Seven Doors to Death

As the movie starts there's a scream, a gun shot and the sound of a body falling. The film shifts locations as a man in a car is hijacked by a woman on the run. In following her directions he ends up crashing his car and the woman runs away. He tries to follow the woman into an area with a small group of stores, only to end up discovering a dead body. The man notifies the police, who then find a body then the one he reported. From there its complication after complication, most of which are a bit clever but really have nothing to do with the plot and seem to be out of another movie. The conclusion when it comes seems to be tacked on and out of left field.

This a PRC programmer that is a perfect example of what a by the numbers low low budget second feature is like. The plot is set up in such away to keep you interested no matter where the plot goes. Its structured to run no more than the alloted time. It has a minimum of sets and just enough people to keep to make it look as though this might, possibly, be a real place (if you've never lived in the real world). Its also completely forgettable.

The plot has the group of stores being searched and researched again and again to find what ever the latest clue has revealed. Most of the time this is done in the dark so we really can't see where we are. Everyone is a suspect until the very end when the killer is revealed by broad leap of logic. If it wasn't for some rather weird asides, a dance number, a bit about making toast, and a few others, this movie could easily have run half its length. This isn't to say its a dull or bad movie, its not. Things are pleasantly confused for at least the first 15 minutes during which time you'll desperately be trying to figure out what you're watching. By then you'll be hooked since you'll want to know where this very messy movie is going.

This is a good movie, especially when viewed at 3am while curled up in bed. Its not high art nor is it something that you'll find becoming your favorite film of all time. Its an okay time passer which is what it was designed to be. What you'll take away is the odd sense that know one knew what these people were up to since some of the characters are off the wall (a body snatching embalmer who's an okay guy, for example) and some exposition that is ripe with sexual tension and implied situations the Hays office would never approve of.

On its own terms 7 out of 10.

After a woman (Clyde) flees from an apartment following a series of shots, she car-jacks a passing motorist (Chandler) in order to escape and the two eventually become embroiled in a murder mystery (and a budding romance) they must solve to avoid suspicion.

Throughout their enquiries a number of potential leads emerge, Gaye plays a quirky crime-scene photographer who collects ghoulish photographs of real-life murderers and serial killers, while Casey MacGregor looks a likely suspect as the brawny, silent gardener infatuated by Rebel Randall's vivacious vixen, a high society gal with champagne tastes on a beer budget (and who bears a striking resemblance to Paulette Goddard or Hedy Lamarr).

Predictably, the sleuths manage to out-pace the clueless detective (Raffetto), closing the case in record time (61 minutes, in fact, Chandler solves the mystery in 50 minutes), and not a moment too soon as far as I was concerned. Lightweight and lacking suspense, it's not a howler, just an average B-picture mystery displaying little originality or excitement.

These old whodunit movies depend on good chemistry among the characters. The leads in this one seem a bit lacking. The plot is fun and keeps us guessing. There doesn't seem to be much threat overhanging the cast, so it doesn't exactly keep us on the edges of our seats. The movie begins nicely with a young woman using a flashlight (pretending it's a gun) to hijack a ride with a young man. He crashes the car and she disappears. After hunting her down, they become allied in a murder case. They are possible suspects much of the time, but it never seems to be serious. This makes what they do rather bland and uninteresting. The girl is a little too one dimensional and the male lead quite dull. There is a courtyard that looks a little like a contemporary shopping mall. There are seven shops and everyone is a suspect. The title makes me think of foreign intrigue. It's not that, though some of the peripheral characters are interesting. Unfortunately, it's relatively forgettable when all is said and done.

Only in the cinema could the romantic relationship of a model and a cabbie ever could happen. They don't usually happen even in film unless the cabbie is an exiled prince or something like that. But in Seven Doors To Death cabbie Chick Chandler hooks up with model June Clyde to solve a big mystery with several deaths involving jewels and the ownership of an apartment complex.

Chandler's dragged in unwillingly at the point of a gun by Clyde who commandeers him and his cab. She's fleeing a murder scene and Chandler's cab is totaled. After that Chandler declares himself a detective and of course solves the mystery.

The courtyard apartment complex looked something like the one in Rear Window where Jimmy Stewart watched the parade of life. Of course Rear Window is a far better film.

The cheap and tacky sets and inferior sound mark this PRC release. But most of all I couldn't accept the premise or Chandler as a romantic lead.

A murder mystery in which there are shots in the dark and a fleeing woman carjacks a ride. Later the two become suspects in what may be a double murder. There are lots of other suspects and creepy people all intertwined in one way or another.

The seven doors come from seven apartments or businesses that all share the same basement. Murder, missing jewels, and even a mummy case; what does it all mean?

This could easily have been and can be a stage production as all the action takes place in a confined space and the dialog seldom overlaps.

We get to follow the suspected partners in crime as they attempt to track down the real culprit(s) before being charged his/herself. There are lots of opportunities to speculate and kibitz.

The film needs a lot of restoring as it is blurry and dark.