Although Boetticher's best films usually involved Randolph Scott adrift in relatively deserted locations, Behind Locked Doors shows Boetticher capable of being visually expressive indoors. There is much use of depth of field, with characters coming in and out of big, deep shadows. Most of the exteriors are also dark and shadowy. Expressionism is not a word usually associated with Boetticher, but its in full display here. Light and shadow are used in tight close-ups of Carlson and Tor Johnson behind bars.

Behind Locked Doors slightly hints at Boetticher's themes. Somewhat like in the Scott westerns, Carlson plays a character who finds himself in a situation for personal gain in the beginning of the film, only to have circumstances force him to be the protector of a helpless person and perhaps seek a greater justice for society at large. The real enjoyment in this film is seeing character actors Herbert Heyes, Douglas Fowley and Thomas Browne Henry seen above scheming to make life miserable for Richard Carlson. Boetticher's films are grossly unavailable on tape or DVD. Until Columbia Pictures realizes there is a devoted audience for the Boetticher-Scott westerns, Behind Locked Doors is a worthy glimpse at the director previously known as Oscar.