Entertaining Gothic thriller from Universal starring Charles Laughton as a sadistic nobleman who takes a young ne'er-do-well prisoner and plans to marry him off to his niece as a means of punishing her. Boris Karloff also appears but it's a part that's frankly beneath him at this stage of his career. Chaney and Lugosi I understand playing parts like this because of how their demons had wrecked their careers. But Karloff kept his nose clean and deserved better. Anyway, Charles Laughton is the reason to watch as he has a grand time playing to the rafters. The story is okay with some decent twists and turns, but it's really only worth a look for the healthy doses of ham from Laughton.

"They've begun by disliking each other," says Alain de Maletroit (Charles Laughton), smacking his lips, eyes gleaming at the prospect of the forced marriage between his 20-year-old niece and a drunken wastrel he chose for her in a rough French tavern. "Hatred will come later. I'm in the mood for relaxation! Let's visit the dungeons!" And with that we follow de Maletroit into the dank, forbidding bowels of his country estate where we will meet the ragged, bearded man he has imprisoned for 20 years...the father of his niece, his own brother. It's fair to say that de Maletroit bears a grudge. Long ago he loved a woman who spurned him and married his brother, a woman who died giving birth to Blanch de Maletroit (Sally Forest). Alain de Maletroit will wreak his vengeance by forcing his niece into a horrible marriage, and then will dispose of his brother in a unique dungeon cell by a device, powered by a water mill, developed by a de Maletroit ancestor who had a penchant for torture. Only two things stand in his way. Is there a possibility that the wastrel, Denis de Beaulieu (Richard Stapley) will turn out to be an honorable man after all, and will Voltan (Boris Karloff), the devoted old servant to the imprisoned brother, survive two gunshots, a stabbing, two fights to the death...exertions that would fell a man half his age...and bring retribution to evil and salvation to the good. Well, you might as well ask if Charles Laughton is capable of rich, succulent hamminess. As de Maletroit, Laughton sports an amazing comb-over, almost as grotesque as the one he wore in Jamaica Inn. de Maletroit can be charmingly gracious one moment, squinty-eyed suspicious the next, and absolutely jolly as he enjoys his crazed and nefarious plans. The movie is hardly more than an amusing throw-away, but Laughton turns it into a comedy of melodramatic excess. I'd like to believe that Laughton took the role so that he could have a great time going over-the-top. He constantly twirls an ornate key tied to a long chain around his neck. He rubs and pulls at his lower lip while his eyes twinkle over some bit of nastiness he's plotting. He's a delight to watch but he must have been the despair of actors sharing a scene with him. Laughton might be hammy, but he's excellent in delivering the hammy goods. He makes the movie worth watching. Karloff has a much smaller, but important role, and does a sympathetic job of it. The Strange Door might have been better if Laughton had had an actor in the role of de Beaulieu who was able to provide some acting competition. Stapley is reasonable athletic, but as a hero or as an actor he's not very persuasive. He has a light, slightly sibilant voice and that precise, upper-class accent that British studios used to drill into their leading men. As for the rest of the actors, the least said is probably the best. On balance, the movie is fun and worth watching because of Laughton, but it's basically filler.

It's rather ironic that "The Strange Door" was included in the fabulous Boris Karloff collection (horror fans, buy this!!), since his role in the story – albeit important – is rather limited in screen time. If some distributor ever comes up with the luminous idea of releasing a Charles Laughton box set, then this film most definitely should be a part of that, as it is mainly he who steals the show! Karloff is professional and reliable as always, but it's Laughton who dominates every sequence he's in; hands down. "The Strange Door" is adapted from a story by Robert Louis Stevenson (the creator of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde") and it's a truly engaging and atmospheric tale set during the Victorian era in France. Laughton portrays Sire Alain de Maledroit, a malicious nobleman who hates every still living member of his family and wants to destroy them slow & painfully. Therefore he personally selects a reputed troublemaker to marry his niece Blanche and counts on the possibility that he'll emotionally wreck her! And even though Blanche believes that her father is long dead, Sire de Maledroit keeps him locked up in the dungeons beneath the castle. Boris Karloff plays Voltan, the only servant that remained loyal to count Edmond. The story isn't always very plausible and contains quite a few immense holes. I'm sure there are easier ways for Sire de Maledroit to torture his relatives than to rely on the bad attitude of an outsider? Or how is it possible that, for twenty whole years, Blanche doesn't even suspect that her father is kept prisoner in the castle while everybody else knows? Yet, despite these and several other improbabilities, "the Strange Door" is an entertaining Gothic horror film with superb decors, a fair amount of tension and poetic dialogs. The last sequences are particularly exciting, as the castle turns out to be a labyrinth filled with eerie death traps and dark corridors. It's nice to see Karloff star in a heroic role for a change. Recommended!

Good Old Boris! He always said "I'll never retire...I want to go out with greasepaint on my face and my boots on" In 1952 he was 65 years old. Charles Laughton was 53 at the time, but looked considerably older. Together their performances in this film make it worth the watch. Laughton chews the scenery a bit in places but his over the top acting make it that much more fun.Based on a Robert Louis Stevenson short story this 80+ minute film has much going for it: fist fights, carriage chases, deception and trickery, murders, and a love story thrown in for good measure.And Good Old Boris, although shot and stabbed, manages to help save the day just in the nick of time.Boris was a trouper. Watching him crawl across the damp cobblestones I was reminded that in his remaining 17 years he continued to work in films, never complaining, and often performing in grueling weather conditions where he always seemed to end up caught in the rain, lying in a puddle, or dunked in a vat of water.Watch this film for the fun of it. The plot holds together just fine and it is an enjoyable glimpse of two veteran actors who make the most of their roles.