Edgar Wallace: Die Kammer des Schreckens

This classic Edgar Wallace Murder Mystery/Conspiracy film is surprising fun. Leslie Banks, as the clever, devious, torture device collecting Dr. Mannetta (the owner of the chamber of horrors), frequently steals the scenes he's in even if his character is some what a cliche. The very lovely Lilli Palmer as Judy Lansdowne here plays the lady in distress. A woman in need of help and rescue as many others plot against her and try and steal her key to the "door with the seven locks", the seven keys to which when combined will open Lord Selford's tomb containing his family jewels. Banks as Mannetta, along with a creepy atmosphere, a good pace and an exciting climax make this better than you might expect.

So many early films of the "Old Dark House" variety are the kind where actors hit their marks, look at each other, and just talk, talk, talk endless pages of dialog and exposition. Not this one! The director knows how to tell the story with a camera, and the movie has a good shot count so there's none of those lock-down shots where two or more actors talk about the situation for an eternity. Quite the contrary: the movie has good pacing, and the actors keep a good rhythm to the delivery of their lines. Lilli Palmer is quite good and beguiling as the female lead, with good support from fellow players. The plot has enough twists to keep things interesting, while the lighting, camera moves, and blocking keep the visuals engaging. For a low budget thriller, it's really one of the better examples!

Rather cheap looking but fairly entertaining all the same and it's fairly well made, with a couple creepy moments, and it had some great atmosphere. The cast was pretty likable except for one character, and it's enjoyably cheesy. This was a lot better then i was expecting and i liked the 2 main leads, and they had some good chemistry together, plus the finale was quite exciting. The direction was pretty good for a very low budget movie. Norman Lee did a decent job here keeping the film at a pretty good pace, but there is not any special camera tricks, or anything stylish but he got the job done. There is no gore. The Acting was fairly good. Lilli Palmer does good here and was quite beautiful and had good chemistry with Romilly Lunge. Romilly Lunge was very good here he was amusing and handled himself well!. Gina Malo annoyed the crap out of me as Judy's best friend Shut up already!!!. Leslie Banks is decent here as the doctor and did a fairly good job. David Horne did what he had to do adequately. Richard Bird did well as the Inspector. Overall worth the watch **1/2 out of 5

This British made film is highly enjoyable. Excellent performances by the cast, spectacular sets, good script, all things about this film I found enjoyable.

Lilli Palmer was excellent in the role, she is also a joy to watch as she is breathtakingly beautiful. Leslie Banks is back in a role similar to his role in "Most Dangerous Game," a man who lives in a castle, and collects torture devices.

At 80 minutes in length this film really needs to be watched and enjoyed. Very clever.

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

So many of these movies were made in the 30s and early 40s.

Prior to the Film noir of the next decade.

Some are better than others. This one is a bit above the average.

There's a funny scene with the girl in the bath and when she gets out, another woman wraps her in a plaid towel. When she pulls it around her you can see she' wearing bloomers.

The sets are opulent as was the case back then and there's lots of fun intrigue.

Give it a shot on a lazy Sunday afternoon.