Secret Beyond The Door (1947) :
Brief Review -
A psycho-murder thriller that goes to the root of evil and I believe you need an architect like Fritz Lang to do that. Secret Beyond The Door is lots of things; it's a murder mystery, it has a psycho murderer, and it has a film noir touch as well. You might find a faint resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rebecca' (1940) and Dickinson's 'Gaslight' (1940), but I think it's okay that way. After all, it's the same formula, same theories up and down and same reference everywhere. A newly married woman, a new house, a secret door, a locked room, and bla bla, you know all the fruits already. It's the juice that's new here. When a lovely woman and her new husband settle into an ancient mansion on the East Coast, she discovers that he may want to kill her. The film uses small small details as thrilling elements. A lot of small things which are almost forgotten, appear again in the end to make you realise that it all began much earlier than you suspected. It goes to the root of evil and does psychoanalysis on the unconscious mind to deliver you a detailed film noir. The entire thing runs with an interesting narration by the lead heroine. She expressed every single situation in detail, her fear, doubts, suspicions, and everything else. She explains everything very intriguingly. Fritz Lang played a great trick, I must say. Without that narration, I don't think this film had any chance of becoming an engaging thriller. Conversational power it is. Joan Bennett delivers one of the finest performances of her career, whereas Michael Redgrave's surrealistic male lead leaves you fascinated. Anne Revere & Barbara O'Neil provide enough support. I have disagreed with almost 60% of the films in that list of '1000 Movies You Must Watch Before You Die', but once in a while, there comes some underrated film, and I'm glad I came across Secret Beyond The Door after the list. Overall, very good, but not for everyone.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
A psycho-murder thriller that goes to the root of evil and I believe you need an architect like Fritz Lang to do that. Secret Beyond The Door is lots of things; it's a murder mystery, it has a psycho murderer, and it has a film noir touch as well. You might find a faint resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rebecca' (1940) and Dickinson's 'Gaslight' (1940), but I think it's okay that way. After all, it's the same formula, same theories up and down and same reference everywhere. A newly married woman, a new house, a secret door, a locked room, and bla bla, you know all the fruits already. It's the juice that's new here. When a lovely woman and her new husband settle into an ancient mansion on the East Coast, she discovers that he may want to kill her. The film uses small small details as thrilling elements. A lot of small things which are almost forgotten, appear again in the end to make you realise that it all began much earlier than you suspected. It goes to the root of evil and does psychoanalysis on the unconscious mind to deliver you a detailed film noir. The entire thing runs with an interesting narration by the lead heroine. She expressed every single situation in detail, her fear, doubts, suspicions, and everything else. She explains everything very intriguingly. Fritz Lang played a great trick, I must say. Without that narration, I don't think this film had any chance of becoming an engaging thriller. Conversational power it is. Joan Bennett delivers one of the finest performances of her career, whereas Michael Redgrave's surrealistic male lead leaves you fascinated. Anne Revere & Barbara O'Neil provide enough support. I have disagreed with almost 60% of the films in that list of '1000 Movies You Must Watch Before You Die', but once in a while, there comes some underrated film, and I'm glad I came across Secret Beyond The Door after the list. Overall, very good, but not for everyone.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.