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The Strange Door

Play trailer Poster for The Strange Door 1951 1h 21m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 36% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A 17th-century French nobleman (Charles Laughton) keeps kin in his castle dungeon, complete with water-wheel wall crusher.

Critics Reviews

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid 04/27/2019
2.5/4
It's actually a pretty limp costume movie that never really makes much sense. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 04/24/2019
2.5/4
Minor thrills can be found in what's more of a melodrama than a horror yarn. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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06/29/2017 Slightly better than The Black Castle. See more 03/16/2014 The Story Alain de Maletroit (Charles Laughton) kidnaps Dennis de Beaulieu (Richard Wyler) and blackmails him to marry his niece Blanche de Maletroit (Sally Forrest).My Review The movie starts out very interesting with the setup at the pub to trick Dennis into coming into Alain's castle. The ending is also pretty decent with the dungeon crushing walls. Sadly, the middle is pretty much a waste of time. The story is slow and uninteresting. The settings were nicely done, but it just doesn't make up for the shortcomings.Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff are both pretty much wasted in this movie. Laughton is overacting and Karloff's role is limited. Richard Wyler both do adequate jobs as the kidnapped couple who Alain forces to marry.My recommendation: Overall, I don't see a good reason to see this film. See more 04/19/2013 The sets, actors, cinematography, etcetera, are all tops (and better than usual for this genre), unfortunately the plot doesn't live up to the premise. See more 05/16/2012 Enjoyable Gothic melodrama!! See more 03/21/2012 After a promising start, with the magnificent Charles Laughton giving a monster thespian performance, the film simmered considerably as it went on. By the end i lost interest. Karloff was wasted. Richard Stapley was miscast, thought he was terrbile. See more 11/08/2010 Interesting gothic take on Robert Louis Stevenson's story produced by Universal with an absolutely berserk Charles Laughton running amok in his decaying mansion, gleefully consigning his various victims to his well-stocked torture chambers and dungeons. Boris Karloff, although in a small part as Laughton's abused and vengeful servant, makes the most of his role, as always. See more Read all reviews
The Strange Door

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis A 17th-century French nobleman (Charles Laughton) keeps kin in his castle dungeon, complete with water-wheel wall crusher.
Director
Joseph Pevney
Producer
Ted Richmond
Screenwriter
Jerry Sackheim
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Sep 19, 2006
Runtime
1h 21m
Sound Mix
Stereo