Oh the days when people tried to cover up murders with leaving the scene and wiping prints. Now with the copious amounts of evidence such as DNA, video, fibers, GSR, and everything else, there's not the same need for interrogation to force a confession because it's easier to pinpoint your suspect without so much as a word.
In "The Locked Door" a womanizer named Frank Devereaux (Rod La Rocque) was shot by Lawrence 'Larry' Reagan (William 'Stage' Boyd) as the two struggled over a gun. Larry cleaned up any evidence of his being there and smoothly left the scene. The only problem is that he left the scene and unknowingly locked his wife in the penthouse with the victim. With no way out, Ann (Barbara Stanwyck) had to call the hotel switchboard operator and pretend to shoot Frank for the switchboard operator to hear. That prompted the operator to rally management to open Frank's door with their spare key.
In short order the D. A. (Harry Mestayer) arrived and ratcheted up the drama to ten. His only suspect was Ann who feigned being molested to prop up a self-defense plea, but the D. A. was having none of it.
I liked Barbara Stanwyck better in "Ten Cents a Dance." In this movie she didn't get to showcase her talents much at all. She was pretty much a victim in one way or another the entire film and it just looked bad.
"The Locked Door" was a hair-raising, drama-filled affair. In the middle of all the turmoil was Larry, Frank, Ann, Larry's sister Helen (Betty Bronson), and the D. A. A man was presumably dead and at least three people had a reason to shoot him. Take away some of the exaggerated antics of Ann (which was common for female characters back then) and the movie would have been so much better. As it was, I liked it more than a somewhat similar Hitchcock film released the same year titled, "Blackmail."
Free on YouTube.
In "The Locked Door" a womanizer named Frank Devereaux (Rod La Rocque) was shot by Lawrence 'Larry' Reagan (William 'Stage' Boyd) as the two struggled over a gun. Larry cleaned up any evidence of his being there and smoothly left the scene. The only problem is that he left the scene and unknowingly locked his wife in the penthouse with the victim. With no way out, Ann (Barbara Stanwyck) had to call the hotel switchboard operator and pretend to shoot Frank for the switchboard operator to hear. That prompted the operator to rally management to open Frank's door with their spare key.
In short order the D. A. (Harry Mestayer) arrived and ratcheted up the drama to ten. His only suspect was Ann who feigned being molested to prop up a self-defense plea, but the D. A. was having none of it.
I liked Barbara Stanwyck better in "Ten Cents a Dance." In this movie she didn't get to showcase her talents much at all. She was pretty much a victim in one way or another the entire film and it just looked bad.
"The Locked Door" was a hair-raising, drama-filled affair. In the middle of all the turmoil was Larry, Frank, Ann, Larry's sister Helen (Betty Bronson), and the D. A. A man was presumably dead and at least three people had a reason to shoot him. Take away some of the exaggerated antics of Ann (which was common for female characters back then) and the movie would have been so much better. As it was, I liked it more than a somewhat similar Hitchcock film released the same year titled, "Blackmail."
Free on YouTube.