A prestigious house starts when a younger twin kills the older and a prophesy says some day the house will end by the same method. Today the house is run by a baron with a younger brother, though the younger has moved away and has a gimpy arm. But when the younger brother returns and the people have turned against the older, a crucial moment arrives -- how can the older brother satisfy the people without fulfilling the prophecy? Can it be avoided? How has "The Black Room" gone so many years under my radar? Boris Karloff is amazingly versatile here, playing both brothers (sometimes on the screen at the same time). Marian Marsh plays both brothers' love interest. The picture is crisp, the sound is clear and the production value is beyond impressive for 1935. And the plot? Intriguing, to say the least. While the baron can't be considered a villain on the level of Dracula or Frankenstein's monster, the story here is gripping and the setting really anticipates the works of Roger Corman in the 1960s.

A special note must be payed to the lovely Marian Marsh. Marsh rounds out the cast and does a fantastic job alongside the dominant men of the cast (not just Karloff, but practically everyone). Her beauty and charm sell the picture well, as the Baron's love for her character really drives the plot. Sadly, Marsh gave up acting in 1959 to become an environmentalist. While I fully sympathize with the move, Hollywood was denied a great talent and spirit for the next forty years (the time of Marsh's death).

I strongly encourage those who enjoy older films to give this one a try. I found it both enjoyable and critically satisfying. So many thrillers of the 1930s seem one-dimensional and cliché, but "The Black Room" is fresh, prescient and timeless. I would love to see a deluxe edition of this film, though I suppose it is now too late. Its due failed to come when it mattered most.

This film is an interesting little diversion from the usual picture you'd expect to see Boris Karloff in during the 1930s. Instead of yet another horror film, this story is more or a standard costume drama done with a B-movie budge --a story that proves that your fate cannot be avoided.

When the film begins, the Baron learns that his wife has had identical twins. Instead of being excited, the poor guy is heartbroken, as an old family superstition is that the family will end in tragedy, as the younger twin will kill the older. However, this seems very unlikely since the younger brother seems like a nice guy and appears to have no ambitions to rule. It's even more unlikely when the evil older brother kills the younger one in an unexpected twist. Despite all this, the story goes on to illustrate like the age old tale of Oedipus that no matter what you try to do to avoid your fate, your actions only serve to seal it! Both roles are very ably played by Boris Karloff and the film is very brief and fast-moving--like most other B films. Combined with a good script and interesting ending, this is a very enjoyable flick that deserves to be seen more often--even if it's rather difficult to believe such a tale could really occur.

FYI--If you look closely at the clips of Karloff driving through the countryside of his mythical kingdom, you may notice that this is very clearly the Columbia back lot where they filmed many Westerns. Despite a few religious monuments scattered about, it's pretty obviously a Western set in California--though the rest of the buildings and sets looked pretty good. I chalk this up to a low budget and it's easy to overlook this.

No other worldly creatures. no man made type monsters are in this Boris Karloff film. Instead Karloff plays a pair of twin brothers, one good, one bad in The Black Room set during the 19th century in some German principality.

The concept of twins is always an interesting one ever since Romulus and Remus battled in ancient times. Bette Davis did a pair of films playing good and evil women. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. did a great film The Corsican Brothers with the same idea about one good and one cursed apparently evil twin.

But there's some prophecy here about a pair of twin heirs that one would slay the other. So the boys who grew up to be Boris Karloff were separated with one going off to live the life of a 19th century trust fund baby.

Wouldn't you know it, but the bad twin is left in charge and Karloff is his usual malevolent self. Won't go into it, but he has evil designs on the young women of the domain like Marian Marsh and Katherine DeMille. The prophecy is fulfilled, but in a most ironic way.

Note the presence of Robert Allen who at that time was Columbia's B picture western star for once not in cowboy gear for a film. He's a young guards officer with a thing for Marian Marsh.

Karloff's double performance makes this one worth watching.