Behind the walls of horror

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Movie
German title Behind the walls of horror
Original title The Strange Door
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1951
length 78 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Joseph Pevney
script Jerry Sackheim
(adaptation)
production Ted Richmond
music Joseph Gershenson
camera Irving Glassberg
cut Edward Curtiss
occupation

Behind the Walls of Horror (Original title: The Strange Door ) is an American horror film by Joseph Pevney from 1951 . It is based on the story The Sire de Malétroit's Door ( The Door of Sire de Malétroit ) by Robert Louis Stevenson .

action

The sadistic and half-mad Alain de Maletroit, descendant of an old noble family, has been keeping his brother Edmond prisoner in a hidden dungeon of his mansion for 20 years. This is his revenge for the fact that Edmond was once able to win the love of the woman who was also idolized by Alain. Edmond's daughter Blanche, raised by Alain after her mother died in childbirth, believes that her father also died early. To complete his revenge on Edmond, Alain lures the brawler Denis de Beaulieu into his house in order to force him and Blanche to a wedding. He wants to make the young woman's life hell and torture Edmond with it.

However, it turns out that there is a good heart hidden under the rough skin of the young man, and after an initial dislike, Blanche and Denis fall in love. Together they try to free themselves from the clutches of Alain and his brutal servants. They only get help from Voltan, the jailer, who has also secretly made life easier for Edmond in captivity. But the lovers' escape fails. Alain decides to murder Edmond and the two of them, and for this purpose locks them together in the dungeon, the walls of which can be moved by an ingenious mechanism and threaten to crush the inmates. With the last of his strength, Voltan, seriously wounded in the fight with Alain's servants, manages to overcome Alain and free the three.

background

The two stars of the film, Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff, were together in front of the camera in a horror film as early as 1932. The house of horror ( The Old Dark House ) was one of the first major films for Laughton, then still in a supporting role.

The Strange Door premiered in New York on December 8, 1951. In the Federal Republic of Germany the film did not appear in cinemas until seven years later. In the GDR the film was broadcast on television under the title The Strange Door .

criticism

"A wildly romantic horror film in a routine, conventional production, which is very much influenced by the acting skills of Charles Laughton."

- Lexicon of international film

“The enmity between [...] brothers becomes a terrible symbol of inhumanity in the film after a fantastic Stevenson novella. Recommended for adults. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Behind the Walls of Horror. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 11, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. Ev. Munich Press Association, Review No. 460/1958