"Secret of the Blue Room" - 1932 original
18 January 2021
I can't believe that I'm the first one to review this film here. Many of us are more familiar with the all-star 1933 remake by Universal Pictures which faithfully adheres to the original almost scene by scene. Even stock footage of the castle and its moat were reused by Universal Pictures. The original is decidedly superior and has a much more atmospheric Blue Room set than Universal Pictures came up with which more or less looks like any old bedroom in the castle. The DVD print I purchased from Sinister Cinema is Region Free and runs 66 minutes like its remake. The subtitles are in English.

I've seen four film adaptations of this story; the aforementioned two and Universal Pictures' 1938 remake "The Missing Guest", and its 1944 remake "Murder in the Blue Room" (complete with The Andrews Sisters-like trio!) I like them all with the 1932 version the best, followed by the 1933 version, the 1938 version, and the 1944 version. Fans should definitely check this version out. There is also a Czech version made after the German original and before Universal Pictures' 1933 version called "Zahada modrého pokoje" (1933) available thru eBay. It's PAL-Region 2. I understand it doesn't have English subtitles, but it too adheres closely to the German original.
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed