Le baron Gregor

Boris Karloff only made a handful of movies that demonstrated he had some real range as an actor, and of that handful, THE BLACK ROOM has to rate as one of the best. In this work, Karloff plays twin brothers of a family of aristocrats. The older brother Gregor is a nasty piece of work. He is the titular head of the family of land barons, and has long developed a reputation for brutality in the region he governs. His estate is notorious for having disappeared several young women. Anton, the younger of the twins, is a cosmopolitan sort, has been away travelling and studying for many years. Both men are haunted by a family prophecy, in which the younger of the two twins is supposed to slay the older in order to complete a family curse, which apparently began in the "black room" of the film's title.

The room itself was ordered sealed shortly after the birth of the twins in order to avert a repeat of the tragedy. Unbeknownst to the villagers, Gregor has found a hidden passage into the black room, and it is the torture pit of the room where he disposes of the bodies of his victims.

Anton, the younger brother, returns home upon the urging of his brother Gregor, who has, after several attempts on his life, realized that he must step aside in order to calm the people down. Gregor has in mind a phoney abdication in which he seems to step aside in favor of his twin. His actual plan is to murder Anton, and to continue to reign in Anton's identity, in his own twist on the family curse. He falls over his own hubris for a number of personal reasons, but before film's end, he manages to indulge in a round of crafty Karloffian mayhem.

Karloff plays both the monstrous and benign brothers, but in addition, he portrays the nasty brother imitating the gentle one. That's what makes this piece fun. Seventy minutes of the grand old man of the gothics at his best. I've probably seen it about thirty times now, and it holds up well.

Another film I had been reading about since childhood but up till now have had no opportunity to watch.

An interesting star vehicle for Boris Karloff allowing him to play two roles as contrasting twins; the fact that one of them is deformed may owe something to Lon Chaney and here Karloff demonstrates himself a most worthy successor to the Master's mantle. The period setting - its-folk-tale quality hearkens back to German Expressionism - serves the handsome production extremely well, especially when considering that Columbia Pictures at the time was just starting to pose a serious challenge (following the Oscar sweep of Frank Capra's IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT [1934]) to the major studios. Director Roy William Neill handles the proceedings with great efficiency and style providing plenty of visual flourishes along the way.

The only criticism one can level at the film regards a couple of slightly contrived plot points: the evil Karloff, who has done away with his benign but paralyzed sibling and whom he impersonates in order to win the girl he loves, is rather stupidly caught by the girl's father when he is spotted in a mirror using his 'lame' hand to sign the marriage contract; Karloff's come-uppance is brought about by his dead brother's faithful mastiff which hates his guts - it's implausible to think that the dog has kept away from Karloff for days (by which time the girl's lover has been convicted for her father's murder) only to conveniently reappear on his wedding day! However, the ironic climax - which allows the prophecy tied with Karloff's family name to be fulfilled - is a splendid one.

All in all, along with THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932) and THE WALKING DEAD (1936; see below), THE BLACK ROOM is Karloff's best vehicle of the 1930s which wasn't produced by the studio which made his name, Universal.

Karloff plays a dual role here as twin brothers, the oldest of which is heir to the family fortune and lands. The children's' father fears the old prophesy that as the family began, so will it end, and it began with a younger jealous twin killing the older twin. This is what he fears will happen again since the younger twin inherits none of the lands that the older one does. Furthermore, the younger twin's right arm is paralyzed, giving the younger twin even more reason for bitterness and ultimately jealousy and murder. The prophesy also says that the murder will occur in the "Black Room" just as before. A family friend states the obvious - seal off the black room so that it cannot be used and thus the murder will never happen. The father does that, and erroneously rests easy.

Well, history doesn't exactly repeat itself. The older twin, Gregor turns out to be evil, and the younger twin, Anton, though disabled and without property of his own, is a good and generous soul. Gregor invites Anton home to "help him" - which, unknown to Anton, is actually part of a devilish escape plot by Gregor whose subjects are boiling over with rage from all of the women who have gone missing in the castle over the years. Both brothers take a fancy to the daughter of Colonel Hassle, Thea (Marian Marsh), though Thea actually loves a soldier. Thea is quite uneasy with the affections of Gregor, given his polite but menacing demeanor and all of those rumors about missing girls. So how can Gregor manage to both get the girl and get away from the angry villagers? Watch and find out.

The plot is extremely clever and ironic, Karloff's acting is superb with his roles seemingly tailor made for him, and the supporting players are very good, but there really isn't much atmosphere in this one to the point that it is really difficult to classify it as horror. Its strength is in its screenplay and in Karloff's performance, not its visuals. Still, I'd recommend this one.

This film is competently directed and photographed, yet it is not noteworthy from either point of view. The story, concerning human compassion versus cruelty, and the cold, merciless workings of fate, is clever and interesting, all the more so since it does not linger too long and overstay its welcome...this film clocks in at 1 hour and change.

By Columbia Pictures standards, this film is almost opulent, having several sets and a number of outdoor shots, and having good actors, costumes, technicians and atmosphere all around. But, since it is a Columbia Picture, central Europe looks amazingly like Southern California. Still, it proves that Universal did not have a monopoly on horror in the 1930's.

This is not a supernatural film, except perhaps in the fact that it deals with the subjects of prophecy and fate...it is instead a psychological horror film and so it helps to have the right set of expectations going in. In a way, this film is a kind of precursor to the ambiguous metaphysics and psychological themes of the 1940's Val Lewton horror/noir classics.

What makes this film stand out is Karloff's brilliant performance in the double role of twin brothers, one evil and one good. Karloff is completely convincing in both parts, and it is a genuine pleasure to watch him. It is also striking that even without monster make-up Karloff can scare the pants off you, when he chooses.

Modern horror fans are liable to have trouble accessing this film, but it is recommended to fans of classic horror and classic film in general.

This film, little known except amongst traditional horror fans, is a sparkling gem. It is an outstanding story about two twin brothers, one of them evil and the other benevolent, who grow up surrounded by a curse that says the older brother will die at the hands of the younger brother in the mysterious Black Room. Karloff plays both brothers and he is excellent, quipping evil commands and leering as the malevolent sibling and prancing and being overly solicitous as the good brother. Karloff breathes life in every pore of this film. He is the focal point of attention as he speaks each line. Few of his performances show so much of his range and few show him as such a twisted, ruthless individual. This is a must see for the Karloff fan, or any fan of good old-fashioned horror stories.