The Door with Seven Locks (1940 film)

1940 British film by Norman Lee

The Door with Seven Locks
Film poster with the US title
Directed by	Norman Lee
Screenplay by	John Argyle Gilbert Gunn Norman Lee
Based on	The Door with Seven Locks 1926 novel by Edgar Wallace
Produced by	John Argyle
Starring	Leslie Banks Lilli Palmer Romilly Lunge Gina Malo
Cinematography	Alex Bryce Ernest Palmer
Edited by	E.G. Richards
Music by	Guy Jones
Production company	John Argyle Productions
Distributed by	Pathé Pictures (UK)
Release dates	12 October 1940 (1940-10-12) (UK) 20 December 1940 (1940-12-20) (US)
Running time	89 minutes (UK) 79 minutes (US)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Door with Seven Locks is a 1940 British horror film directed by Norman Lee and starring Leslie Banks and Lili Palmer. The screenplay was by John Argyle, Gilbert Gunn and Norman Lee based on the 1926 novel The Door with Seven Locks by Edgar Wallace. Released in the United States by Monogram Pictures under the title Chamber of Horrors, it was the second Wallace film adaptation to arrive in the United States, the first being The Dark Eyes of London (called The Human Monster in the US), starring Béla Lugosi, which had been released the year before.

It was released shortly after the British Board of Film Censors lifted its mid-1930s ban on supernatural-themed and horror genre films.

Plot

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 series of mysterious events causes the keys to be scattered, and when trying to unravel the circumstances, the heiress of the fortune and her companion investigators become entangled in a web of fraud, deceit, torture, and murder.

It becomes obvious that family physician, Dr. Manetta, is the untrustworthy person. Assisted by the mute family butler and the family chauffeur (a forger on the run), Manetta seeks to steal the treasure for himself. When rightful heiress June Lansdowne arrives, she is seized and locked in the tomb before she can announce her presence. She is eventually freed by a pet monkey that steals the key to the tomb.

Suspicion grows when Dr. Manetta announces he is an admirer of Torquemada (the chief torturer during the Spanish Inquisition); and that he keeps a museum of torture instruments in the basement.

When the authorities close in, Manetta is trapped in an automatic spiked mummy case. The police reluctantly rescue him. Manetta makes a full confession, then commits suicide by poison. He is proud that he killed himself with a goblet once owned by Lucretia Borgia.

The treasure is discovered inside the tomb, the one place Manetta didn't search because he didn't want to call attention to Lansdowne's captivity there.

Cast

Leslie Banks as Dr. Manetta
Lilli Palmer as June Lansdowne
Romilly Lunge as Dick Martin
Gina Malo as Glenda Baker
David Horne as Edward Havelock
Richard Bird as Inspector Sneed
Cathleen Nesbitt as Ann Cody
JH Roberts as Luis Silva
Aubrey Mallalieu as Lord Charles Francis Selford
Harry Hutchinson as Bevan Cody
Ross Landon as John Selford
Phil Ray as Tom Cawler
Robert Montgomery as Craig the Butler

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Good direction and better acting conceal the flaws in this improbable story, and the result is a picture with suspense, thrills and a welcome leavening of humour. Leslie Banks is a gruesome villain, Lilli Palmer is a refreshingly 'different' heroine and Romilly Lunge sufficiently impetuous as the young detective."

Leslie Halliwell said: "Old-fashioned barnstormer, ineptly made."

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "good", writing: "Robust blood and thunder, eerie and well-acted."

References

"The Door with Seven Locks". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
"Chamber of Horrors". Movie Tome. movietome.com. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
"The Door with Seven Locks". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 7 (73): 87. 1 January 1940 – via ProQuest.
Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 291. ISBN 0586088946.
Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 204. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.

External links

The Door with Seven Locks at the British Film Institute
The Door with Seven Locks at the British Board of Film Classification
The Door with Seven Locks at IMDb
The Door with Seven Locks at AllMovie
The Door with Seven Locks at the TCM Movie Database

v t e Films directed by Norman Lee
The Streets of London (1929) The Lure of the Atlantic (1929) The Strangler (1932) Josser Joins the Navy (1932) Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! (1932) Josser on the River (1932) Josser in the Army (1932) Money Talks (1932) The Pride of the Force (1933) A Political Party (1934) The Outcast (1934) Doctor's Orders (1934) Spring in the Air (1934) Royal Cavalcade (1935) Mother, Don't Rush Me (1936) Happy Days Are Here Again (1936) No Escape (1936) Kathleen Mavourneen (1937) Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1937) Knights for a Day (1937) French Leave (1937) Saturday Night Revue (1937) Mr. Reeder in Room 13 (1938) Almost a Honeymoon (1938) Save a Little Sunshine (1938) Luck of the Navy (1938) Murder in Soho (1939) Wanted by Scotland Yard (1939) Yes, Madam? (1939) The Door with Seven Locks (1940) The Farmer's Wife (1941) The Monkey's Paw (1948) The Case of Charles Peace (1949) The Girl Who Couldn't Quite (1950)

Films directed by Norman Lee

Edgar Wallace

Novels

The Four Just Men (1905)
Angel Esquire (1908)
The Council of Justice (1908)
Captain Tatham (1909)
The Duke in the Suburbs (1909)
The Nine Bears (1910)
Private Selby (1912)
The Fourth Plague (1913)
Grey Timothy (1913)
The River of Stars (1913)
The Man Who Bought London (1915)
The Melody of Death (1915)
A Debt Discharged (1916)
The Tomb of Ts'in (1916)
The Just Men of Cordova (1917)
The Secret House (1917)
The Clue of the Twisted Candle (1918)
Down Under Donovan (1918)
The Man Who Knew (1918)
Those Folk of Bulboro (1918)
The Green Rust (1919)
Kate Plus Ten (1919)
The Daffodil Mystery (1920)
Jack O'Judgment (1920)
The Book of All Power (1921)
The Law of the Four Just Men (1921)
The Angel of Terror (1922)
The Crimson Circle (1922)
The Flying Fifty-Five (1922)
Mr. Justice Maxell (1922)
The Valley of Ghosts (1922)
The Clue of the New Pin (1923)
The Green Archer (1923)
The Missing Million (1923)
The Dark Eyes of London (1924)
Double Dan (1924)
The Face in the Night (1924)
Room 13 (1924)
The Sinister Man (1924)
The Three Oak Mystery (1924)
Blue Hand (1925)
The Fellowship of the Frog (1925)
The Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder (1925)
The Strange Countess (1925)
The Three Just Men (1925)
The Avenger (1926)
Barbara on Her Own (1926)
The Black Abbot (1926)
The Northing Tramp (1926)
The Terrible People (1926)
The Yellow Snake (1926)
The Big Foot (1927)
Terror Keep (1927)
The Traitor's Gate (1927)
The Squeaker (1927)
The Forger (1927)
Again the Three (1928)
The Gunner (1928)
Four Square Jane (1929)
The Green Ribbon (1929)
The India-Rubber Men (1929)
The Calendar (1930)
The Clue of the Silver Key (1930)
The Lady of Ascot (1930)
The Man at the Carlton (1931)
The Guv'nor and Other Short Stories (1932)

Plays

An African Millionaire (1904)
M'Lady (1921)
Double Dan (1927)
The Terror (1927)
The Man Who Changed His Name (1928)
The Calendar (1929)
Persons Unknown (1929)
On the Spot (1930)
The Mouthpiece (1930)
Smoky Cell (1930)
The Old Man (1931)

Screenplays

Adaptations

J. G. Reeder	Mr. Reeder in Room 13 (1938) The Mind of Mr. Reeder (1939) The Missing People (1940) The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder (1969, TV series)
The Four Just Men	The Four Just Men (1921) The Four Just Men (1939) The Four Just Men (1959, TV series)
Edgar Wallace Mysteries	Urge to Kill (1960) Clue of the Twisted Candle (1960) The Malpas Mystery (1960) Marriage of Convenience (1960) The Clue of the New Pin (1961) Man at the Carlton Tower (1961) The Fourth Square (1961) Man Detained (1961) Attempt to Kill (1961) Clue of the Silver Key (1961) Never Back Losers (1961) Partners in Crime (1961) The Sinister Man (1961) Time to Remember (1962) Playback (1962) Solo for Sparrow (1962) Locker Sixty-Nine (1962) Incident at Midnight (1963) Return to Sender (1963) Ricochet (1963) Accidental Death (1963) Five to One (1963) The Verdict (1964) We Shall See (1964) Act of Murder (1964) Change Partners (1965)
Rialto Films	Der Frosch mit der Maske (1959) The Crimson Circle (1960) The Avenger (1960) The Terrible People (1960) The Green Archer (1961) The Dead Eyes of London (1961) The Devil's Daffodil (1961) The Forger of London (1961) The Strange Countess (1961) The Puzzle of the Red Orchid (1962) The Door with Seven Locks (1962) The Inn on the River (1962) The Curse of the Yellow Snake (1963) The Squeaker (1963) The Black Abbot (1963) The Indian Scarf (1963) Room 13 (1964) The Curse of the Hidden Vault (1964) Der Hexer (1964) The Traitor's Gate (1964) Neues vom Hexer (1965) The Sinister Monk (1965) The Hunchback of Soho (1966) The Trygon Factor (1966) Creature with the Blue Hand (1967) The Monk with the Whip (1967) The Hound of Blackwood Castle (1968) Im Banne des Unheimlichen (1968) The Gorilla of Soho (1968) Double Face (1969) The Man with the Glass Eye (1969) The Body in the Thames (1971)
Other	The Man Who Bought London (1916) The Green Terror (1919) Pallard the Punter (1919) Angel Esquire (1919) Wanted at Headquarters (1920) The River of Stars (1921) The Crimson Circle (1922) Down Under Donovan (1922) Melody of Death (1922) The Diamond Man (1924) The Flying Fifty-Five (1924) The Green Archer (1925 serial) The Great Unknown (1927) The Terror (1928) Mark of the Frog (1928 serial) Chick (1928) The Forger (1928) The Terrible People (1928 serial) The Ringer (1928) The Man Who Changed His Name (1928) The Flying Squad (1929) The Crimson Circle (1929) The Clue of the New Pin (1929) Red Aces (1930) The Squeaker (1930) The Yellow Mask (1930) The Ringer (1931) To Oblige a Lady (1931) The Calendar (1931) The Old Man (1931) The Squeaker (1931) The Flying Squad (1932) The Frightened Lady (1932) The Ringer (1932) The Menace (1932) White Face (1932) Giallo (1933) The Jewel (1933) Before Dawn (1933) The Double (1934) Mystery Liner (1934) The Green Pack (1934) The Feathered Serpent (1934) The Lad (1935) Sanders of the River (1935) Born to Gamble (1935) Chick (1936) Educated Evans (1936) The Crimson Circle (1936) Prison Breaker (1936) Strangers on Honeymoon (1936) The Frog (1937) The Squeaker (1937) The Gaunt Stranger (1938) Dangerous to Know (1938) Kate Plus Ten (1938) Thank Evans (1938) The Terror (1938) The Return of the Frog (1938) Flying Fifty-Five (1939) The Dark Eyes of London (1939) The Case of the Frightened Lady (1940) The Door with Seven Locks (1940) The Flying Squad (1940) The Green Archer (1940 serial) The Missing Million (1942) The Calendar (1948) The Ringer (1952) The Avenger (1960) Death Drums Along the River (1963) Coast of Skeletons (1964) Circus of Fear (1966) Five Golden Dragons (1967) The Devil Came from Akasava (1970) The Bloodstained Butterfly (1971) What Have You Done to Solange? (1972) Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972)
Television	Educated Evans (1957–58) The Mixer (1992)

Family

Mary Jane Richards (mother)
Marriott Edgar (half-brother)
Bryan Edgar Wallace (son)

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