pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

HotToastyRag We all know Charles Laughton can play someone likable, and we all know he can play a bad guy-but in The Strange Door he plays both! He's a man driven insane by jealousy and a broken heart, but he's not dark and brooding. He cracks jokes, giggles, and treats everything with a light touch that doesn't overlap into mugging or milking. In the midst of this very dark, creepy story, I found myself laughing every time he was on the screen!Charles lives in a creepy, mysterious house with his niece, Sally Forrest. He arranges for her to marry Richard Wyler, but the pair isn't very willing. Charles is very insistent that his plans get carried out, so he enlists his faithful servant Boris Karloff to help. Poor Boris! Throughout the movie, his only motivation is to be helpful, but he's ordered around by so many different people he gets confused. Despite Charles's humor and Boris's sweetness, this movie isn't really very good. It's not one I'd want to watch over and over again, but if you like old, campy, scary movies, you can rent it.

Hitchcoc I'm surprised at having never heard of this film because it's certainly part of the genre I enjoy. To see Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff as the stars, I thought it was worth a look. Of course, it is full of formulaic stuff, with the madman Laughton carrying decades of anger after being jilted, exacting his revenge at the daughter of his adversary. He lives in a hideous mansion, full of torture devices and secrets. He is surrounded by toadies whom he mistreats, but who are beholding to him. A young man is shanghaied because he is a scoundrel. Laughton wants him to become the groom to the young woman's bride. Karloff, for some reason, is able to lurk around the castle, peeking through doors and protecting a prisoner. Of course, love will out and that throws a monkey wrench into things. There is also the classic flaw of the villain just going a bit too far in his efforts to gain vengeance. Still, there is lots of suspense and a satisfactory plot line.

Coventry It's rather ironic that "The Strange Door" was included in the fabulous Boris Karloff collection (horror fans, buy this!!), since his role in the story – albeit important – is rather limited in screen time. If some distributor ever comes up with the luminous idea of releasing a Charles Laughton box set, then this film most definitely should be a part of that, as it is mainly he who steals the show! Karloff is professional and reliable as always, but it's Laughton who dominates every sequence he's in; hands down. "The Strange Door" is adapted from a story by Robert Louis Stevenson (the creator of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde") and it's a truly engaging and atmospheric tale set during the Victorian era in France. Laughton portrays Sire Alain de Maledroit, a malicious nobleman who hates every still living member of his family and wants to destroy them slow & painfully. Therefore he personally selects a reputed troublemaker to marry his niece Blanche and counts on the possibility that he'll emotionally wreck her! And even though Blanche believes that her father is long dead, Sire de Maledroit keeps him locked up in the dungeons beneath the castle. Boris Karloff plays Voltan, the only servant that remained loyal to count Edmond. The story isn't always very plausible and contains quite a few immense holes. I'm sure there are easier ways for Sire de Maledroit to torture his relatives than to rely on the bad attitude of an outsider? Or how is it possible that, for twenty whole years, Blanche doesn't even suspect that her father is kept prisoner in the castle while everybody else knows? Yet, despite these and several other improbabilities, "the Strange Door" is an entertaining Gothic horror film with superb decors, a fair amount of tension and poetic dialogs. The last sequences are particularly exciting, as the castle turns out to be a labyrinth filled with eerie death traps and dark corridors. It's nice to see Karloff star in a heroic role for a change. Recommended!

marquisdeposa Good Old Boris! He always said "I'll never retire...I want to go out with greasepaint on my face and my boots on" In 1952 he was 65 years old. Charles Laughton was 53 at the time, but looked considerably older. Together their performances in this film make it worth the watch. Laughton chews the scenery a bit in places but his over the top acting make it that much more fun.Based on a Robert Louis Stevenson short story this 80+ minute film has much going for it: fist fights, carriage chases, deception and trickery, murders, and a love story thrown in for good measure.And Good Old Boris, although shot and stabbed, manages to help save the day just in the nick of time.Boris was a trouper. Watching him crawl across the damp cobblestones I was reminded that in his remaining 17 years he continued to work in films, never complaining, and often performing in grueling weather conditions where he always seemed to end up caught in the rain, lying in a puddle, or dunked in a vat of water.Watch this film for the fun of it. The plot holds together just fine and it is an enjoyable glimpse of two veteran actors who make the most of their roles.