The House of Fear

Sherlock Holmes and his mumbling sidekick Dr. Watson go to Scotland to investigate the deaths of members of "The Good Comrades," a group of seven lonely men that make a pact to split the money of each dying member. A maid has been given a letter to give the members of the group at dinner. The letter contains a number of orange pips(pits) that coincides with the remaining number of the group. After receiving the letter, the member shortly dies after. This is highly enjoyable fare from the Sherlock Holmes team of Rathbone, Bruce, Dennis Hoey as Lestrade, and director Roy William Neill. The film zips by at a nice pace, and it has a unique mystery which I could only partially unravel. Rathbone is at his best, but Bruce tends to steal almost every scene he is in with his mumbling antics and comedic abilities. The rest of the cast of stalwart British character actors do just as ably with Aubrey Mather really standing out as the genial owner of the home where the Good Comrades stay. Lots of dark atmosphere, rainy nights, and Scottish lore to surround this intriguing tale.

Above average Holmes. The real stars, however, are the evocative Gothic interiors of the seaside cliff house. The dimly-lit great halls and chambers provide genuine atmosphere, and are a tribute to Universal's art and set directors, respectively. The plot itself is reasonably compelling as we try to guess who's killing off members of a gentleman's club one-by-one. Still and all, the brief running time, 69 minutes, doesn't allow much character development, so the whodunit angle remains underdeveloped. Couple that with the pointless presence of an unfunny Inspector LaStrade (isn't Watson supposed to supply the comic relief?) and much valuable screen time is wasted. I wish the screenplay had taken better advantage of the spooky sets by playing up the menace, as for example, the shadowy appearance of the mystery man's shoes. Or Sally Shepherd as the zombie-like housekeeper, Mrs. Monteith, who's enough to make you want to clean your own castle. Nonetheless, there's enough mystery, atmosphere, and Basil Rathbone to make this a solid Holmes entry.

Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear recently came on BBC2 and one of the reviews in the TV listings says this was one of the poorer Bathbone Holmes movies. I disagree and this is one of the better ones and certainly one of the creepiest.

In this one, Holmes and Watson are sent to Scotland to investigate a series of murders in a rather creepy and remote mansion, Drearcliff House. The Good Comrades Club are dining here and it looks like somebody has it in for these men, as more are killed and Dr Watson nearly becomes a victim of this killer too. One clue regarding these murders is orange pips. The investigation then takes Holmes into a secret passage leading to the basement of Drearcliff House...

This is very spooky in parts, helped by the howling wind and nighttime scenes and the location of the mansion.

As usual, Basil Rathobone is joined by Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson and the rest of the cast includes Dennis Hoey, Paul Cavanagh and Holmes Herbert.

This is a must for everyone Sherlock Holmes fan. One of the best of the series.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

I'd have to rate this as one of the best of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films. It has about everything you would want in these movies - suspense, action, a clever story and some good humor courtesy our friend Dr. Watson. The latter is in top form with a number of funny lines and reactions to the happenings around him.

Meanwhile, this plays like the Agatha Christie story, "And Then There Were None." Instead of "10 Little Indians," there are the "orange pips" which are sent in an envelope to the members of the "The Good Comrades" club up in Drearcliff, Scotland. Whoever receives the envelope is shortly thereafter murdered in a grisly way. Holmes, Watson and then Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, all venture up to the Scottish mansion to investigate the murders.

This is good stuff with nary a lull during the 69-minute film that features a variety of suspects, from evil-looking to the nicest guy in the house. Who is committing these murders is anyone's guess, right down to the end.

Sherlock Holmes agrees to an insurance company request to investigate the gruesome deaths of wealthy gentlemen living in a Scottish mansion. Each death is predicted by the strange delivery of Orange Pips to the next intended victim.

Lets get the main fact out of the way first, although an adaptation of Conan Doyle's Holmes story, {Adventures} The Five Orange Pips, The House Of Fear bears little resemblance to that particular source. So purist fans of the literary aspects are in for a let down. Or are they? Directed by Roy William Neill with the screenplay coming from Roy Chanslor, this tenth entry in the Rathbone/Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films is a deliciously atmospheric mystery piece holding its own. Set very much in the creepy mansion formula, House Of Fear, with all its off kilter camera work {beautifully realised now with the marvellous restoration job}, utilises the scope for "nothing is ever what it seems" to great effect. Thus of course giving Holmes {Rathbone impeccable as usual} license to detect with great gusto and ingenuity. This is after all what one wants from a Sherlock Holmes film me thinks? The film is also aided by some rather fine work from the sound department, winds and footsteps are sharp to the ears, again impacting on the mood to fully involve the viewer.

While the relatively short running time stops it from being a fully born out mystery, and yes if you dig deep enough you will find a couple of creaky plot holes. The House Of Fear is still one of the better entries in this marvellous series of films. Sometimes it's all about the characters and the situation they find themselves in. With that, this becomes an essential Holmes movie, regardless of grumbles from purists and plot holers alike. 7/10