** 1/2 (out of ****)
The Universal horror / mystery, "The Secret of the Blue Room" (1933) is a true oddity; an inferior rehashing of various plot elements from prior Universal productions, and the strangest examination on the fragility of masculinity I've seen in a long time.
"The Secret of the Blue Room", which was based on a German film with a similar title, follows in the tradition of the haunted house genre established in silent films "The Bat" (1926) and "The Cat and the Canary" (1927) and later in sound films like "The Old Dark House" (1932); coincidentally the latter two were released by Universal.
The film begins at Castle Helldorf with the clock striking midnight, signifying the 21st birthday of Irene (Gloria Stuart), as she is surrounded by her father, Robert (Lionel Atwell) and three would be suitors; Walter (Paul Lukas, who I must point out was Hungarian, due to nationalistic pride), Frank (Onslow Stevens) and Tommy (William Janney). This scene will make many modern viewers uncomfortable. First, there is much emphasis placed on Irene's age. In the U.S. in the 1930s, the age of consent was between 16 - 18 but by 21 a person was a legal adult and wouldn't need parental approval for, oh say getting married. The way director Kurt Neumann lingers on this presents the men like vultures going after their prey. It is also bizarre that dear ol' dad just stands by and watches - so much for a paternal instinct (!). And doesn't Irene have any female friends that she could have invited to a birthday celebration?
Perhaps in order to restore some sort of gender balance, screenwriter William Hurlbut - who wrote "The Cat Creeps" (1930), which is now considered lost - has Irene go from prey to huntress, as she sits at a piano and sings I Can't Help But Dream of You; a song with a certain irony to it since the film will become a story about characters that don't want to fall asleep. While we are still able to see the men lust after Irene, it is also noticeable how Irene has these men wrapped around her finger. All she needs to do is simply look at one of the men while she sings a lyric and it causes the men to jockey for position amongst each other. Because this film was based on German material, it made me think of a famous scene from Josef von Sternberg's "The Blue Angel" (1930) when Marlene Dietrich's Lola Lola sings Falling in Love Again, which also had a coyish flirtation to it. The scene here doesn't have the excitement of Sternberg's scene however because Stuart is no Dietrich and Neumann is no Sternberg, meaning they lack the sexuality and visual flair of the former pair.
As the night goes on the group turns their attention to a potential curse that may haunt the castle. Twenty years ago three people were killed in what is known as "the blue room". Each mysterious death occurred at the stroke of 1am, with the murderer never discovered. In order to prove which of the men is the most courageous - after Irene states the man she marries must have courage - Tommy suggest each of the men spend a night in the blue room, not only to demonstrate their bravery but to also disprove the curse.
Also missing from the film is any atmosphere and mood. Where are the old clichés - rain and lightening, a power outage, sinister shadows and interesting camera angles? The film doesn't take advantage of its setting and has a consistent lighting scheme, creating no contrast. How is the audience supposed to be afraid of anything?
This is quite remarkable considering Universal was the studio that was identifying itself with the horror genre through such titles as "Dracula" (1931), "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Old Dark House" and "The Cat and the Canary". Those films had rich aesthetics based on German Expressionism and Gothic architecture and were directed by stylish storytellers such as Tod Browning, James Whale and Paul Leni. "The Secret of the Blue Room" doesn't have that luxury; although director Neumann had done other horror films, his best known may have been "The Fly" (1958), a fun "B" movie though it does make a social critique.
While it has been noted "The Secret of the Blue Room" was filmed on sets that also appeared in "The Old Dark House", the film's most distinguished aesthetic is its choice of the placement of statues of Knights in armor throughout the castle. This most likely represents physical acts of strength and bravery. It is as if the castle is a reminder and a taunt of their masculinity or lack thereof.
Notice how "Blue Room" films the scenes when the men individually spend the night in the "cursed" room. It never focuses on the men's apprehension to be in the room. It never heightens the suspense of the situation. Neumann continuously cuts away from the room. When Tommy is the first to spend the night in the blue room the film cuts to Frank and Walter, sharing a room in separate beds. Frank is worried about Tommy and Walter wants to go to sleep. This may seem like unnecessary comic relief but can be interpreted as the embodiment of Freud's Id, Ego and Superego. Tommy is visited by Irene, while he is in the room. He takes her concern as meaning she cares for him. As he embraces her however she pulls away thus causing him to double down on his decision to remain in the room. In this sense Tommy is the Superego (morality), Frank, the Id (his instincts of possible danger take over) and Walter the Ego (rational). So while Neumann may cut away to add to the mystery of not knowing what happened, in this particular sequence it can also add to the psychological nature of the characters. It also becomes a wasted opportunity of not visually presenting this psychology through the horror genre.
One of Neumann's best attempts at horror / suspense is when Frank is in the room. Naturally not one to admit fear, Frank takes a bottle of alcohol with him into the room and begins to play the piano. The camera cuts away to Walter and Irene sitting side by side. They can hear Frank's playing though Irene remains afraid. Walter comforts her by holding her close to him. Within one shot we are getting a mixture of sex (Walter and Irene) and horror (the anticipation of the piano playing to stop). It becomes a visualization of a line Irene tells Tommy earlier in the film, "It must be terrible to be a man and have to be brave." Irene then adds as a woman she can be a coward and have a clean conscience. While the line reinforces gender stereotypes and expectations, it also serves as a justification for the very existence of the film; men proving their bravery.
"Blue Room" then goes to the usual task of creating possible suspects for viewers such as the Butler (Robert Barrat), the Maid (Muriel Kirkland) and the Chauffeur (Russell Hopton) who are interrogated by a police Commissioner (Edward Arnold) after bodies start disappearing. In critic Mordaunt Hall's New York Times review he actually described this portion of the film as successful in "stirring up a good deal of suspense" claiming the Commissioner was clever. I found these moments rushed and rather than making the Commissioner "clever", I found the script made the suspects "dumb". The only thing that really stood out to me was the rather condescending way the Commissioner and other male characters spoke to the female characters often calling them "little girls".
Credit however should be given to the cast, who all more or less live up to what is expected from them. Some modern viewers may recognize the name Gloria Stuart as the Old Lady from "Titanic" (1997). Stuart appeared in a few of Universal's memorable horror films, "The Old Dark House" and "The Invisible Man" (1933). When a scene calls for Stuart to exhibit innocence, fear, and sexuality, she can do a modest job. Lionel Atwill was an actor I always got the impression wanted to be a great and serious actor and somehow found himself in "B" horror movies. Here he is asked to play his usual refined and distinguished gentleman. The Academy Award winning actor Paul Lukas wasn't normally cast in leading man roles, due to his accent; however he is admirable in the role portraying not just bravery but a level and calm seriousness and intellect. It becomes the qualities the two other would be suitors lacked.
