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Secret Beyond the Door

Play trailer Poster for Secret Beyond the Door 1948 1h 38m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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65% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A playgirl (Joan Bennett) marries a stranger (Michael Redgrave) whose quirks include a hang-up about murder.

Critics Reviews

View All (17) Critics Reviews
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Probably the most psychoanalytically oriented of his features, and because it's Lang, the murkiness is mainly a strength. Feb 25, 2013 Full Review Jake Hamilton Empire Magazine Sloppy effort from Lang late in his career. Rated: 2/5 Feb 25, 2013 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Mental complexities of the principals makes it sometimes hard to sort out the various motivations used to spin the tale. Apr 4, 2011 Full Review Carson Timar ClapperCast Everything here works! From the filmmaking to the actual story itself, while the ending might not hold up morally this is still quite an engaging feature. Nov 10, 2024 Full Review James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk pushes the story to the edges of the surreal, with intense lighting effects, fluid tracking shots, and dreamlike imagery Rated: 3/4 Sep 3, 2024 Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl ...even when the story is not working, the technical people knew how to get their jobs done, making this film is a tribute to the craft of filmmaking. Rated: 6/10 May 9, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (51) audience reviews
Demented N Some visually impressive moments you would expect in a horror movie but more shakespearian than anything with long pointless monologues that Technically mean nothing . Choose this based on the flim nior poster but sadly it's boring. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/10/23 Full Review Victor T Joan has great hair in this thriller. At times, one may think she's Hedy Lamarr. Scarlett O'Hara's mother co-stars. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/14/22 Full Review William L Let's run down a few of the extremely subtle warning signs that Joan Bennett's Celia ignores in her new husband: 1) the funny responses he gives when she describes the misfortune of others, 2) the family he already had that he didn't tell her about until well after they were married, and whom he left to introduce themselves to each other, 3) his previous wife, who perished under mysterious circumstances after her fortune had run out, 4) the shaking of locked bedroom doors when he was one of very few people around, and 5) his literal collection of rooms in which murders were committed. The result of all of this is just a sense of moderate unease on her part; this woman would walk past a dozen construction signs with blinking lights and wonder how she ended up in wet concrete. Though Lang brings a pretty substantial set of visual tricks to give the film some atmosphere, there is little that the acclaimed director can do to salvage this mess of a plot, which is functionally a rip-off of many far better romantic thrillers from the period. Celia is so strangely dense and lackng in character motivation (why does she feel so ridiculously intent on solving this 'mystery' instead of just accepting the fact that her husband is a murderous creep and book the next train outta there?) and Redgrave's Mark is so obviously off-kilter that it just drags the entire film down. There isn't even a superficial element of surprise, apart from Mark's motivations that are revealed at the film's conclusion (and who cares, to be honest?) and Celia's decision-making process, which demonstrates the survival instincts of a lemming running off a cliff. Sub-standard for both Lang and for noir-thrillers. (2.5/5) Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/15/21 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. Some original stuff here. Complete with odd psychological motivations and fascinating intrigue. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Must be one of the most absurd movies of all time. Good cast and well directed.but the storyline and dialogue is about as daft as it gets Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member seriously that is a CREEPY hobby Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Secret Beyond the Door

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A playgirl (Joan Bennett) marries a stranger (Michael Redgrave) whose quirks include a hang-up about murder.
Director
Fritz Lang
Producer
Fritz Lang
Screenwriter
Silvia Richards
Production Co
Walter Wanger Productions, Inc.
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 20, 2017
Runtime
1h 38m