Lady in the Death House

Stories told via framing devices are a tricky proposition, highly dependent on the nature of the framing device employed. One that strongly suggests or outright reveals the plot’s outcome runs the risk of nullifying whatever dramatic tension the rest of the film attempts to build up. Lady in the Death House commits the cardinal sin of making it quite clear, albeit not explicit, that Charles Finch’s tale ends on a positive note, thus robbing the picture of a lot of its potential richness.