Secret Beyond the Door
| Secret Beyond the Door | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Fritz Lang |
| Screenplay by | Silvia Richards |
| Story by | Rufus King |
| Produced by | Fritz Lang |
| Starring | Joan Bennett Michael Redgrave |
| Cinematography | Stanley Cortez |
| Edited by | Arthur Hilton |
| Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
Production company | Diana Production Company |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,463,500[1] |
Secret Beyond the Door is a 1948 psychological thriller and modern updating of the Bluebeard fairytale, directed by Fritz Lang, produced by Lang's Diana Productions, and released by Universal Pictures. The film starred Joan Bennett and was produced by her husband Walter Wanger. The black-and-white film noir drama is about a woman who suspects her new husband, an architect, plans to kill her.[2]
Plot
The behavior of Mark Lamphere, an architect, turns strange shortly after his honeymoon with bride Celia, who begins finding out that Mark has many secrets.
It turns out he was married before, his wife died suspiciously and they have a son. He also has a fiercely loyal secretary, Miss Robey, whose face is disfigured.
Mark appears to be somewhat delusional and could be intending to murder Celia inside a room he keeps locked. The disturbed Miss Robey ends up setting fire to the house, whereupon Mark redeems himself by saving Celia's life.
Cast
- Joan Bennett as Celia Lamphere
- Michael Redgrave as Mark Lamphere
- Anne Revere as Caroline Lamphere
- Barbara O'Neil as Miss Robey
- Natalie Schafer as Edith Potter
Reception
Box-office
The film recorded a loss of $1,145,000.[1]
Critical response
When the film was first released, film critic Bosley Crowther, gave the film a mixed review, writing, "If you want to be tough about it—okay, it's a pretty silly yarn and it is played in a manner no less fatuous by the sundry members of the cast. But Mr. Lang is still a director who knows how to turn the obvious, such as locked doors and silent chambers and roving spotlights, into strangely tingling stuff. And that's why, for all its psycho-nonsense, this film has some mildly creepy spots and some occasional faint resemblance to Rebecca which it was obviously aimed to imitate."[3]
More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a poor review, writing, "The premise of this thriller might be good, but even a great director like Fritz Lang and a superb cast consisting of Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave can't save this film from its sophomoric use of Freud. The pop psychology tried was never convincing ... If Lang was not the director, this film could have been a real stinker. But he evokes as much suspense as you can out of such nonsense, and the visual images by the great cinematographer Stanley Cortez are truly remarkable. The film is worth seeing for those reasons. Even Lang himself thought this was a poor film, and he'll get no argument from me."[4]
DVD release
Long unavailable on DVD in the United States or Britain, Secret Beyond the Door is scheduled for release in the UK in November 2011 by Exposure Cinema. The All Region disc will apparently feature a booklet containing essays and a remastered version of the film.
The film was released in the United States on DVD and Blu-ray by Olive Films on September 4, 2012.
References
- ^ a b Matthew Bernstein, Walter Wagner: Hollywood Independent, Minnesota Press, 2000 p443.
- ^ Secret Beyond the Door at IMDb.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, "'Secret Beyond the Door,' With Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave, Has Premiere", January 16, 1948. Accessed: July 12, 2013.
- ^ Schwartz., Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, September 15, 2001. Accessed: July 12, 2013.
External links
- Secret Beyond the Door at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Secret Beyond the Door at IMDb
- Secret Beyond the Door at AllMovie
- Secret Beyond the Door at the TCM Movie Database
- Secret Beyond the Door informational site and DVD review
- Secret Beyond the Door film scene on YouTube