“The Hidden Room” is a crime drama that was made in England. It was released in the United States with the title “Obsession.”
(Spoiler Alert – Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)
Dr. Clive Riordan’s wife Storm is cheating on him with an American named Bill Kronin. After catching them together when they thought he was out of town he kidnaps Bill and imprisons him in a bombed out building on the outskirts of London. He plans to murder him and then liquify the body with a corrosive chemical that he formulates in a lab in his medical office. But Riordan has decided to wait before killing Bill until he is sure that the authorities don’t suspect him in Bill’s disappearance. The majority of the movie is made up of Riordan’s visits to provide food and drink to Bill in his improvised prison cell. Bill is shackled to a wall and Riordan has marked on the floor in chalk the areas of the room that are outside of Bill’s reach. Riordan is a polite and even accommodating host, providing Bill with his choice of books and even cocktails. And being a psychiatrist, he explains the psychological reason for his need for revenge.
But finally, after four months Riordan is convinced that it is safe to dispatch his guest. However, Riordan’s wife has been in touch with Scotland Yard and eventually Superintendent Finsbury pays a visit to Riordan and this buys Bill a reprieve. When Riordan overhears his wife on the phone with Finsbury, he decides to finish off Bill and he mixes a poison in Bill’s martini for the night. But thanks to Finsbury’s actions Bill is rescued before the poison can take his life. Riordan is arrested by Finsbury and Storm says goodbye to Bill in his hospital room before she leaves on a sea voyage to find a new man with which to stave off boredom.
None of the actors will be familiar to an American audience but this movie is interesting because of the scenes between Bill and Riordan. Their strange companionship in these scenes is amusing and surprisingly compelling. Since neither has anything to lose by being honest they both portray their thoughts candidly. Not that murder is an acceptable social action but Riordan does explain openly his decision to punish his wife’s infidelities as a salve for his pride. And Bill maintains his spirits believing that Riordan will back away from his murderous plan when the authorities maintain their pursuit of his disappearance. The story is somewhat preposterous but I very much enjoyed it for the scenes with the prospective victim and murderer. Their pleasant discussions of Bill’s upcoming demise make this a movie I can recommend.
I saw this some years ago on TCM. I did recognize Robert Newton, who plays Dr. Riordan. American audiences may recognize him as Long John Silver in Disney’s Treasure Island, or as Mr. Fix in Around the World in 80 Days. Very interesting drama, slow, sedate British, rather than the faster-paced American Film Noir. Still, I enjoyed it.
Ed, slow and sedate are precisely the terms to use. The dialog inside the prison cell was handled as if it were a proper British drawing room and the two men were discussing a cricket match instead of a murder. Very polite.
Well, just because he was going to kill him for seducing his faithless wife doesn’t mean he had to be uncivilized.
Precisely. If I have to be murdered by an aggrieved husband I want him to be as cordial as the good doctor in this story. He even provided a working bathroom within the prisoner’s chain length. All that was missing was television.