Lack of good storyline.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Charles Laughton stars as evil Sir De Maletroit, who invites reputed cad Dennis(played by Richard Stapley) to his manor home with the intention that he marry his niece Blanche(played by Sally Forest) He seeks revenge against his brother Edmond(imprisoned in his dungeons) because he dared marry the woman he loved. The plan goes awry when Dennis and Blanche unexpectedly fall in love, and are aided by his servant Voltan(played by Boris Karloff) to escape, but of course it wont be as simple as that. Not bad thriller is adequately directed by future TV director Joseph Pevney, who creates some atmosphere, but wastes Karloff in such a small role, and Laughton is quite hammy here. Story is OK but unexceptional in this mostly mediocre film, worth a watch on a rainy day at least!

1951's "The Strange Door" is something of a throwback to the Gothic horrors of previous decades, except that it comes from Universal, which rarely did such pictures (1939's "Tower of London" and 1940's "The House of the Seven Gables" instantly come to mind). Reuniting Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff 19 years after 1932's "The Old Dark House" (James Whale English Gothic), Laughton especially has a field day, alternately menacing and comical, and always fun to watch. Karloff is sadly reduced to a tongue-in-cheek servant role, quietly speaking his lines while rolling his eyes with great frequency. The château was used as a torture chamber during the Middle Ages, featuring a dungeon full of armor and weapons, plus a cell where the walls come together (Lugosi made use of one in 1935's "The Raven"). Richard Stapley (later Wyler) makes little impression as the hero, but Sally Forrest captures the eye as the endangered beauty (even lovelier in "Son of Sinbad" with Vincent Price, where she dances in a skimpy harem outfit). Laughton's sadistic nobleman is ably supported by a terrific supporting cast of rogues ("villainy binds men together!"), with William Cottrell, whom I've never seen in anything else, Morgan Farley, and Hollywood newcomer Michael Pate, who earns a piece of mutton for his handling of a bribe (he later starred as the vampire gunslinger in Universal's 1959 "Curse of the Undead"). Paul Cavanagh and Alan Napier have smaller roles, but are welcome faces nonetheless. This eternally underrated little 'B' features music cues from "The Wolf Man," "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," and "House of Frankenstein," and was followed a year later by a similar Gothic, "The Black Castle," also featuring Karloff and Pate. "The Strange Door" aired 3 times on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater- November 23 1974 (following 1960's "Doctor Blood's Coffin"), March 13 1976 (preceding 1956's "She Devil"), and December 17 1983 (solo), one of the very last broadcasts, and now available from Chilly Billy himself.

"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.

"The Strange Door" was based on the Robert Louis Stevenson story "The Sire de Maldroit's Door". The film appears to have been an effort by Universal to revive its profitable Gothic horror genre of the 30s and 40s. Unfortunately, the film has the look of a "B" movie and Director Josph Pevney was unable to rein in star Charles Laughton's hammy performance.Alan de Maledroit (Laughton) lures unsuspecting tavern rogue Denis de Beaulieu (Richard Stapely) to his castle after framing for a murder. de Beaulieu enters the castle through the strange door of the title, a door that seems to open and close on its own without benefit of a handle or lock.de Maledroit plans to force the young man to marry his young niece Blanche (Sally Forrest) and by selecting the most reprehensible character he could find, hopes to avenge her mother's rejection of him years earlier. Blanche's mother had died in child birth after marrying her father Edward, Alan's brother. Edward (Paul Cavanaugh) unbeknown st to Blanche, has been imprisoned in Alan's dungeon these many years. Only Edward's loyal servant Voltan (Boris Karloff) remains loyal to him.As luck would have it, the young couple do actually fall in love. The marriage takes place but Denis feigns drunkenly in order to escape the castle with the aid of an old acquaintance Count Grasson (Alan Napier). However, Grasson is murdered and the newly weds are imprisoned in the same dungeon as Edward. Only Voltan stands between the mad de Maletroit and freedom. Can they escape?Had Laughton's performance been controlled by a stronger director, this could have been a much better film. Karloff as usual, is better than his material in a largely supporting role. I can picture him in the de Maledroit role and bringing much more depth and horror to the role. The set pieces evoke memories of Universal's earlier horror successes. The strange door of the title has little to do with the plot other than to trap de Beaulieu in the castle.Others in the cast include William Cottrell as Corbeau, de Maledroit's assistant and Michael Pate as Talon another of de Maledroit's thugs. Laughton and Karloff had first appeared together in "The Old Dark House (1932). Followed by "The Black Castle" (1952) before the studio abandoned Gothic horror for the giant insect cycle.