The Locked Door (1929)

Directed by George Fitzmaurice, The Locked Door is a pre-Code drama that marked the feature film debut of Barbara Stanwyck, launching her into a career that would span decades and define classic Hollywood. Released by United Artists, the film adapts the 1919 play The Sign on the Door by Channing Pollock, previously filmed in 1921 with Norma Talmadge.

Plot Summary
Ann Carter (Barbara Stanwyck), a young woman, accepts a dinner invitation from her employer’s son, Frank Devereaux (William “Stage” Boyd). But the evening takes a dark turn aboard a “rum boat” operating outside U.S. waters during Prohibition. Frank tries to assault her, locking the door and tearing her dress. A police raid interrupts the attack, and Frank bribes a photographer to suppress the incriminating photo.

Eighteen months later, Ann is happily married to Lawrence Reagan (Rod La Rocque), but Frank resurfaces—now dating Ann’s sister-in-law. When Ann tries to intervene, she witnesses a fatal confrontation between Frank and Lawrence. To protect her husband, Ann reenacts her earlier assault to fabricate a motive, but the truth unravels when Frank survives long enough to confess, clearing both Ann and Lawrence.

Cast Highlights

• Barbara Stanwyck as Ann Carter
• Rod La Rocque as Lawrence Reagan
• William “Stage” Boyd as Frank Devereaux
• Betty Bronson as Helen Reagan
• Zasu Pitts (spelled “Zazu” in the credits) as Eva

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia

• Stanwyck later called the film “awful,” but acknowledged it was her start in talkies
• A nitrate print with sound discs survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archive, making it one of the few early sound films preserved in near-complete form
• Produced by Joseph M. Schenck and Joseph P. Kennedy, the film was part of United Artists’ push into sound cinema
• Assuming copyright hasn’t lapsed early, the film is expected to enter the U.S. public domain in 2025