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Absolutely Fantastic

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM is competently made, with atmosphere to spare, but doesn't particularly stand out from this type of film and this, I guess, is one of the reasons why it isn't well known today. It boasts a fine cast, certainly, but they're not really inspired by the material: Atwill is merely a red herring and isn't even the lead character despite his top billing; Gloria Stuart's role is nothing compared to the one she played in THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932), though she does get to sing in this one!; Paul Lukas is an interesting hero: dapper, mature and sporting a heavy Hungarian accent a' la Bela Lugosi!; Edward Arnold's belated entrance, in my opinion, brings the film to life after a rather slow first half. As for the mystery, well, after the tale told by Atwill about what occurred in the Blue Room all those years ago, one expects an explanation by the film's end but this aspect is never properly resolved (nor is the business about the stranger who breaks into the mansion): instead, we get a 'twist' ending which had actually occurred to me as I lay watching the film but had subsequently dismissed as being too obvious! All in all, apart from some stilted dialogue (courtesy of William Hurlbut, who lated wrote BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN [1935]!), SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM is a very entertaining little film which could have been more interestingly developed - but the main thing here is watching these wonderful actors and the Universal house-style in action.

This classic is rarely seen on TV. Old Dark House scenario with a murder mystery to solve. Lionel Atwill, a 1930s Universal Studio staple, is terrific--just mysterious enough to keep you guessing. Elizabeth Patterson does her best Una O'Connor imitation as the frightened old maid type, and the youthful Gloria Stuart sings. Edward Albert is a standout later in the film as the investigator of the mysterious goings on. Due to the short running time, this little thriller catches steam rapidly and comes to a satisfactory conclusion. Remade several times, including once as a musical. This film has terrific atmosphere, due to the relatively elaborate sets, considering the "B" film status.

A bit rusty and dusty, this film made by Universal in 1933 tells of three men infatuated with the daughter of Lionel Atwill who all agree for sake of ego to stay in the mysterious "blue" room, a room where no one has gone into for twenty or so years because of all the terrible things that befell the inhabitants of that room. Gloria Stuart plays the beautiful object of their affection and carefully plays on the sidelines as each man prepares and stays in the blue room. What happens? Well, that would be giving too much away, but what does ensue is a nice, tight mystery for the most part with some credible red herrings and a somewhat plausible and innovative resolution. Lionel Atwill does a fine job in his patriarchal role as does Stuart. Paul Lukas, Onslow Stevens, and the rest of the cast also do fine jobs. Story really moves this film along, and the script is very good for this time period and for a mystery. My print was somewhat faded and I am not sure if a crisper print exists. I hope so. I know it will be sometime - if anytime - for this film to get the proper DVD treatment is deserves.

A castle with a closed off room is the setting for this murder mystery that features a group of men who dare one another to sleep in the castle's "haunted" room to prove their manhood to the movie's eligible bachelorette, Irene.There isn't much going on with that plot, so the film gives us a subplot involving the servants and their affairs. Meanwhile, the men staying in the "Blue Room" either disappear or are murdered one by one, while Irene watches on in helpless horror.Interestingly, this is a Universal Pictures release, and while it's got no monsters in it, it is obviously intended as a riff on "The Old Dark House" (Irene is actually played by Gloria Stuart, a holdout from the cast of "The Old Dark House"). The Gothic elements of the setting are played to the hilt, with stormy weather, dark hallways, secret passages, and hidden agendas going on all around. The sets are spooky without being covered in cobwebs, although a scene later in the movie involves a chase through a hidden hallway that finally gives us some webs. These cliché aesthetics are offset by the extremely dated attitudes and humor in the film, intentional and otherwise. You start to wonder what these characters do in their lives. It's easy to understand why Irene and her father are idle, because they are rich, but what are the other three men doing there, and why does Irene's father host them? Why does it seem they've been living there for months on end with no real purpose? In this way, the movie entertains as a period fantasy, giving us characters who have no responsibility other than to dress in formal wear for dinner and tell ghost stories in the sitting room late at night.Overall the movie is very slight, and there's not much to revisit once the film's rather obvious secret is out and you find out whodunit. But those with an affection for the old dark house trappings will definitely want to pay a visit.