.gif)
The Black Room (1935 film)
Encyclopedia
The Black Room is a 1935 mystery
-horror film
, directed by Roy William Neill
. The movie stars Boris Karloff
in a dual role
as twin
brothers. The film also starred Marian Marsh
and Robert (Tex) Allen
. The film was released in Great Britain
as The Black Room Mystery.
Some years later, it is revealed that the Baron Gregor (Boris Karloff) has become a depraved ruler who murders the wives of local peasants. His brother, Anton (also played by Karloff), who cannot use his right arm and has spent much of his life traveling Europe, returns to the castle around the time of the murder, but refuses to believe the rumors he hears about Gregor. When the woman Mashka (Katherine DeMille) disappears after being seen with Gregor, the locals form a mob and enter the castle, confronting the baron. Gregor agrees to abdicate, and give power to his brother, who has become popular.
Gregor knows that Anton will likely marry Thea (Marian Marsh), niece of family advisor Colonel Hassell (Thurston Hall). He lures his unsuspecting brother to the Black Room, kills him, and throws him into the pit where the dead bodies of Gregor's other victims are kept. Gregor now assumes Anton's identity, and prepares to wed Thea, whose lover, Lieutenant Albert Lussan (Robert Allen), angrily objects. When Colonel Hassell discovers the deception, Gregor kills him. The blame for the murder is placed on Lieutenant Lussan, who is found guilty and sentenced to death.
Only Anton's mastiff recognizes that the baron is not his master, and the dog pursues Anton when he travels to town for his wedding. Meanwhile, Lussan escapes and meets secretly with Thea, who urges him to flee. He refuses, however, and watches as the man supposed to be Anton (but in fact Gregor) fends off the dog with his right arm. The townspeople gathered to observe the celebration understand what has happened, and form a mob in a matter of seconds. The dog, followed by the mob, pursues Gregor to the castle. When Gregor hides in the Black Room, trapped by the dog and by a mob which is attempting to batter his way in, he falls into the burial pit and onto the knife still held in his murdered brother's hand. Thus, the prophecy is fulfilled, and the film ends.
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
-horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, directed by Roy William Neill
Roy William Neill
Roy William Neill was a film director best known today for directing several of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 1946 and released by Universal Studios....
. The movie stars Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
in a dual role
Dual role
Dual role refers to one actor playing two or more roles, which may be deliberately scripted in a play or film, or merely be a by-product of a low budget. In a theatrical production where more than one actor plays multiple characters, it is sometimes referred to as an "Ironman" cast...
as twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
brothers. The film also starred Marian Marsh
Marian Marsh
Marian Marsh was an American film actress, and later, environmentalist.-Early life:Violet Ethelred Krauth was born on October 17, 1913 in Trinidad, British West Indies , the youngest of four children of a German chocolate manufacturer and his French-English wife.Due to World War I, Violet's...
and Robert (Tex) Allen
Robert (Tex) Allen
Robert "Tex" Allen was a leading actor in both feature films and B-movie westerns between 1935 and 1944.Born as Irvine E. Theodore Baehr on March 28, 1906 in Mount Vernon, New York, Allen went on to graduate from the New York Military Academy in 1924, where he rode in the academy cavalry and from...
. The film was released in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
as The Black Room Mystery.
Plot
In a Tyrolean castle in the late eigheenth century, twin sons, Gregor and Anton, are born to the de Berghmann baronial family. The baron is concerned: there is an old prophecy in the family states that the younger brother shall kill the elder in the Black Room of the castle.Some years later, it is revealed that the Baron Gregor (Boris Karloff) has become a depraved ruler who murders the wives of local peasants. His brother, Anton (also played by Karloff), who cannot use his right arm and has spent much of his life traveling Europe, returns to the castle around the time of the murder, but refuses to believe the rumors he hears about Gregor. When the woman Mashka (Katherine DeMille) disappears after being seen with Gregor, the locals form a mob and enter the castle, confronting the baron. Gregor agrees to abdicate, and give power to his brother, who has become popular.
Gregor knows that Anton will likely marry Thea (Marian Marsh), niece of family advisor Colonel Hassell (Thurston Hall). He lures his unsuspecting brother to the Black Room, kills him, and throws him into the pit where the dead bodies of Gregor's other victims are kept. Gregor now assumes Anton's identity, and prepares to wed Thea, whose lover, Lieutenant Albert Lussan (Robert Allen), angrily objects. When Colonel Hassell discovers the deception, Gregor kills him. The blame for the murder is placed on Lieutenant Lussan, who is found guilty and sentenced to death.
Only Anton's mastiff recognizes that the baron is not his master, and the dog pursues Anton when he travels to town for his wedding. Meanwhile, Lussan escapes and meets secretly with Thea, who urges him to flee. He refuses, however, and watches as the man supposed to be Anton (but in fact Gregor) fends off the dog with his right arm. The townspeople gathered to observe the celebration understand what has happened, and form a mob in a matter of seconds. The dog, followed by the mob, pursues Gregor to the castle. When Gregor hides in the Black Room, trapped by the dog and by a mob which is attempting to batter his way in, he falls into the burial pit and onto the knife still held in his murdered brother's hand. Thus, the prophecy is fulfilled, and the film ends.
Behind the Scenes
The title refers to the oubliette, where Gregor hides the bodies of his victims.Cast
- Boris KarloffBoris KarloffWilliam Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
- Baron Gregor de Bergmann / Anton de Bergmann - Marian MarshMarian MarshMarian Marsh was an American film actress, and later, environmentalist.-Early life:Violet Ethelred Krauth was born on October 17, 1913 in Trinidad, British West Indies , the youngest of four children of a German chocolate manufacturer and his French-English wife.Due to World War I, Violet's...
- Thea Hassel - Robert Allen - Lt. Albert Lussan
- Thurston HallThurston HallThurston Hall was an American film actor. He appeared in 250 films between 1915 and 1957 and is probably best remembered for his portrayal, during the later stages of his career, of often pompous or blustering authority figures.Hall's best-known television role was as Mr. Schuyler, the boss of...
- Col. Paul Hassel - John Buckler - Buran, the gypsy
- Torben MeyerTorben MeyerTorben Emil Meyer was a Danish character actor who appeared in over 190 films in a 55-year career.-Early career:...
- Peter, the majordomo - Katherine DeMilleKatherine DeMilleKatherine DeMille was a Canadian-born American film actress.She was born Katherine Lester in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was orphaned as a child by the death of her father, an officer in the Canadian Army who died in World War I combat and loss of her mother to tuberculosis in 1920...
- Mashka - Henry KolkerHenry KolkerHenry Kolker was an American stage and film actor and director...
- Baron de Berghman - Colin TapleyColin TapleyColin Tapley was a British actor. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictures talent contest and moving to Hollywood. He acted in several films before returning to Britain during the Second World War as a flight...
- Paul Hassel as a young lieutenant - Edward Van SloanEdward Van SloanEdward Van Sloan was an American film character actor best remembered for his roles in Universal Studios horror films.-Career:...
- Doctor - Egon BrecherEgon BrecherEgon Brecher was a Czechoslovakian stage actor and director who toured Austria and Germany acting on the stage, and also served as the chief director of the Stadts Theatre in Vienna, before entering the motion picture industry.-Career:Born as a son of a professor, he began to study philosophy in...
- Lead Villager (dark leather hat) - Helena Grant - Anna, the housekeeper
- Marion Lessing - Maria, the chambermaid
- Robert MiddlemassRobert MiddlemassRobert Middlemass was an American character actor with over 100 film appearances...
- The Prosecutor