His brother, Anton (also played by Karloff), who cannot use his right arm and has spent much of his life traveling Europe, returns to the castle for a visit, but refuses to believe the rumors he hears about Gregor.

At the same time, Gregor's attempts to woo Thea (Marian Marsh), daughter of family advisor Colonel Hassell, fail noticeably before both her admiration for Anton and her true love for young Lieutenant Albert Lussan (Robert Allen).

After the papers are signed to relinquish his baronetcy to Anton, Gregor lures his unsuspecting brother to the Black Room, kills him, and throws him into the pit where the dead bodies of Mashka and his other victims are kept.

As the stately ceremony draws to a close, the priest asks for any who object to the union to "speak now or forever hold their peace", and the dog attacks "Anton", who defends himself with his supposedly paralyzed right arm.

Before they can gain passage, however, the dog squeezes through and throws himself on Gregor, who falls backward into the pit and onto the knife still held in his murdered brother's hand.

[5] Rayns found that Karloff appeared to be relishing his dual role and that he "makes the most of some Hays Code defying hints of blasphemy.