DoctorJuliaHoffman

Despite all the negativity, I just watched the film and enjoyed it. Moreso than I did "The Monster" (1925) and "The Bat" (1926). Lionel Barrymore is a killer and a thief who lives in a mansion riddled with secret passageways, etc. It's also the abode of Barrymore's criminal gang. His innocent secretary is held captive as the man who loves her and his wonder dog try to rescue her and apprehend Barrymore (and gang). The VHS copy I watched on-line was a bit grainy, but I'm not complaining. I heard music from Universal's "Flash Gordon" (1936), and Hitchcock's "Rebecca" (1940) and "Spellbound" (1945) used as background music here. I definitely will be revisiting this film in the future.

I hadn't seen this film until last night. I enjoyed it so much, I watched it twice in a row. The second time around, I paused to read the newspaper clippings that were hanging on the wall. This gave me more insight to the story. Houston Stevenson is a superb performer. It would be nice to see more of him in the future. Today, I watched Stevenson in the prequel to this film "A Predator's Obsession: Stalker's Prey 2" (2000) and its prequel "Stalker's Prey" (2017). Stevenson plays "Bruce" in the latter two while Mason Dye portrayed him in the first film. I think this 2021 film is the best of the trilogy. A most effective Lifetime film. (And there's room for another sequel with "Bruce" and, perhaps, his baby.)

I can't believe that I'm the first one to review this film here. Many of us are more familiar with the all-star 1933 remake by Universal Pictures which faithfully adheres to the original almost scene by scene. Even stock footage of the castle and its moat were reused by Universal Pictures. The original is decidedly superior and has a much more atmospheric Blue Room set than Universal Pictures came up with which more or less looks like any old bedroom in the castle. The DVD print I purchased from Sinister Cinema is Region Free and runs 66 minutes like its remake. The subtitles are in English.

I've seen four film adaptations of this story; the aforementioned two and Universal Pictures' 1938 remake "The Missing Guest", and its 1944 remake "Murder in the Blue Room" (complete with The Andrews Sisters-like trio!) I like them all with the 1932 version the best, followed by the 1933 version, the 1938 version, and the 1944 version. Fans should definitely check this version out. There is also a Czech version made after the German original and before Universal Pictures' 1933 version called "Zahada modrého pokoje" (1933) available thru eBay. It's PAL-Region 2. I understand it doesn't have English subtitles, but it too adheres closely to the German original.