The Mystery of the Yellow Room and The Perfume of the Lady in Black comprise two parts of a thriller written by Gaston Leroux, well known author of “Phantom of the Opera.” Directed by Marcel L'Herbier, these delightful mysteries are the perfect early sound vehicles for the panache of a director whose joy in the inventive use of cinema is obvious in such silent films as L'Argent, and positively contagious in the later sound film La Nuit Fantastique (see June 21).
Both mysteries revolve around Mademoiselle Mathilde Stenderson (played by Huguette ex-Duflos); also featured are Roland Toutain as Rouletabille, and Léon Belières as Sainclair. William K. Everson likens these films to the “stately, atmospheric ‘old house' school of filmic thrillers so eminently suited to the ultra-stylish late silents.” He continues, “In these two films, director L'Herbier obviously tries hard to use the films as a showcase for some of his celebrated silent visual stylistics. The credits for both films are uniquely (and appropriately) pictorial, bearing a direct resemblance to their titles; there are some marvelous art-deco sets, flashes of scientific equipment (which is never allowed to get anywhere, since it really has nothing to do with the plot!) and intriguing moments of near-surreal imagery - an unexplained hand appearing from beneath a tablecloth for example - which, to L'Herbier's credit, are not thrown in just for immediate effect. All of these mystery elements are explained in the denouements, although one would welcome more of them even if explanation proved impossible! However, the plots are solid, intriguing and genuinely mysterious, and for aficionados of the genre, will be such a delight that ‘apologizing' for the dated quality of the films is virtually an insult.... Incidentally, the youthful hero Roland Toutain (who seemed to retain his youth throughout his entire movie career...) was formerly a stuntman, and manages to work some energetic leaps and jumps into the films.”