Secret of the Blue Room

Not bad little Old Dark House quickie from Universal with a great cast and a "guess you had to be there" plot. A trio of horndogs (Paul Lukas, Onslow Stevens, William Janney) want to marry pretty Gloria Stuart, despite her warbly singing voice. So they decide to have a contest to see who gets her hand. All three men will spend one night in the "blue room," a supposedly haunted room of a spooky old mansion where three murders were committed twenty years earlier. Then the fun starts. In addition to the top talent already mentioned, this one also features Paul Barrat, Lionel Atwill, and Edward Arnold. Pretty good lineup. It's definitely worth a look for classic film fans. Probably won't blow you away or anything but I doubt you'll feel your hour and change was wasted.

Do you like mysterious mysteries? I don't mean mysteries where the murderer is tipped off right away, and then it becomes a cat-and-mouse game with a detective, I mean the ones in which you can't guess the murderer. Well, here is one of the latter, and it was, as I said in my title, a surprise.

This is a very old picture, and the nuts and bolts of the plot have been done to death; people in a scary old castle, dying off one by one due to a curse, and several servants under varying degrees of suspicion. All been done before. Gloria Stuart is lovely and sings a tuneful song, Lionel Atwill is sinister, Edward Arnold is an upstanding Police Commisioner. Just fill in the blanks for plot details. But the ending will really get your attention, which accounts for my rating of seven.

7/10 - website no longer prints my star rating.

This is, what, the fourth classic Universal horror film to start with the same rendition of Swan Lake? "Secret of the Blue Room" revolves around a mansion with a cursed room, were three unsolved murders have occurred over. In order to impress the object of their desire (Third time in a row Gloria Stuart has shown up), three suitors each decide to spend a night in the seemingly haunted room. Murder follows, mysteries are investigated, and red herrings abound.

If this movie was a book, we'd call it a great airport read. It's generally unremarkable and didn't offer anything particularly new, even in 1933. The film is a straight mystery with only marginal horror elements. There's some light Gothic trappings, such as a silhouette shot of the mansion right out of "The Cat and the Canary" and a great scene of Gloria being attacked by a fedora clad villain, who we naturally only see in shadow. The climax takes place in a spider web covered secret dungeon. The cast is good, truthfully. Lionel Atwill, as the girl's father, plays up his natural creepiness. William Janney as the youngest suitor and Paul Lukas, with his strong accent, are both more interesting then your typical Hollywood romantic leads of the time. My favorite performance has to be Edward Arnold as the detective. His uncompromising interrogation techniques make the second half of the movie energetic and fun. Mary the cook provides some amusing comic relief, with her anxious insistence not to be incriminated in the case.

I was sort of surprised to find out the movie isn't based on a stage play, with its small cast and limited locations. It's not a particularly memorable film but it is a decent way to spend an hour, a good example of the sub-genre. Universal was weirdly fond of the story, remaking it twice, in '38 as The Missing Guest and in '44 as Murder in the Blue Room, a musical/comedy. Funnily, each was in black and white meaning we just have to take the movie's word on the titular room's primary color.

A bit rusty and dusty, this film made by Universal in 1933 tells of three men infatuated with the daughter of Lionel Atwill who all agree for sake of ego to stay in the mysterious "blue" room, a room where no one has gone into for twenty or so years because of all the terrible things that befell the inhabitants of that room. Gloria Stuart plays the beautiful object of their affection and carefully plays on the sidelines as each man prepares and stays in the blue room. What happens? Well, that would be giving too much away, but what does ensue is a nice, tight mystery for the most part with some credible red herrings and a somewhat plausible and innovative resolution. Lionel Atwill does a fine job in his patriarchal role as does Stuart. Paul Lukas, Onslow Stevens, and the rest of the cast also do fine jobs. Story really moves this film along, and the script is very good for this time period and for a mystery. My print was somewhat faded and I am not sure if a crisper print exists. I hope so. I know it will be sometime - if anytime - for this film to get the proper DVD treatment is deserves.

Because it was released by the premier horror studio Universal, focuses on an old castle with a spooky room, and features horror star Lionel Atwill, SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM has been marketed as a horror film throughout the year. It's actually a whodunit with horror elements that influence but never dominate the film. But it would be close-minded to reject this film just because it's not a full-fledged chiller. SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM is an enjoyable film that projects an air of menacing mystery and efficiently moves the plot with a palpable suspense until the movie's resolution.

SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM benefits from attractive sets (leftover from THE OLD DARK HOUSE and FRANKENSTEIN) that convey an ornate yet forbidding castle milieu. Director Kurt Neumann, while no stylist in the James Whale vein, effectively utilizes the setting's atmospheric potential. He provides a suitably eerie aura with taste and restraint, avoiding obvious stunts like self-playing pianos. Such gimmicks would damage the film's mood and credibility.

On the whole, performances are good. The actors and actresses provide believable characterizations that help propel the plot. Particularly impressive are Lionel Atwill as the castle owner troubled by his estate's secrets and Edward Arnold as a detective who handles the castle's mysteries in a domineering, no-nonsense manner. Elizabeth Patterson is mildly annoying as a terrified maid, but fortunately her performance doesn't affect BLUE ROOM's atmosphere.

Curiously, a few of the plot's riddles remain unexplained at the film's end. It would have been logical for Universal to provide a sequel with the same fine cast in order to resolve everything. Instead, the studio chose to remake the film twice with different performers. But BLUE ROOM's minor plot holes shouldn't detract one from enjoying this well-made mystery.