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Showing posts from January 12, 2014

The Black Room (1935) - Roy William Neill

The Black Room is a magnificent little movie from 1935 starring one Boris Karloff. He really hits a home run with his performance in this one. He plays the treacherous Gregor and even-keeled Anton, twin brothers prophesied to bring about the end of their lineage through murdering each-other. The story is set in the eighteenth century and has amazing design. The shots are vivid and beautiful for such an early production. I am so used to watching these low budget productions I sort of forget what a mainstream picture actually looks like.  Like I said above, this movie is all about Boris Karloff's performance. It's perfect for anyone studying film or anyone that's curious about Karloff's work away from his usual fare. Acting as a twin isn't something that's that fantastical. However, it is something that is butchered a lot. No one beats Schwarzenegger in Total Recall. Karloff does a great job of keeping the same essence with the characters but having little