La maison de la peur

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

Roy William Neil directed Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes & Doctor Watson in this loose adaptation of 'The Five Orange Pips'. Holmes & Watson are called to Scotland by an insurance company to investigate a case where seven men who belong to an exclusive club, and all of whom have taken out life insurance policies naming the others as the beneficiaries. Two have died already, and Holmes must prevent further deaths, and determine who the murderer is. Like the past two films, this is atmospheric and exciting, with a clever story and surprise ending. The series was at its peak here, but unfortunately would begin to decline afterward.

A club of retired rich men called "The Good Comrades" lives at an isolated Scottish castle. One by one the men are being killed off and an insurance agent believes one of them is responsible. Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce) investigate but fail to prevent more murders from occurring. Soon they are joined by Inspector Lestrade (Dennis Hoey), who will undoubtedly get to the bottom of things ("Suffering cats! What IS going on here?!?").

Fun Sherlock Holmes movie from Universal, the eighth in their series (tenth overall, counting the first two Fox films). It's loosely based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "Five Orange Pips" story. Really the only similarity is the murder victims receiving envelopes with orange seeds before they're killed. That story is hardly one of Conan Doyle's best, by the way. The series regulars Rathbone, Bruce, and Hoey are all great. The supporting cast is made up of good character actors like Holmes Herbert, Paul Cavanagh, Harry Cording, and Aubrey Mather. Solid direction from Roy William Neill with interesting camera-work from Virgil Miller. Nicely paced with great "old dark house" atmosphere. Not the best of the series but a very entertaining one.

This is one of the best of the low-budget Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson.

Seven men, the "Good Comrades" have formed a club, and they all live together in a castle on the North coast of Scotland. They all have life insurance policies of high value, the beneficiaries being the surviving members of the club. Holmes is called in by the insurers when two of them die violently in quick succession.

It all takes place in the castle, and more of the Comrades meet an end, so it's Ten Little Indians territory.

Rathbone and Bruce, with the cheerful support of Dennis Hoey as Lestrade, do their usual number with a fairly intricate plot, and a jolly good time is had by all.

The direction is pacy, and it rattles along very satisfactorily; the production values are pretty low, but we're only looking at story-telling than brilliant cinematography.

Enjoyable stuff.

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.