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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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A 17th-century French nobleman (Charles Laughton) keeps kin in his castle dungeon, complete with water-wheel wall crusher.

Critics Reviews

View All (2) Critics Reviews
Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid It's actually a pretty limp costume movie that never really makes much sense. Rated: 2.5/4 Apr 27, 2019 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Minor thrills can be found in what's more of a melodrama than a horror yarn. Rated: 2.5/4 Apr 24, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Slightly better than The Black Castle. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Enjoyable Gothic melodrama!! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Strange Door

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Cast & Crew

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