A-Mazing!

THE MAZE-1953-Usually underrated horror mystery (originally shot in 3-D) was the last film directed by William Cameron Menzies (also an art director and production designer) who also made INVADERS FROM MARS the same year!

A baronet named Gerald McTeam (Richard Carlson; in IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE the same year) seems quite happily engaged to a woman named Kitty (Veronica Hurst) until he gets a telegram from the mysterious Craven Castle in his native Scotland. He rushes off promising to come back for their wedding in 2 weeks but over a month goes by and she hasn't  heard from him. Eventually she learns that Gerald's uncle has died and Gerald is next in line to take his place.  A few weeks later Kitty receives a letter releasing her from their engagement. But Kitty loves Gerald too much. So she and her Aunt Edith (Katherine Emory; the woman who goes mad after being buried alive in ISLE OF THE DEAD) venture to the fog shrouded castle. There they find Gerald cold and distant having aged prematurely. His dour kind of sinister butler William (Michael Pate) hangs around. Gerald insists they leave but Kitty makes several excuses. Everything seems to revolve around Gerald's midnight jaunts and a giant maze no one is allowed access too. There seems to be one other resident in the castle no one knows about even after Edith has a small run-in with him. Hoping to help Gerald Kitty summons their old friends for a surprise weekend visit. One of them is a doctor and Kitty hopes he can "examine" Gerald and do something for him. He comes to believe Gerald may be insane and should be taken away by force. Later Kitty and Edith enter the maze and discovery the dreaded family secret. The real baron was born in 1750 and is still alive. He's also part frog and part man having never evolved from an amphibian state!

Despite some low budget drawback THE MAZE is a good mystery thriller.  Almost a film noir horror movie I guess. The castle sets are very dark and sinister and though not one of the more memorable screen monsters the frog like baron is eerie until fully seen. His demise is a little ridiculous.
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Apparently although based on a novel by Swiss writer Maurice Sandoz, THE MAZE also takes inspiration from the Scottish legend of Glamis Castle involving a deformed child who was walled up its room.

Hilary Brooke (also in INVADERS FROM MARS) and Robin Hughes (later in THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE) are two of Gerald's friends who come to cheer him up.

Thanks for reading!