Corridor of Mirrors

1948
6.5| 1h45m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 23 February 1948 Released
Producted By: J. Arthur Rank Organisation
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

A man falls in love with a beautiful young woman and begins to suspect that he may have also loved her in a previous life.

Genre

Fantasy, Drama, Horror

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Director

Terence Young

Production Companies

J. Arthur Rank Organisation

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Corridor of Mirrors Audience Reviews

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
mcannady1 I had submitted a review not long ago, but after reading some of the reviews here, wanted to comment on the leading actress, Edana Romney.I think she was a wonderful choice of actress for the film. She could register various emotions in a sophisticated manner; love, sadness, boredom, and even terror realistically. In British films, an actress can often register these feelings in a more subtle manner, as Edana had. I did think she reminded me of Margaret Lockwood and Patricia Morison. All these actresses were very adept at registering emotions in a slightly subdued manner.That said, I had picked this film from a Nostalgia Video catalog several years ago. It sounded very intriguing with the description and was the first film with Christopher Lee! Many of the cast members (Eric Portman, Edana Romney, Barbara Mullen, etc.) I had never seen before, so it was a unique experience. In the meantime, I have watched several films with the above actors and actresses and really enjoyed them.Corridor of Mirrors is a poignant story of a man living in the past. He meets a beautiful young woman in a nightclub who resembles Lucrezia Borgia. Edana plays the role with sophisticated flair and soon becomes interested in Paul Mangin (Eric Portman), an art and antique collector. When she visits his gorgeous home, she discovers amid the mirrors and many costumes of a bygone age, a touch of mystery about the past of the owner.Also, there is a mysterious housekeeper. Veronica, that Paul had rescued during WWII in Italy. Was her story true of her seduction (by Paul) and then his rejection of her? He had relegated her to the basement after becoming tired of her, she said.During the war he had become obsessed with a painting of Lucrezia Borgia, so he becomes enamored of this new young girl who resembled the girl in the painting. On one of her visits, Mifanway Conway is quite impressed by Paul's gorgeous home and the painting he reveals behind some heavy draperies.After that, she finds herself very attracted to this man of mystery. But she discovers early on that he hates the sound of a woman's laughter. She admires gorgeous Renaissance-type costumes on life-like mannequins behind the mirrored doors in Paul's home. It is a scene that is at once eerie, and very impressive, as she dances around to the tune of an old-fashioned music box, wearing a beautiful Renaissance costume Paul had designed.When Mifanway meets the housekeeper. Veronica, she tells a mysterious tale of Paul's seduction of her during the war and then bringing her home to his gorgeous mansion in London. At first, he had treated her like a queen, dressing her in fancy clothing. After he tired of her (having made a great show of dressing her in elegant costumes), he had demoted her to the basement of his home. She claims there had been a long procession of women, but she had always warned them in time.The girl is frightened and saddened and flees from the house, after telling Paul she will not be one of his women. He says she must have talked to Veronica, the housekeeper, who was not normal. He had brought her there to make a home for her. (He had felt sorry for her being victimized during the war). If her story were not true, why did Paul tolerate her in his home? Had she really told the other women negative things about her employer? He claims there were no other women there. Still, Mifanway feels that Paul is too attached to hundreds of years ago, and even has a horse and carriage in London in the 1940's.The story has lush scenery and great photography, and poignant acting, and some frightening and sad circumstances. Amid these situations, we have a murder mystery eventually.Mifanway attends Paul's fancy dress ball that evokes the Renaissance era. After the ball, Paul has had too much to drink and passes out. A nightclub singer has been murdered while he is unconscious. Edana's character leaves prior to this and decides to marry her barrister friend. This she had mentioned to Paul just before he passed out from drinking too much. Paul is the prime suspect and does not care about the conclusion of his trial.I will not create a spoiler, but Paul loses the will to live when the girl marries another man. He does not care about being accused of the murder of the other woman -- and his ultimate fate. He cannot recall what happened the night of the ball and is convicted of Caroline's murder. Mifanway visits Paul in jail and mentions that she will marry soon.A few years after Paul's execution, Mifanway is receiving threatening blackmail letters about her affair with Paul. This person is the real killer and threatens her marriage. The young woman who is happily married and has three little children, is in a quandary about the outcome. Fearing exposure to her barrister husband, who has a strict moral code, Mifanway considers paying the blackmailer.The story takes on an eerie touch when Mifanway is ordered to meet someone at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. She is to stand before Paul's likeness. An effigy has been made of Paul standing near the replica of John Wilkes Booth.This said, there are some interesting twists and turns at the end, culminating in a mysterious suicide. An intriguing film with interesting characters!
Alex da Silva Edana Romney (Mifanwy) receives a telegram to meet up with an ex-lover Eric Portman (Paul Mangin) in London at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. She arrives at the pre-arranged rendez-vous next to Marie Antoinette and as she waits, she daydreams……….and we are taken back in flashback to the days of her love affair with Portman. He is a wealthy artist with some definitely strange ideas. He lives in the past. Literally. And he believes Edana is part of his destiny. Theirs is a 400 year love affair which needs sorting out.It's a good-looking film with a huge house at the centre of the proceedings. It's atmospheric and the costumes are great. There is definitely an unworldly feel as the film develops and the story will keep you guessing as to what is going on in the mind of strange Eric Portman. The acting is good all round, including the minor characters, with a mention to singer Joan Maude (Caroline) who plays a crucial role. The dialogue is funny at times with Romney's father, Bruce Belfrage (Sir David), coming out with the classic "…hardest hard-on…". Listen out for it near the beginning of the film when Romney returns home to find Belfrage watching a film. It's hilarious.So, it's time to organize a Venetian ball…………just watch out if you are a female with long dark hair. You never know what type of nutter is in the area.
GManfred "Corridor Of Mirrors" is pretentious and derivative and seeks to emulate elements of 'Citizen Kane'and 'Beauty And The Beast'. The dialogue is stilted and the premise absurd. That said, I have to say that you have never - ever - seen sets like the ones in this picture. The art director should have had at least an Oscar nom for the magnificent interior of the mansion. The main staircase is colossal, and the hallway of mirrors is obscenely sumptuous. It makes you think the picture should have been made in color.Eric Portman plays a fellow who thinks he is Cesare Borgia reincarnated, and that Edana Romney is his lost love. He is fabulously wealthy and scoots about London in his own Hansom cab (this is 1938!). With a come-hither look in an upscale singles bar, she instantly comes under his spell and is captivated. Complications ensue, but the regal splendor of his mansion overwhelms everything else to the viewer. Eric Portman always came across to me as a cold fish, and is out of his depth as a romantic leading man. He gets no help from Miss Romney, who is unable to register the proper emotional responses at crucial times and shows herself to be a limited actress."Corridor Of Mirrors" is a good but not great movie. The subject matter is very unusual, though, and those set pieces will stay with you long after the movie is over. It was shown at the Columbus,O. Cinevent, 5/12.
theorbys This is expert, expert film making, rich in atmosphere and mood, and easily as good as the best gothics and psychological 'horror' films of the forties such as Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Seventh Veil, or the Val Lewton works. I don't think there was a single scene that did not hold my attention. I could not begin to enumerate all the little touches and flourishes of lighting, camera angle, dialog, story ideas, etc. but I particularly enjoyed the seamless interweaving of references to Lewis Carroll's Alice (when Edana Romney follows the white cat (white rabbit surrogate) through the labyrhinthine corridors of the mansion, or to Othello/Romeo and Juliet at the Venetian ball, or again to Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast. Some compare this film to to Cocteau (it's on the video box), with its ornate and detailed set, as well as its theme, but Corridor of Mirrors for all its fine acting, atmosphere, and mastery of technique is not genius. It is not poetically simple. But if you liked any of the films mentioned above, you will definitely enjoy watching dark, mysterious leading lady Edana Romney (who also co wrote the screenplay) search for the inner resources to free herself from the spell of an incredibly intense and psychologically compelling, but morbid, life.