Secret Beyond the Door (Lang, 1948)

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davebert
Joined: Fri May 05, 2006 4:00 pm
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#26 Post by davebert » Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:01 pm

Ah yes, that was a great psycho-noir. Kinda makes me wish I'd ever taken in a real genu-ine freak show as a kid, hopefully with its own traveling geek...

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tartarlamb
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 1:53 am
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Secret Beyond the Door (Lang, 1948)

#27 Post by tartarlamb » Fri Apr 09, 2010 12:33 pm

I'm not sure this picture adds up. If Redgrave's house is meant to be the architecture of his mental interior, why did I instead feel imprisoned by the structure of Bennett's voiceover? Lang's portrayals of marriage are typically fascinating, and maybe the gothic drones in that Usher style mansion were emblems of states in their relationship, rather than Redgrave or Bennett's mental states. But I couldn't figure it out. The narrative is too fractured and manic to make heads and tails of. I can't help but feel that it should have been cut better.

I loved, loved, loved Anne Revere as the sister.

By the way, does anyone know if the ending in this film is the same as in the source material? What an insane twist for a Bluebeard story.
SpoilerShow
Who knew that Bluebeard was really a lovable guy that just needed a therapist? And that meticulously premeditated attempted murder isn't sufficient grounds for considering a separation from your spouse?

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dad1153
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:32 am
Location: New York, NY

Re: Secret Beyond the Door (Lang, 1948)

#28 Post by dad1153 » Sun Apr 17, 2011 8:01 pm

Caught this on TCM-HD a few months back and saved on the DVR. Fritz does the Hollywood melodrama/thriller mechanisms justice and twists them with just enough personal touches (cinematography, music and camera composition are all aces) that, despite the disappointing ending (the payoff doesn't match the slow burn of a build-up that is the entire narrative), I enjoyed the ride because it was fun to hang out with these troubled well-to-do characters. Joan Bennett's inner-monologue of self-doubt about the things she thinks may or may not anger the man he just met and married (restrained performance from Michael Redgrave until his decent tour-de-force in the final act), along with the latter revelations of Mark's obsessions with 'collecting rooms,' are both dated but revealing glimpses about the protagonists' damaged psyche. Barbara O'Neill and Paul Cavanagh give creepy little supporting performances but it's Lang's total control of sight/sound/emotion that is the movie's real star. Again though, crap ending (spoiled by TV's "Dexter" I guess).

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