Double Door is a pre-code film from 1934 that is about a sick family member who will stop at nothing to ruin her brother’s marriage. This film features one of the most despicable characters in cinema! There are also some minor horror elements, think Secret of the Blue Room type of horror.
A wealthy, controlling, dominating, vile woman, Victoria Van Brett (Mary Morris), is unhappy because of her brother Rip (screen legend Kent Taylor, Slightly Scarlett, The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues) has married Anne Darrow (Evelyn Venable, Hollywood Stadium Mystery), whom she doesn’t approve of. Victoria’s younger sister Caroline (Anne Revere, Fallen Angel) fears her as one time she locked her behind a secret door that no one knows about except for them, and has threatened to put her back there if she will not help her with her plans to break up the marriage between Rip and Anne. What follows is nothing short of insanity as Victoria’s schemes are really disgusting.
Not having viewed Double Door before, I have to say how shocked I was at the lengths Victoria went to try and ruin her brother’s marriage. To say what she did would contain spoilers, but let’s just say Victoria was one truly evil, revolting human being. The film could frustrate the viewer until things get back to normalcy. This was Mary Morris’ only film performance and it is a doozy to say the least. She gives the film so much intensity and suspense with every move she makes in it, with her unforgettable devilish scheming grin. Her evil grin appears at the very start of the film in a close-up and it’s really creepy.
Double Door arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber, and it is a most impressive release. The picture quality, while not perfect or flawless is certainly excellent. I was pleased with how detailed the image looked overall with rich blacks and a balanced grey scale. There were a few spots where the characters appear a bit soft during the video presentation but nothing that terrible. During the last 30-40 minutes I noticed a vertical line on the right-hand side, which wasn’t too distracting, but it’s there!
The English DTS-HS Master Audio 2.0 track is also clear with dialogue and other backgrounded noises coming in clearly and balanced. I did not notice any age-old anomalies such as hissing, crackling and drop-offs and was pleasant all the way through. Nothing on the audio was overpowering. English subtitles are available for this release.
There are two commentaries for this release, both by a pair of iconic Film Historians, Tom Weaver and David Del Valle, who is paired with Stan Shaffer. Both commentaries give their perspectives on the film and cast in their usual fun, entertaining manner and deliver the goods. Theatrical trailers are also part of the supplemental package.
Double Door is a highly recommended film with a great, great release by Kino Lorber, that was given two major commentary personalities for this release. The audio and video quality for this release should please fans. And nobody should have a member of the family like Victoria!
Double Door
Director- Charles Vidor
Cast- Evelyn Venable Mary Morris Anne Revere
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –2/9/2022