The Strange Door

When Charles Laughton is given good direction and a decent script he'll give you an Oscar caliber performance and has on many occasions, one of them officially. But when he's not, hmmmm............. Well what's a body to do, but make the best of it, have a little fun.

With that gleam in his eye and the shtick with the food, plagiarized from his own performance of Henry VIII, Laughton goes to town in an orgy of overacting as Andre de Maletroit, malevolent lord of the manor in 18th Century France. For reasons I'll not explain Laughton has some nefarious reasons for wanting his niece to marry the worst kind of aristocratic rake.

The niece and the rake are played respectively by Sally Forrest and Richard Stapley none too convincingly I might add. Boris Karloff is an old family servant who Laughton delights in mistreating. He also is defeated by the script and direction so he also resorts to shtick.

Boris Karloff's career is illustrative of the path that Charles Laughton's could have taken. Trapped by his performance as the Frankenstein monster, Karloff stayed in the horror genre for most of his career. It was Laughton's good fortune and acting instincts that kept him from the same fate.

The film is based on a Robert Louis Stevenson story and certainly Stevenson has had great cinema made from his stories like Treasure Island and Kidnapped. Too bad this one can't rate up there.

The Strange Door is the kind of material that in the late 50s, Hammer films would have done so well. Too bad they didn't get a crack at it here.

There were many horror titles released by Universal around the 1940's and 50's which told short stories (usually adapted from literature) within a slim running time - routine B-movie fare bolstered by one of the many fantastic actors they had on their payroll. The Strange Door is one such example. It's a rather daft story, adapted from a Robert Louis Stevenson short about a playboy high-born caught up in the sadistic plans of a sadistic lord. With a tacked-on romance, this is pretty pedestrian stuff for the most part. But when Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff are on screen, this timid horror comes alive.

Sire Alain de Maletroit (Laughton) and his cronies manipulate troublesome rake Denis de Beaulieu (Richard Wyler) into a mansion. While the front door opens from the outside, the inside contains no handle, trapping Denis within the strange castle. Alain explains to Denis that he intends for Denis to marry his lovely daughter Blanche (Sally Forrest). At first apprehensive, Denis meets and eventually falls in love with the delicate Blanche, infuriating the huge lord who naturally has an ulterior motive to his sweet-sounding deal. Alain has imprisoned and tortured his brother Edmond (Paul Cavanagh) for the past 20 years, with the hope of making the poor man's daughter miserable as well. However, he doesn't anticipate Denis's redemptive qualities.

Laughton doesn't so much chew the scenery but swill it around his chubby cheeks. Whenever he is on screen, it is impossible to take your eyes from him. Alongside looking like he's having a ball, every gesture, eye movement and idiosyncratic ramble seem almost improvised, as if he knows how forgettable this movie is but wants to make damn sure you'll be entertained while you watch it. Karloff also brings wide-eyed sympathy to the faithful servant Voltan, a man tasked with the dirty job of watching over the prisoner but does all he can to help the poor man. Wyler is less impressive; a constantly wooden presence with a voice that almost hurts the ears. The film is formulaic and stretched, but is occasionally very entertaining and a must-see for fans of its two lead stars.

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".

I'm surprised at having never heard of this film because it's certainly part of the genre I enjoy. To see Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff as the stars, I thought it was worth a look. Of course, it is full of formulaic stuff, with the madman Laughton carrying decades of anger after being jilted, exacting his revenge at the daughter of his adversary. He lives in a hideous mansion, full of torture devices and secrets. He is surrounded by toadies whom he mistreats, but who are beholding to him. A young man is shanghaied because he is a scoundrel. Laughton wants him to become the groom to the young woman's bride. Karloff, for some reason, is able to lurk around the castle, peeking through doors and protecting a prisoner. Of course, love will out and that throws a monkey wrench into things. There is also the classic flaw of the villain just going a bit too far in his efforts to gain vengeance. Still, there is lots of suspense and a satisfactory plot line.

Noble-born cad Dennis (Stapley) has been tricked into a forced stay at the eerie manor of the Sire de Maletroit (Charles Laughton), an evil madman who cannot get over the death of his beloved, twenty years after she married his brother (Paul Cavanagh) instead and subsequently passed away during childbirth.

This film starts as a period piece and slowly turns into a horror story. Quite slowly, in fact, to the point where you may even doubt if the horror aspects are going to arise. But this plays out well, building the characters and situation for the events that are to come.

While this is sometimes considered a Boris Karloff film, Karloff actually has a rather small role to play. It ought to be called a Charles Laughton film, because Laughton shines. He has such charisma, stealing every scene (in a good way) and leaving you wanting more. He ought to be a bigger deal than he is.