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Secret Beyond the Door

Secret Beyond the Door

Mystery · Thriller · Drama · 1947

After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.

Movie details

Secret Beyond the Door

“Some Men Destroy What They Love Most!”

1947 Mystery · Thriller · Drama 1h 39m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Secret Beyond the Door?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Fritz Lang

Written by

Silvia Richards · Rufus King

Joan Bennett

Joan Bennett

Celia Lamphere

Michael Redgrave

Michael Redgrave

Mark Lamphere

Anne Revere

Anne Revere

Caroline Lamphere

Barbara O'Neil

Barbara O'Neil

Miss Robey

Natalie Schafer

Natalie Schafer

Edith Potter

Paul Cavanagh

Paul Cavanagh

Rick Barrett

Anabel Shaw

Anabel Shaw

Intellectual Sub-Deb

Court is in session

Put Secret Beyond the Door on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.