The House of the Arrow (1940 film)

Last updated

The House of the Arrow
"The House of the Arrow" (1940 film).jpg
U.S. theatrical poster
Directed by Harold French
Written by
Produced by Walter C. Mycroft
Starring
Cinematography Walter J. Harvey
Edited by Edward B. Jarvis
Music by Harry Acres
Production
company
Distributed byABPC
Release date
  • 26 October 1940 (1940-10-26)
Running time
66 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Language English

The House of the Arrow (released in the U.S. by PRC as Castle of Crimes. [1] ) is a 1940 British second feature ('B') [2] mystery film directed by Harold French and starring Kenneth Kent, Diana Churchill and Belle Chrystall. [3] [4] It was written by Doreen Montgomery, adapted from A.E.W. Mason's 1924 novel The House of the Arrow .

Contents

Plot

When wealthy widow Madame Harlowe is murdered, her niece Betty is the first suspect. When Inspector Hanaud investigates, he discovers that the murderer used curare. He subsequently suspects Mme Harlowe's companion, Ann Upcott, but following a trail of clues eventually apprehends the real murderer.

Cast

Production

The film was made at Elstree Studios. [5]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This is a ponderous, slow-moving and somewhat old-fashioned film which, nevertheless, has its moments of suspense. Most people, however, will spot the murderer about ten minutes after the crime is committed, but only a Hanaud could have obtained sufficient proof to justify an arrest. Unfortunately, Keneth Kent does not succeed in conveying the Gallic charm of Hanaud, and, without this, the detective becomes merely a boorishly conceited, if clever, man. All the action is supposed to take place in France, yet no attempt is made either by the actors or direction to suggest a French atmosphere. Diana Churchill and Belle Chrystall act well as two charming suspects, while Peter Murray-Hill adequately supplies the romantic relief, but the intense excitement of the book has not been captured by this screen version" [6]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The intriguing factor of this murder mystery play is that it dangles a murderer, or rather murderess, before the eves of audience, yet succeeds in converting the obvious into the unexpected. The development is restless but direct, and murders are so placed as to inject excitement and suspense at showmanlike intervals. The star's smooth and competent performance consolidates the drama, and good support, colourful atmosphere and good dialogue do the rest." [7]

Variety wrote: "an uninteresting whodunit geared for the duals," and criticised the film for being too wordy, saying, "it's hard for American audiences to understand much of the dialog because of the accents. Acting is stilted, though Kenneth Kent, as a police inspector, gives a fairly strong performance," the reviewer concluding that "Dreary lighting impedes much of the values". [8]

TV Guide gave the film 1/4 stars, writing: "Too bad there's no suspense or intrigue in this stock whodunit. Low production values." [9]

References

  1. ↑ "Castle of Crimes (1940) - Harold French - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 167. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. ↑ "The House of the Arrow". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "The House of the Arrow | BFI | British Film Institute". explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Wood p.100
  6. ↑ "The House of the Arrow". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 7 (73): 71. 1 January 1940. ProQuest   1305806358.
  7. ↑ "The House of the Arrow". Kine Weekly . 278 (1723): 22. 25 April 1940.
  8. ↑ Variety (13 September 2017). "Variety (April 1945)". New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company – via Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ "Castle Of Crimes". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.