"DOUBLE DOOR " (1934)

[diane]

I was just reading rmichael's post about "Song of the Eagle" and I
couldn't agree more. I saw this film the other day and I was blown
away by it - plus the fact that I had never heard of it - not even
the smallest reference. It has a lot in common with "The Silver Cord"
except instead of a monstrous mother there is an evil sister who
controls everyone. In the opening credits they have the phrase -
"the play that made Broadway gasp!!" and it is definately shocking
especially the end. There is a scene where Rip (Kent Taylor) is telling
Anne (Evelyn Venable) of his shocking childhood - at one stage being
forced to sleep in his sister, Victoria's room. There are a few words
obviously cut from the print and it is quite clear he is implying an
"unhealthy" relationship. For 1934 that is a pretty adult theme.
Anne Revere, who in the 40s made her name as a wonderful character
actress, usually as down to earth types ("National Velvet") plays the
younger sister (42) who is obviously "touched in the head" by the
treatment metered out by Victoria during her life. Mary Morris is simply
outstanding as Victoria but that was the only film she ever made.
This is a film I would really recommend - it kept me on the edge of
my seat.

[robin]

Diane, are you sure that this isn't an Ashes hangover?!

I've never seen this, but it's certainly got my interest.

[diane]

No it isn't an Ashes Hangover -
Last Sunday we got up at 5 in the morning to watch the Kangeroos
lose to New Zealand - they were playing in England - if that
makes sense

[robin]

Diane,it's a miracle that we've made the final! I thought that France would edge us out!

Ala the Ashes, you'll get them back in just over a year from now - Flintoff has fallen into a vat of lager and the rest will probably join him!

[rmichaelpyle]

Diane, I watched this gem last night - and it was the first time I'd ever seen it. Wow, what a film! I'm really surprised it isn't better known. I wrote this review for another board:



I watched a very dark, almost Gothic, psychological thriller last night called "Double Door" (1934). Although the show is not a genuine horror film, it nearly plays as one. This little drama is as creepy as it gets, and it's another of those forgotten little gems that seem to have fallen through the cracks over the years. Possibly, the theme was a little rough when the 1934 Breen Code went into effect, and it was conveniently forgotten. This is extremely well done! The star of the piece is ostensibly Evelyn Venable, but Mary Morris, in her only film she ever made, absolutely shines in all of her horrific glory as the eldest sister in a 1910 New York family who uses her power over people to terrify and reign as the despot of the Van Brett family and all of its members by marriage, etc.

This one begins at a wedding of a half-brother of the two sisters Van Brett, and Victoria Van Brett (Mary Morris) doesn't wish to have the addition of anyone else in the family. When her half-brother (played by Kent Taylor) begins walking his future bride (Evelyn Venable) down to the family's altar in the house to the organ tune of "The Wedding March", Victoria causes a servant to go to the organ and literally turn it off by key and bring the key up to her room to her - right in the middle of "The Wedding March"!! Viewers know this is not going to be any kiddie romp!

Victoria's other sister is played by none other than Anne Revere. May I add parenthetically that Anne Revere was never so beautiful as she is here! An amazing difference in look compared to most of her films where she plays all kinds of hoydens and wierd people. Later on she played mothers and older women, but here she plays an older woman (nearly forty according to the script) who still has a charming look about her. She also plays a sister who is terrified of her older sister Victoria. Victoria once locked her in the double-doored room built by their father for privacy from the noise below in the streets. Their father long dead, the room has been converted into a very secret safe, found only by a secret button which moves out a panel in front of it. Once, as a punishment years before, sister Victoria locked Caroline (Anne Revere) in the room and nearly suffocated her.

One can see all kinds of future exploits occurring in this film long before they happen, but the anticipation is heart-stopping. Director Charles Vidor does an extremely fine job of keeping the viewer uneasy throughout this piece. When the film was released, it had the tag line "The play that made Broadway gasp!" It's easy to see why the play made Broadway gasp... One of the things that would have made anybody in 1934 gasp is part of the theme - an incestuous overtone that won't go away. The old bitty Victoria even made young Kent Taylor - her half-brother - move a bed into her bedroom and sleep there when he was young. It may be that she has some sort of passion for him, so when he announces that he's to marry, Victoria seems to despise the fact. Whatever, the facts are not blatantly put, but the undertones and overtones are resonant with psychological sickness.

A true Gothic gem - one all should rush to see if you have the chance. It won't be for everybody - remember, it plays nearly as a horror film - but it is really well done!

Also in the film are Sir Guy Standing, Colin Tapley, Halliwell Hobbes, and Virginia Howell.

[diane]

That is a great review rmichael. I don't even know why I bought it in the first place,
because I had never heard of it. Probably, being set in the early 1900s piqued my
interest. I also agree with you about Anne Revere - she was a character that you
truly wanted to find happiness at the end of the film.