''Seven Doors to Death'' (also known as ''Vanishing Corpses'' in its American reissue title) is a 1944 American film directed by

Elmer Clifton Elmer Clifton (March 14, 1890 – October 15, 1949) was an American writer, director and actor from the early silent days. A collaborator of D.W. Griffith, he appeared in ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) and ''Intolerance'' (1916) before giving ...

and starring

Chick Chandler Fehmer Christy "Chick" Chandler (January 18, 1905 – September 30, 1988) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 130 films from 1925 through the mid-1950s. Chandler was known for his starring role as Toubo Smith in ...

June Clyde June Clyde (born Ina Parton, December 2, 1909 – October 1, 1987) was an American actress, singer and dancer known for roles in such pre-Code films as '' A Strange Adventure'' (1932) and ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1933). Early years June Cly ...

and

George Meeker George Meeker (March 5, 1904 – August 19, 1984) was an American character film and Broadway actor. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Meeker made several films such as ''Crime, Inc.'' (1945) and ''A Thief in the Dark'' (1 ...

. The film is a comedy/

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

that was written by Clifton, a prolific

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

director of the era.Dixon and Fraser 1990, p. 10.

Plot

At the Hamilton Court shops in Los Angeles, a shot rings out in a darkened apartment. A woman (

) screams and flees, seeing a car driven by architect Jimmy McMillan (

). She orders him at gunpoint to speed away, in the rush to get away. The car crashes, but the woman disappears. After returning to the scene, McMillan finds a corpse and calls Capt. William Jaffe (

Michael Raffetto Michael Raffetto (born Elwyn Creighton Raffetto; December 31, 1899 – May 31, 1990) was an American radio actor who starred as Paul Barbour (1932–1956) in the NBC Radio series ''One Man's Family'' and as Jack Packard in '' I Love a ...

). By the time the police arrive, the corpse has mysteriously changed to that of a different victim. The Police Captain recognizes the dead man as Mary Rawling's lawyer. Summoning Rawlings, the owner of the Hamilton Court, McMillan immediately sees that she was the woman in his car. Her alibi does not seem convincing to Jaffe or McMillan, who decides to start his own investigation, starting with the shopkeepers at the Hamilton Court. Antique dealer Donald Adams (Milton Wallace), recalls on the night of the murder, a rare Egyptian chest was stolen from his shop. When McMillan finds the stolen chest, he also finds the man who was killed. Another suspect, the silversmith Claude Burns (

Edgar Dearing Edgar Dearing (May 4, 1893 – August 17, 1974) was an American actor who became heavily type cast as a motorcycle cop in Hollywood films. Biography Born in 1893, Dearing started in silent comedy shorts for Hal Roach, including several with La ...

) is killed, and as furrier Charles Eaton (

) becomes involved, Mary is arrested but she is convinced that she is being framed. Ultimately, a confrontation between her accusers leads to the discovery of stolen jewels and the real culprit.

Cast

as Jimmy McMillan *

as Mary Rawling *

as Charles Eaton *

as Capt. William Jaffe *

Gregory Gaye Gregory Gaye (born Grigoriy Grigoryevich Ge; October 10, 1900 – August 23, 1993) was a Russian-American character actor. The son of an actor, he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the uncle of actor George Gaynes. He was a cadet ...

as Henry Butler aka Gregor *

as Claude Burns *

Rebel Randall Rebel Randall (born Alaine Charlotte Dorothy Brandes, January 22, 1922 – July 22, 2010), was an American film actress and radio personality. She appeared in approximately 50 films between 1940 and 1956. Career She was a popular G.I. pin-up ...

as Mable De Rose * Milton Wallace as Donald Adams * Casey MacGregor as Timothy Green

Production

Principal photography on the production took place from May 17 to late May 1944 in Los Angeles. The Crossroads of the World Center in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

featured prominently as the setting for the film. Although produced on a minuscule budget, Clifton made films in the 1940s in a very professional manner, working in various genres including western films.

, more known as a character or bit part comic actor had one of his few starring roles in ''Seven Doors to Death''.

Reception

''Seven Doors to Death'' was hampered by a limited budget and stagey production values, and as a

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

, was not reviewed by traditional sources. In a more recent appraisal, the film did not stand up well. Reviewer Bill Barstad called it "one dull mystery" and "(a) ... mediocre mystery plot with a weak screenplay." The film was broadcast in the 2004 New Condensed Classics television series in an abbreviated 20-minute version."Condensed Classics with Dave Shaw."
''moviedbworld.com''. Retrieved: May 8, 2016. It has also been shown in the UK on

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 ho ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Dixon, Wheeler W. and Audrey Brown Fraser. ''I Went That-a-Way: The Memoirs of a Western Film Director, Harry L. Fraser''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1990. .

External links

* * *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Doors To Death 1944 films 1940s comedy mystery films 1944 comedy films American mystery films American romance films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Elmer Clifton American black-and-white films Producers Releasing Corporation films 1944 mystery films 1940s romance films Films set in Los Angeles 1940s American films