Il mistero della camera nera

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.

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.

Well-written and acted, this is a gem of a movie. Discover it and you will realize once again that Karloff truly was a great actor (in a dual role here as a cruel Baron and his kindly twin). The twin angle is played for tension and creepiness and really works in the hands of a great but under recognized director, Roy William Neill. Check out more of Neill's work- most often in the b-movie category but always superbly crafted. Neill's films are always a cut above the average and I believe that his gifts are nowadays finally being noticed and receiving well-deserved recognition.

Marion Marsh hits just the right note in a fine youthful performance as the stunningly beautiful daughter of a local official, committed by family to potential lifetime unhappiness and depravity at the hands of the despicable Baron. Ms. Marsh was one of the most beautiful women ever in the long history of film, but is unaffected by her looks and is almost always natural and effective in her roles. Probably the best word to describe her is simply that she is likable- a good trait for a movie star but too often lacking in many of them.

This film moves along energetically in juggernaut fashion and is marvelously entertaining, totally without any padding or slowness. Its a winner.

I must agree with the other posts on this site, Karloff is excellent here. In fact, this is just about the best example of his acting skill I've come across. In this film, he is not just a generic Halloween ghoul, but shows a very nice range of characterization, as he plays twin brothers who are polar opposites. The film is beautiful to look at, and well paced and plotted. Even if you see the ironic ending coming at you a mile and a half away, it's still fun to anticipate it.

Incidentally, is it just me, or does the loud brass fanfare that occurs in the title sequence, and throughout the film at dramatic moments, sound like part of the song "Come Rain or Come Shine" ("days may be cloudy or sunny...")? I just found it a bit distracting to suddenly picture Judy Garland in my mind at all the most tense and dramatic moments of the story.

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.