Secret Beyond the Door... (1948)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Rufus King (story)
Silvia Richards (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 January 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Some Men Destroy What They Love Most!

Plot:

In this Freudian version of the Bluebeard tale, a young, trust-funded New Yorker goes to Mexico on vacation...

Plot Keywords:

Room | Murder | Honeymoon | Motherless Child | Second Wife

Cast

Joan Bennett	...	Celia Lamphere
Michael Redgrave	...	Mark Lamphere
Anne Revere	...	Caroline Lamphere
Barbara O'Neil	...	Miss Robey
Natalie Schafer	...	Edith Potter
Paul Cavanagh	...	Rick Barrett
Anabel Shaw	...	Intellectual Sub-Deb
Rosa Rey	...	Paquita
James Seay	...	Bob Dwight
Mark Dennis	...	David

Also Known As:

Secret Beyond the Door (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12621)

Company:

Diana Production Company

Trivia:

In the tour of the three rooms, Mark Lamphere recounts the tales of three murders, all of which are fictional. However in the first room, he mentions the St Bartholomew's Day massacre and the Guise family in France. The massacre is a real historical event, where French Roman Catholics attacked French Huguenots (Protestants) on 24th of August 1572 resulting in many deaths. The Guise family was a leading family in the Roman Catholic faction and may have been involved in the instigation of the unrest and other actions which led to the massacre.

Movie Connections:

References Suspicion (1941)

Lovely Hollywood mystery fluff for rainy days!

I enjoyed it much more the second time around. At first it was far too unbelievable. It hardly made any sense then and I never felt I cared what happened. I bought the video because of Joan Bennett and Fritz Lang making another film noir. Now when i saw it, I loved it and just sat back enjoyed all the hokus-pokus fluff that is delivered quite seriously. It´s supposed to be like "Rebecca" and that´s why I didn´t like it the first time. Too many plot holes! There´s even an exotic ms. Danvers type around with a veil...Too much!

Why would Joan marry and stay with someone so utterly stiff and charmless as Michael Redgrave?? The male lead should have been given to someone more mysterious and attractive. They were hoping for a new Laurence Olivier...

Joan is a treat as always. I love how she comes across as a spoiled debutante who can hardly care to utter her lines with any conviction. She´s a good actress -just a bit too laid back at times. I love her, she is so stunningly beautiful and cool in her Hollywood wardrobes.

I love the whole atmosphere of the movie. It´s slow at first and then from the honeymoon in Mexico and forward so mysterious! I love her bedroom with the tapestry! The thing with the room-collecting was quite farfetched but fun. Who would REALLY aquire complete scenes of murders at home???? I´m going to see it again soon and learn some lines. They don´t make them like they used to!