The House of Secrets

The wise-cracking Leslie Fenton (as "Barry") sounds quite a bit like James Cagney in his gangster days. The lovely Muriel Evans (as "Julie") looks quite a bit like Jean Harlow. The movie is not a true "Old Dark House" movie, because it doesn't have some of the elements required to qualify, but there is an old dark house, a hidden treasure, & lots of mystery. "House of Secrets" is interesting, the dialog is snappy with lots of current day (copyright 1936) slang, the acting is good, the sets are dark & spooky, & there are a few neat sub-plots (one involving Chicago mobsters). What drags this movie down a bit is the redundancy. I couldn't count the number of times Barry asks "What's going on?" & Julie (among many others) replies "I can't tell you." Although I was eventually able to guess the ending, it was difficult to figure out, & fun meanwhile. I rate it 6/10.

An American, who has inherited a stately British house, travels to the UK to take ownership of his new estate. What he finds though, are a group of shady individuals living in it, who are seemingly up to no good. Our hero then tries to get to the bottom of this mysterious situation.

House of Secrets is another in the seemingly endless cycle of 30's mystery films. I found it all-in-all to be one of the more enjoyable ones, as there are quite a few plot threads going on, so the film never drags. When it comes to old creaky Poverty Row movies you do have to keep your expectations in check, as these old flicks do have definite limitations. This one does have many of the deficits of these pictures – flat dialogue, a lack of suspense and a ridiculous plot – but it at least tries to keep us entertained throughout with plenty of characters and plot avenues. So overall, as these films go, this one's not too bad at all.

Likable cad Fenton stars as an affable, assertive gent who inherits a mansion following the death of a distant uncle. When he attempts to take possession of the mansion, he discovers a group of shady characters occupying the house, including a sultry beauty (Evans) with whom he had a bizarre encounter on the ship across the Atlantic. Along with his detective pal (Blackmer), the pair soon discovers that there's more than meets the eye to the supposedly haunted house, its strange occupancy (a raving lunatic) and a gang of murderous thieves converging on an alleged hidden treasure.

It's all happening at a brisk pace, with fast-talking Fenton quite a gregarious chap, Evans an attractive and mysterious vice, while in my opinion, Blackmer was the best performer, displaying a professionalism and ease that made him a bankable talent for six decades in a long and illustrious career.

While the conclusion is a little hackneyed, there's some effort gone into the neatly woven plot, with all loose ends tying together, albeit a little conveniently. It's the strength of the three leads (Fenton, Evans and Blackmer) that elevates this run-of-the-mill tale to average status.

1936's "The House of Secrets" has an interesting story and excellent cast, but unwinds in maddening fashion. Liverpool-born Leslie Fenton ("The Public Enemy") stars as an American in England, who finds his own inherited mansion already occupied by strangers armed with guns. Occasionally we hear wild screams, and there's rumored to be buried treasure, livened up by strong performers such as Sidney Blackmer, Morgan Wallace, Holmes Herbert, and perennial gangster Noel Madison. Love interest is supplied by the comely Muriel Evans, whose career in features never surpassed her extensive career in Hal Roach comedy shorts, working with Laurel and Hardy, Grady Sutton, and especially Charlie Chase (retiring by 1940, she died in 2000). Leslie Fenton had four more acting roles ahead, switching to directing in 1938, piling up an impressive total of 20 features by 1951 (he died in 1978). This was virtually the last gasp for Chesterfield Pictures, an independent outfit responsible for over 100 features over its 11 year lifespan.

Although not perfect, this is a film that cheats its audience in order to have a proper running time, this is still a good film. The basic plot has a man from America going to England because he has inherited a house. Amazingly when he gets there, he finds that there are people there already who threaten him and run him off. With the help of a friend who is a well known detective he tries to get to the bottom of it all and falls in love in the process.

This is a very good old dark house story, or would be if the film were really set in the house. Much of the movie is involved in getting into the house and in wooing the girl.

As I mentioned earlier this is also a movie that can be frustrating since several times characters are about to talk about whats going on when the movie fades to black or cuts to the next scene. Its annoying, for some fatally so, for me I just shrugged and went with it. There is no reason for the fades , other than to annoy the audience since in all but one instance and earlier fade out would have been less maddening.

Should you run across this on late night TV give it a shot. Its a nice way to spend an hour.