The Strange Door (1951)

An evil French nobleman (Charles Laughton) concocts a plan to marry his niece (Sally Forrest) off to a worthless drunken cad (Richard Stapley) in revenge for the girl's deceased mother choosing his brother (Paul Cavanagh) over him. Based on the novel THE SIRE DE MALETROIT'S DOOR by Robert Louis Stevenson and directed by Joseph Pevney (TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR). This odd little Gothic horror movie seems to presage the Roger Corman adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe that arrived in the 1960s. As the sadistic aristocrat, Laughton goes deliciously over the top while in a supporting role, horror icon Boris Karloff as an abused servant gives a relatively reserved performance. Like the Corman films, we're stuck with a bland leading man (in this case Stapley) who can't compete with the more interesting lead villain (in this case Laughton). As the virginal niece, Sally Forrest is lovely but that's it. Pevney drags out the film's finale by having Karloff, after being shot and stabbed multiple times, attempting to save the young lovers. But instead of suspense, it just made me restless for the movie to end. It's not boring thanks to Laughton but it's not a very skillful movie either. With Michael Pate and Alan Napier.