“And the manner in which I dispose of your body presents no obstacles.”
So says Dr. Clive Riordan (Robert Newton), an especially diabolical and chilling movie villain, in The Obsession (The Hidden Room) (1949). Riordan, a twisted psychiatrist, is addressing his wife’s American lover, Bill Kronin (Phil Brown). Riordan is addressing the infidelity of his wife Storm (Sally Gray) by kidnapping Kronin and hiding him, chained to the wall of a soundproof room behind his garage.
Planning the perfect crime, Riordan intends to hold Kronin for months, until the police cease looking for him; then, Riordan intends to dissolve Kronin in a bath of acid. Riordan sadistically explains all of this to his victim, and the plan does look foolproof – but the would-be murderer doesn’t count on an intrepid Scotland Yard inspector (Naunton Wayne) and Storm’s pet dog Monty…
Directed by the great classic noir director Edward Dmytryk, now working in Britain after his recent blacklisting in the US. This film was originally released in the UK under the title Obsession, and the next year in the US as The Hidden Room.
The Hidden Room is available to stream from Amazon, the Criterion Channel and other sources. It’s much easier to find it by searching for The Hidden Room rather than Obsession.
