Secret of the Chateau

Secret of the Chateau

Directed by	Richard Thorpe
Screenplay by	Albert DeMond Harry Behn^[1]
Story by	Lawrence G. Blochman^[1]
Produced by	L.L. Ostrow^[2]
Starring	Claire Dodd Alice White Osgood Perkins Jack La Rue George E. Stone Clark Williams
Cinematography	Robert Planck^[1]
Edited by	Harry Marker^[1]
Music by	Heinz Roemheld Oliver Wallace^[1]
Production company	Universal Pictures^[3]
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	3 December 1934 (1934-12-03)
Running time	66 minutes^[1]

Secret of the Chateau is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Richard Thorpe. The film stars Claire Dodd, Alice White, Osgood Perkins, Jack La Rue, George E. Stone and Clark Williams. On its release, reviews from Variety, The Film Daily and The Motion Picture Herald all commented that the film was a typical mystery film. On retrospective reviews, the book Universal Horrors stated the film had little to distinguish itself from others mystery films of the 1930s and 1940s and has justly been forgotten.

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Plot

Cast

Claire Dodd as Julie Verlaine
Alice White as Didi Bonfee
Osgood Perkins as Martin
Jack La Rue as Lucien Vonaire
George E. Stone as Armand
Clark Williams as Paul De Brunay
William Faversham as Monsieur Fos / Professor Racque
Ferdinand Gottschalk as Chief Inspector Marotte
DeWitt Jennings as Louis Bardou
Helen Ware as Madame Rombiere
Frank Reicher as Auctioneer
Alphonse Ethier as Commissioner

Production

Prior to the film's release, it had the title Rendezvous at Midnight which the studio would use the next year for a different film entirely.^[1] The film went into production in late August 1934.^[1] Universal Pictures back lot European set was redressed to resemble a cafe and shop set based on Montparnasse section of Paris.^[1] Production finished in September 1934.^[1]

Release

Secret of the Chateau was distributed by Universal Pictures on December 3, 1934.^[1]^[3]

Reception

Michael R. Pitts in Thrills Untapped described the film as being "nixed" by critics on its release.^[2] From contemporary reviews "Chic." of Variety stated the film was "pretty flat" and had a "Thin, creaky plot" and that its "slow movement almost negates the value of some good acting here."^[4] The Film Daily stated the film "just another of those spooky murder mysteries." and that "all the well known ingredients of the spook melodrama have been thrown into this one, but the affair doesn't quite jell."^[4] "McCarthy" in The Motion Picture Herald stated that the film "makes no attempts at pretentiousness" and told readers to "See it for what it is, building a campaign that dares audiences to identify the criminal until the very end and accenting its amusing entertainment."^[4]

From retrospective reviews, In their book Universal Horrors, the authors described the film as a "dime-store whodunnit" and stated it had "little to distinguish it from the dozens of bottom-of-the-bill program mysteries that Hollywood studios cranked out with regularity in the '30s and '40s."^[5] Their review concluded that the film was "brief, somewhat lively, and totally predictable. Seldom revived, it richly deserves its status as a forgotten Universal picture."^[4]

References

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 95.
^ ^a ^b Pitts 2018, p. 232.
^ ^a ^b "The Secret of the Chateau". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 99.
^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 96.

Sources

Pitts, Michael R. (2018). Thrills Untapped: Neglected Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1936. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476632896.
Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007) [1990]. Universal Horrors (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2974-5.