Well I finally finished watching Secret Beyond the Door. It was very interesting but left me with mixed reactions. It's very Hitchcockian. The Hitch film I was most reminded of, after Spellbound, was Marnie. Only Mark wasn't "Mark" in Marnie, Mark in Secret was "Marnie". If that makes sense. "First there are the three taps..." The flowers, "Oh, we can stand gladiolas!". And Dragonwyck, too, only I like the ending of Dragonwyck better.
The movie is also a bit like In a Lonely Place. I think my reactions to such scenarios must be based on the personality of the man in question. Because I can understand women sticking it out with Peck, Olivier and Bogart, but I can't understand their being with Van Rhynes (Dragonwyck) or Rampheres. Mark was beyond sick in many ways, not just the obvious spectre of murder hovering over him. Maybe there are some things I find harder to deal with than the idea of a man murdering his wife. It must be all the Hitchcock I've seen.
I am not sure I believe Celia was really in love. Or maybe she and Mark are those people who are attracted by disturbed things in others. I found their relationship unsettling. I loved Joan as "Celia", she was wonderful, but she was crazy. Maybe they are right for each other. Bluebeard found the perfect mate.
I love the look of the film and the way Lang uses props and mise-en-scene. "The, ah, Key..." Mirrors, masks, doors, locks and the fog. But I think maybe he was trying to do too much, to put to many metaphors into the soup. The ending was very Rebecca-like.
It's funny how much this movie and The Prowler both remind me of so many other films.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education." -- Will Rogers
