Joan Bennett is determined to discover the “Secret Beyond the Door”

Secret Beyond the Door (1947) is an American psychological thriller directed by Fritz Lang and starring Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave. The strong supporting cast includes Anne Revere, Barbara O’Neil, Natalie Schafer, and Paul Cavanagh. The cinematography was by Stanley Cortez (The Magnificent Ambersons, The Night of the Hunter, and The Three Faces of Eve. The music was by Miklos Rozsa (Double Indemnity, Spellbound, Ben-Hur).

Celia (Bennett), a rich, young heiress meets a mysterious man, architect Mark Lamphere (Redgrave) on vacation in Mexico. The two fall in love instantly and are married. The honeymoon is happy but trouble is on the horizon when in a playful mood, Celia locks her husband out of their hotel room.

When they return to Mark’s home, Celia discovers that Mark was married before and has a teenage son David (Mark Dennis)—things Mark never told Celia. She also discovers that Mark’s sister Caroline (Revere) and Mark’s assistant Miss Robey(O’Neil) also reside in her home with Mark.

David tells Celia that Mark killed his mother. Shocked, Celia now worries that Mark may be planning to kill her as well. And then there are Mark’s rooms that recreate famous murders of women! What does it all mean and is Celia’s life in serious danger? 

Joan Bennett

Fritz Lang (1890 – 1976) was an Austrian-German-American director. Lang is the director of the silent film classic Metropolis (1927). After serving in World War I, Lang worked for a time as an actor in the theater and then worked as a writer at Decla Film in Berlin. Lang’s first talking picture was M (1931) a story about a child murderer. Due to his growing renown, Joseph Goebbels offered him the position of head of the German film studio UFA in 1933. Lang emigrated to Paris and then to the United States in 1936. Lang worked for all the major studios, making twenty-three feature films in the United States. Some of Lang’s films include Scarlet Street (1945), The Big Heat (1953), and While the City Sleeps (1956).

Joan Bennett (1910–1990) began her film career during the early sound era. A natural blonde, Bennett dyed her hair as a plot device in the film Trade Winds (1938). As a brunette, Bennett projected a sultry persona that had her compared to the brunette beauty, Hedy Lamarr. During this period she starred in two costume epics. She played Princess Maria Theresa in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) and Grand Duchess Zona of Lichtenburg in The Son of Monte Cristo (1940). Bennett was one of two finalists for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), along with Paulette Goddard. She had a very successful collaboration with the director Fritz Lang. With Lang, she starred in the classics Man Hunt (1940), The Woman in the Window (1944), and Scarlet Street (1945). Bennett acted on stage and on television where she became a pop culture icon playing Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966-1971).

Michael Redgrave (1909 – 1985) was an English stage and film actor and director. He worked primarily on the British stage but had some significant film roles. He made his American film debut in Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) co-starring Rosalind Russell—he made Secret Beyond the Door first but Electra was released first. For his performance, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other notable film roles include The Stars Look Down (1940), Dead of Night (1945), and The Browning Version (1951). He is the father of actresses Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave.

Secret Beyond the Door trivia

• This was the fourth film that Bennett made with director Fritz Lang.
• The grove of trees that Bennett runs through fleeing the house is the same grove used in the Universal horror film The Wolf Man (1941).
• Lang thought this film would be his Rebecca (1940). Lang felt he was being eclipsed by directors like Alfred Hitchcock and was desperate to stay relevant.
• This was Michael Redgrave’s first American film.
• Bennett requested the services of cinematographer Stanley Cortez. Cortez and Lang didn’t get along on set.
• Bennett and Redgrave did some very dangerous stunt work at the insistence of Lang. This didn’t sit well with the two stars.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

Discussion questions

1. Some critics consider this movie a film noir. Would you put it in that category? Why or why not?
2. This film has been compared to earlier Alfred Hitchcock films, especially Rebecca and Spellbound. Do you see the reason for those comparisons? Does Secret Beyond the Door remind you of any other pictures?
3. What do you think was Bennett’s motivation to marry Redgrave so quickly?
4. What was Redgrave’s motivation?
5. This film could fall into the damsel in distress genre. Was Bennett a convincing damsel?
6. Was Michael Redgrave believable as the conflicted Mr. Lamphere?
7. Did you have a favorite character or scene?

To join the discussion on October 30, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive a link and an invitation to join the discussion on Zoom.

Michael Redgrave

Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave in Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes

The Lady Vanishes (1938) is a British thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The success of this film caught the attention of producer David O. Selznick. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a long-term contract and brought him to Hollywood in 1940.

Michael Redgrave, Dame May Whitty, and Margaret Lockwood

The plot involves Iris Henderson (Lockwood), a young woman returning home to get married after a European vacation with two girlfriends. An avalanche blocks the train so she ends up staying an extra night where she meets a kindly old governess and music teacher named Mrs. Froy (Dame May Whitty). When Iris finally gets on the train home, she ends up sharing a compartment with Mrs. Froy. Sometime during her journey, Mrs. Froy disappears and no one in her compartment remembers the old woman, making Iris wonder if she dreamed up their meeting or if her fellow passengers are lying. She enlists the help of Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave), a young ethnomusicologist who is somewhat skeptical of her claims.

Will they find Mrs. Froy or did Iris dream up the whole thing, the result of an accident before boarding the train.

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. Hitchcock directed over 50 feature films, many are classics that have been honored and studied for years. Some of Hitchcock’s classic films include The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1936), Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960).

Alfred Hitchcock and Margaret Lockwood on the set of The Lady Vanishes

Margaret Lockwood (1916 – 1990) was an English actress who began her career on the stage but gained fame as one of Britain’s most popular movie stars during the 1930s and 1940s. She had a starring role in Bank Holiday (1938), directed by Carol Reed. The movie was a huge success and made Lockwood a star. Next up would be The Lady Vanishes (1938), which brought her to the attention of Hollywood. Lockwood didn’t take to Hollywood and soon returned to England where she made a series of popular costume dramas including The Wicked Lady (1945) co-starring James Mason.

Michael Redgrave (1909 – 1985) was an English stage and film actor and a director. He worked primarily on the British stage but had some significant film roles. He made his American film debut in Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) co-starring Rosalind Russell. For his performance, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other notable film roles include The Stars Look Down (1940), Dead of Night (1945), and The Browning Version (1951). He is the father of actresses Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave.

Dame May Whitty (1865 – 1948) was an English stage and film actress. Whitty made her Hollywood debut at age 72 in Night Must Fall (1937) co-starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. For her performance, Whitty was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award. After her role for Hitchcock in The Lady Vanishes, Whitty moved permanently to Hollywood where she appeared in many classic films including Suspicion (1941), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Gaslinght (1944), and Green Dolphin Street (1947).

The Lady Vanishes trivia

• There is no background music, except for the beginning and end of the film
• Motion picture debut of Michael Redgrave
• The movie begins in the fictional European country of Bandrinka
• Charters and Caldicott were created for the movie; they don’t appear in the novel
• Vivien Leigh screen tested for the role of Iris Henderson

To watch the film, click on the link below.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x239ehl

After you watch the film, join us for a discussion on Zoom, October 13 at 6 p.m. Central Time. For links to the Zoom meeting click the Meetup link.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the Macguffin in this film? A Macguffin “is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.”
2. The French film director Francois Truffaut said The Lady Vanishes was his favorite Hitchcock film and was the best representation of his work. What do you think he meant? Do you agree?
3. What did you think of the chemistry between Lockwood and Redgrave?
4. What did you make of the characters Charters and Caldicott?