just ahead of The Dark Eyes of London, is The Door with 7 Locks.

I'm not sure the mystery holds completely together, but it is a great pulp set up. Seven keys are being held by seven rather unscrupulous individuals, all of whom worked for a deceased lord whose son is supposed to inherit everything on his twenty-first birthday. The seven keys fit into seven locks which open a door in a castle, but what is behind that door? Scotland Yard inspector Dick Martin comes into the case after the murder of two of the key holders. Martin romances Sybil, a librarian distantly related to the deceased lord and banters with his superior Sir John and the comic relief. This comic relief is once again played by Eddi A-r-e-n-t (no apostrophe in his name, auto-correct). Here, he is playing an inspector who, in spite of having the last name of "Holmes," has less than stellar deduction skills. However, the two most welcome returning actors are Pinkas Braun, the dashing villain from Secret of the Red Orchid and Ady Berber, the Tor Johnson lookalike who played Blind Jack in The Dead Eyes of London. Here, Berber's character Giacco strikes such fear into an intended victim that just hearing his name causes the target to grab a Sten Submachine gun and start blasting.

I do not know how close the film is to the source material, but the film is a highly enjoyable mystery. Unfortunately, Klaus Kinski is bumped off too early. Recommended!