The Door with Seven Locks

1940
The Door with Seven Locks
5.5| 1h20m| en| More Info
Released: 20 December 1940 Released
Producted By: John Argyle Productions
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A wealthy lord dies and is entombed with a valuable deposit of jewels. Seven keys are required to unlock the tomb and get hold of the treasure. A mad doctor uses an iron maiden to systematically eliminate the heirs to the fortune.

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John Argyle Productions

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jacobjohntaylor1 If you what scary movie see this movie. This movie has a great story line and great acting. If you thought A Night on elm street was scary. It you will be scared out of your mind. This one of scariest movies you will see. Almost has scary the original Friday the 13th from 1980. If you like horror stories see this movie.
bsmith5552 The title, "Chamber of Horrors" is a bit misleading as it is more of a mystery than a horror film. It does have a bargain basement chamber of horrors with an Iron Maiden but is incidental to the plot. However, since there IS an Iron Maiden, you have to believe that someone is bound to be caught within its clutches at some point.The film opens with Lord Selford (Aubrey Mallenlieu) on his deathbed describing his final wishes. He is to be entombed with the family jewels ad enclosed in a crypt sealed by a door with seven locks. His son is to inherit the estate. A distant cousin, June Lansdowne (Lili Palmer) will inherit the estate should evil befall the young Lord. Lawyer Edward Havelock (David Horne), the executor, is appointed keeper of the seven keys. Interested parties are Dr. Manetto (Leslie Banks) and servants Bevan and Ann Cody (Harry Hutchinson, Kathleen Nesbitt), the chauffeur Cawler (Philip Ray), Silva (J.H. Roberts) and the butler Craig (a sinister looking Robert Montgomery)(not THAT Robert Montgomery).Silva, dying in a nursing home, sends a letter to June containing one of the keys and asking her to come and see him a.s.a.p. During their meeting, Silva is murdered by an unseen assailant. June goes to Scotland Yard for help. Recently resigned detective Dick Martin (Romilly Lunge) and Inspector Sneed (Richard Bird) take an interest. On returning to the nursing home they find that there is no trace of Silva's body or the "nurse" Ann Cody.The scene then shifts to an old dark house in the country where Dr. Manetto has taken up residence. We know right away that he is up to no good. Martin and June visit Havelock with June's key only to find out that all seven keys in the lawyer's care have disappeared. Then Martin decides to investigate further. Dr. Manetto is revealed to be the leader of the group but with his own agenda. It turns out that behind the door with seven locks there may be secrets other than the priceless jewels. The door is opened and...............................Lili Palmer was at the outset of a very long and prosperous. Kathleen Nesbitt too, went on to many years of success. Leslie Banks is probably best remembered for his role in "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932). He also appeared in some Alfred Hitchcock films in the 30s as well. Gina Milo is along for comedy relief as Glenda, June's room mate.The story is based on an Edgar Wallace novel entitled "The Door with Seven Keys". It is never explains why there are seven keys since they were left in the keeping of one person. And. how did Silva know where to find June? Anyway, Edgar Wallace is given the producer's credit even though he had been dead since 1932.
Grant Hurlock Chamber of Horrors is a delightfully clever, stylishly-shot and wittily-written mystery-thriller, shot through with touches of comedy, based on an Edgar Wallace novel from 1926 called The Door with Seven Locks (which I can't but think was at least influenced by Earl Derr Bigger's equally wonderful and oft-filmed 1913 novel Seven Keys to Baldpate). It's also a great variation on a classic theme of an heiress arriving at a mansion to find out about a legacy. In this it's reminiscent of the oft-filmed Cat and the Canary or the Jessie Matthews vehicle Candles at Nine.Lilli Palmer is plucky yet vulnerable as June, the heroine from Québec, who spun a coin at age 15 to decide on a life of adventure versus one of domesticity – and adventure won. An actress named Gina Malo plays Glenda, her wisecracking, husband-hunting sidekick from Ontario who keeps the atmosphere lively with a rich stock of risqué remarks, such as this bit, delivered nude from a bathtub, when June shows her one of the keys to the door with seven locks that she has received in the mail: "There's nothing unusual about a guy sending you his latchkey. Did he say he wants you to come up and see his etchings?… I'm an old etching viewer myself, and I know all the tricks. He'll be wearing George Raft pajamas, and the etchings will be in the bedroom."The script for Chamber of Horrors is by a writer named John Argyle, so maybe he deserves credit for this delightful duo of June and Glenda. At any rate, it's quite reminiscent of another pairing he wrote a couple of years later in the Gothic mystery Terror House, a.k.a. The Night Has Eyes, with Joyce Howard and Tucker McGuire teamed as the beautiful heroine and her man-mad friend. Curiously, another thing Chamber of Horrors shares with Terror House is the presence of monkeys as pets: in Terror House villain Wilfrid Lawson carries around a pet capuchin named Cain (as a symbolic marker of his criminality); whereas in Chamber of Horrors evil physician Leslie Banks goes about with his pet monkey Beppo on his back, which could possibly be taken to indicate that the not-so-good doctor has been dipping into the drugs.Banks plays a descendant of Spanish inquisitor Torquemada, collecting as a hobby authentic implements of torture which he displays in the titular chamber of horrors. Thus is Banks able to draw upon the vein of sadism he tapped so well way back when in The Most Dangerous Game. In Chamber of Horrors, he even sports as butler a hulking henchman who is a mute as a result of having lost his tongue due to "rebel atrocities," much like henchman Ivan in the earlier film.It's interesting to remember that this movie was made in Britain in 1940 under the extreme exigencies of World War II. I was reminded of this by several scenes involving actress Lilli Palmer, who appeared to have great sorrowful pouches under her eyes, that came and went in a manner uncoordinated with the action on the screen and which makeup couldn't efface. What the cast and crew went through in order to tell stories that would provide entertainment and escapism to the war-stressed nation would make an interesting movie in its own right.
MooCowMo "The Door with 7 Locks", aka "The Chamber of Horrors", is a mildly entertaining, quaint little English mystery from the early 40's. An eccentric old coot passes away, leaving his deformed son as heir to an estate, but locks up the family jewels in his tomb, cowplete with a door with 7 locks. Various family members/servants/gawkers try to embezzle the loot and get away with murder. Lovely snugglebunny Lilli Palmer, fresh from Canada, comes to make her claim on the loot, along with buddy Romilly Lunge from Scotland Yard. The evil Dr. Manetta, his pet monkey, and his mute Spanish servant almoost rule the day! Manetta has ancestors from the Spanish Inquisition(Nooooobody expects...), and he cowlects grisly little torture devices and poisoned chalices. This is a fun little flick, despite the cliches - Manetta dresses like Fu Manchu on downers, the plot twists are obvious, and the characters seldom rise above 2 dimentional. Still, the film is brisk, the cinematography excellent, and the setting and mood are cowvincing enough to forgive these udder oversights. Snuggly Lilli Palmer only worked in 6 decades-worth of moovie making, had her own tv show in the 50's, twice, and even married Rex Harrison. The MooCow says this dusty old flick deserves moore attention; find it and rent it soon! ;=8)