Not since the barn-storming days of Tod Slaughter (and his series of gruesome, cheap shockers) has there ever been such a creepy villain as Charles Laughton's Sire de Maletroit, a madman keeping his brother (Alan Napier) prisoner and arranging a sham marriage for his niece. This lacks the mustache twirling that made Slaughter's villains such a hoot and was part of Laughton's previous similar role in "Jamaica Inn". Toss in Boris Karloff as a servant, playing both ends against the middle, and you have a plethora of mediocre attempts at chills with a finale reminiscent of 1935's "The Raven".
Laughton's "Snidely Whiplash" villain (who laughs like Mutley) seems to have no monetary motivation, just jealousy over the fact that he was in love with the woman his brother married. Karloff's character must be a cat, because he gets shot and stabbed, yet manages to make it through the climax. Then, there's the perennial hero and heroine (Michael Pate and Sally Forrest), thrust together, even though she's originally in love with somebody who is never seen, and he goes from a drunken playboy to noble savior in a flash. At least Universal's famous Gothic sets got some good use, if not their stock writers's imagination.
Laughton's "Snidely Whiplash" villain (who laughs like Mutley) seems to have no monetary motivation, just jealousy over the fact that he was in love with the woman his brother married. Karloff's character must be a cat, because he gets shot and stabbed, yet manages to make it through the climax. Then, there's the perennial hero and heroine (Michael Pate and Sally Forrest), thrust together, even though she's originally in love with somebody who is never seen, and he goes from a drunken playboy to noble savior in a flash. At least Universal's famous Gothic sets got some good use, if not their stock writers's imagination.