User Reviews

"House of Secrets" was a second feature when it came out before World War II. Directed by Roland D. Reed, whose major career in film was as an editor and a producer, this is a mystery with many unnecessarily improbable twists Good acting and occasional crisp dialog make the movie enjoyable.

Leslie Fenton, who made a lot of forgettable and forgotten flicks, is Barry, an American who on the channel ferry to Dover rescues very pretty Julie, Muriel Evans, from the clutches of a cad. A violent one at that. Instantly smitten, he defers returning to the states so as to find Julie in London. Despite being rescued by this gallant, she refused to give him her name, address or measurements.

Fortuitously, Barry is called to a solicitor's office where he is told that an unknown and eccentric uncle bequeathed an ancient manor house to him. But on arriving to take possession he's driven off by dogs, the butler and a gun-wielding older guy. Coincidence of coincidences, Julie is residing at this manor. Only happens in the movies.

What follows is a combination of typical thirties crime genre topped by a mysterious house, possible mad doctor caper. Always the gentleman, Barry pursues Julie who endlessly tells him to stay away from HIS house. Scotland Yard and even the Home Secretary is entangled in the story as Barry remains passionately persistent in trying to see Julie at HIS house from which he's repeatedly barred.

Not the most convincing of plots but some nice lines - including a back and forth between Barry and his solicitor as they attempt to translate Anglo-American slang for each other to facilitate understanding.

Yep, it's a "B+." Alpha has this super bargain DVD out as part of its very large release of old, pre-war flicks (I paid $4.99).

So try and catch 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.

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.

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.

Sailing from the United States to London, chivalrous Leslie Fenton (as Barry Wilding) saves pretty Muriel Evans (as Julie Kenmore) from the advances of brutish Matty Kemp. The lady is grateful, but rejects Mr. Fenton's more mannered advances. After debarking, Fenton learns he has inherited a deceased uncle's estate. But, when he visits his mansion, Fenton is chased off the property, by interloping inhabitants. Surprisingly, Ms. Evans (the woman he saved on the ship) is among the uninvited tenants. During the running time, you go from wondering what's happening in "The House of Secrets", to indifference. Fenton and a good cast, including pal Sidney Blackmer (as Tom Starr), try to keep it simmering.

**** The House of Secrets (10/28/36) Roland D. Reed ~ Leslie Fenton, Muriel Evans, Sidney Blackmer

"House of Secrets" is a B-movie--a film with a very limited budget and minor actors that was meant as a second, 'lesser', film on a double-bill. Most Bs are a few notches below A-pictures in quality, but there are also quite a few that are nifty entertainment. Well, unfortunately, this is NOT one of those nifty pieces of entertainment! While the film is pleasant enough viewing, those who have seen a lot of Bs and mystery films will recognize practically every cliché from the genre in this one film! Plus, on top of this, the plot is so very contrived that you can't help but giggle now and then--even though this is supposed to be a drama!!

The film begins with a woman being bothered by a man on a boat crossing the English Channel. He recognizes her from some sort of compromising situation and tries to force himself on her. At that moment, the hero of the story sees this and intervenes--slugging the filthy blighter. Good show, old man! Pip-pip and all that rot! Then, the hero announces that he now loves this woman--a woman he met only 20 seconds before--making you assume he's had a massive head trauma. Then, after arriving in England, his path just happens to cross hers again and again when he inherits some property. There's of course more to it than this--but not much! With silly script ideas like love at first sight and the like, you simply are left with the impression the film was either written by some 11 year-olds or the film makers were idiots. Either way, it doesn't look very good and is a pretty silly little film.

I like the Chesterfield stable of 1930s mysteries which is where this one hails from. This film is a modest affair but it does have an out and out mystery thing going for it.

An American man finds he has inherited a property in England but he is barred from entering it from the outset. He's unable to trust anyone as he is sold all sorts of information about this old country house. He doesn't know if the Hawk's Nest manor is already occupied by a bunch of crooks or a bunch of cranks. There are all kinds of mystery ingredients to the story which include a 300 year old manuscript and scientific experiments and a couple of big mysterious cellars.

There are no characters that immediately spring out. My favorite is the friend of the American inheritor. A fellow American man called Tom who is solidly played by Sidney Blackmer. He got to play the lead in a later mystery called 'The Panther's Claw' (1942) which I recommend to genre fans.

Some of the dialog is fairly good. I like the posters for this film especially the green ghoulish one that has the Hawk's Nest in the background. As expected the critical rating by the film general viewer is never going to be that great for this one. But I think the typical 1930s B-mystery fan will find it irresistible.

This is such a boring film. I fell asleep several times while trying to watch it. The lighting was terrible. The plot was annoying. By the time it came to big finish, I couldn't have cared less.......

The House Of Secrets is owned by Leslie Fenton and he's come over to the United Kingdom to claim his legacy. However as it turns out once he gets there he finds it occupied by Muriel Evans a girl he met on the boat coming over and her family and the family runs him off his own property like he was a trespasser.

In addition to that American gangster Noel Madison and a pair of henchmen come over on the same boat because they hear that there is pirate treasure at that same estate. Also over in the United Kingdom is Sidney Blacker chasing Madison for a murder he did on this side of the pond.

There's a whole lot of people interested in Fenton's newly acquired real estate and that includes the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom himself. A lot of plot for a B picture out of poverty row studio Chesterfield Pictures.

It's all quite silly and the various elements don't mix well and no coherent story is ever established. Some good players look very silly in this one.

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.

The House of Secrets starts with an intriguing shipboard encounter: Leslie Fenton (as Barry) assists Muriel Evans (Julie) escape the unwanted attentions of a stranger. She thanks him nicely—but when he attempts to take a look in her handbag for whatever it was the stranger was after, she—get this—throws the whole bag overboard rather than let him see its contents! Hmm, mysterious.

Not surprisingly, they soon meet again (in a major but not shocking coincidence, she happens to be living at the large estate he has just inherited), and she becomes one of numerous characters determinedly resisting Barry's attempts not only to enter his own property, but to find out what the heck is going on. These characters include practically everyone else in the story—his detective friend, Julie's scientist father, some police and government officials, and a gang of crooks after a hidden treasure.

The plot is fast-moving and fairly intricate, and the dialog is mostly sharp. However, as the story progresses, frustration builds—not only for Barry but for us viewers, who also have no idea why everyone is trying so hard to keep him in the dark. By late in the film, my own sympathies had shifted almost entirely over to the gang of crooks, because at least they were straightforward about what they wanted, which is something you can't say about any of the other characters.

The movie also features an ancient document written in "old English," which means it has some words like "ye" and "olde" in it, that is fun for the gangsters to try and sound out. And an inn landlady offers some entertaining colloquial dialog, like her criticism of her husband's aches and pains: "He calls it rheumatism, but I calls it arthritis. I likes to keep up to date." Nothing is particularly authentic, but hey, I point that out in fun, not as a real quibble with the film. Overall, the dialog is one of this film's quite interesting qualities.

Overall: well done—but maddening.

They don't make 'em like that any more - thank goodness!

We realise that those pre-war B-films can often provide a refreshing break from today's fare, but not this one. It's classified in the 'Old dark house' genre, possibly referencing the J. B. Priestley film of that title, though actually going back a lot further, with clichés like timbered halls, butlers with candlesticks, ancient letters and wills in gothic script, and elements of the supernatural.

If these are all you want, you will not be disappointed. But if you're hoping for a coherent plot, with intriguing characters, mystery and suspense, leading to a satisfying climax, then this will not be for you. It comes from a Sydney Horler novel, and all I knew about Horler was that he was a successful fiction-writer who had become unpopular for his anti-semitism, and was then ignored, perhaps unjustly. But this film does not suggest that we have missed much.

The story is barely worth summarising, but it follows an American tourist in England (Leslie Fenton) receiving the news that he has inherited a grand country mansion, from which he is surprisingly barred by guard-dogs when he tries to make his first visit. Before leaving, he is able to exchange a few words with the passably attractive Muriel Evans, whom he had (coincidentally?) met on the voyage over, and who serves as his love-interest, though without much in the way of chemistry.

If I had paid it more careful scrutiny, I might have extracted a little more from it, but B-films were never designed for this anyway. They were suited to a simple boy-meets-girl romp, to be enjoyed in odd glimpses while the other customers are trying to file past you with their kids and popcorn. Other reviews, especially those from the full-time critics, seem to confirm that it would have been a waste of time.

The script yielded just one memorable gag: the heir to the mansion is jokingly asked "Have you been crowned yet?", and he leans forward to show the bump on his head that he has just received. But don't expect much drama in the fight-scenes. Without exception, they qualify for the John Wayne quip: "Fight-scene? Heck, I thought it was a love-scene."

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.

This film has what it takes to capture my interest by description: "Two men stumble into an old mansion, and get involved with a crazed scientist, torture chambers and sinister medical experiments." Well this film is anything but interesting to me, it's not as good as it sounds like it would be. It's rather lame and bored me while watching. Could not hold my interest. Maybe is there were a different group of actors that I find enjoyable to watch then I would have liked this film. IDK but I did find the film a bore the way it was played out or written.

3/10

Based on one of the stories by Sydney Horler, this one takes a while to get going. Twelve minutes in, and we finally figure out what's going on.... there's something shady going on at this estate, and the rightful owner is run off "his own property", according to him, Barry Wilding (Leslie Fenton). He bumps into Julie (Muriel Evans), who warns Barry against confronting the squatters at the estate. All so mysterious. The only name I recognize in here is Sidney Blackmer, who had appeared in so many films. so just WHAT is going on at that estate? the rightful owner is SO patient.... letting people live there, and do whatever the heck they are doing! meh. skip this one. who cares. showing on moonlight movies channel. yawn....

I'd say the movie had a good start when an American in route to London performs an act of chivalry saving a attractive damsel in distress who says she can't reveal who she is; What are the odds she who won't give her name, along with her father, are squatters in very estate our young American lad is about to claim ownership of by inheritance? Yeah it's too much of a long-shot if not downright inane. The rest of the film that follows sure makes the first minutes look like the big let-down it is. The film tries to add more mystery and it's plain silly like the American detective of our inheritor who just happens to be in London and by clairvoyant means knows where to find his friend and is looking for criminals fleeing murder wraps in The States that will conveniently be tied into, well, everything. This film asks far too much "dumbing down" of the viewer for a insipid plot. None of the performances are above amateur levels so I can't think of anything to recommend.

On a ship crossing the English Channel, Barry Wilding (Leslie Fenton), rescues a mysterious woman (Muriel Evans) that is apparently being molested. He immediately falls in love. However, she will not tell him who she is.

Barry decides to stay in London, find the girl, and marry her. While waiting there he is contacted by his lawyer, later admits he was the deceased uncles solicitor. You guessed it he has inherited an old mansion from a rich recently deceased uncle; "The Hawk's Nest", a large estate outside London. Upon trying to possess the mansion he is mugged and ran off at gunpoint. The local police won't help Scotland Yard won't help; even his best friend (a detective here on a case) won't help. Everyone says sell and get out.

To make matters worse the girl shows up and says "You don't understand". She is living at the mansion and says sell and get out.

That leaves only three possibilities, hidden treasure, nefarious gang activities (shielded by the government), or ghosts.

As Barry approaches the mansion again, he heard a blood curtailing shriek and a hideous insane laugh.

The whole film and story are executed quite well. However, you will climb the walls if they do not quit saying "You don't understand."

If you use closed caption, it is not exactly accurate and is all in lower case.

Let's start with the "official" description of the movie. "Two men stumble into an old mansion, and get involved with a crazed scientist, torture chambers and sinister medical experiments."

It might have been written to describe another film, because none of it actually pertains to this one. That was the first disappointment. The second was the movie.

Even for 1936, the acting seems pretty simplistic, and 2-dimensional. The gangsta from Brooklyn was the best actor. He was the only one who seemed to have any context to his acting. Everyone else is just reciting lines.

There are major gaps in the story that make one wonder if it was edited, and important plot points were deleted. What happened to the guy who accosted the lovely lady at the start of the movie? Never seen or heard from again. What was he even doing in this story?

The lovely lady tosses her purse off a boat into the English channel because... Uh, your guess is as good as mine. It's one of the secrets of the movie that go along with the house.

I watched this on Amazon Prime, and the copy was terrible. Probably made from an old VHS copy of a copy after the copyright expired.

If you have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do, and need to kill a little more than an hour in the middle of the night, this might be your ticket to dreamland.

This film reminded me of Firesign Theatre's Giant Rat of Sumatra. But sorry to say, not nearly as good.

American, Barry Wilding (Leslie Fenton) arrives in London, England after meeting a mysterious woman aboard the ship he sailed on. Barry meets this same woman at the enormous mansion of the title, after he discovers he's inherited it! For some reason, she, along with others, try to keep Barry from gaining entry to the place.

Once inside, things only grow more confusing. Barry remains determined to get to the bottom of this perplexing business.

THE HOUSE OF SECRETS is a movie composed of a huge, intriguing buildup, that results in a payoff that doesn't quite measure up to it. It's a fun movie nonetheless...

Story: 1.25/2 - Direction & Pace: 1.25 & 0.75/4 - Performances: 1.00/2 - Entertaining: 1.00/2

Total - 5.25/10

The House of Secrets is a film that swings between the elegance of a meticulously laid dinner table and the chaos of a toddler's art project. Picture this: an unknown inheritance, squatters claiming residence and criminals lurking in the shadows. The plot thickens more than a Thanksgiving gravy gone wrong, leaving everyone - audience included - scratching their heads harder than a novice trying to solve a Rubik's Cube.

Now, let's talk about tangled webs. This story's knots are more intricate than a macramé enthusiast's latest creation. And, just when you think you've grasped the situation, buried treasure and a madman swoop in like uninvited guests crashing a party. But wait, there's more! The resolution unfolds like something out of a Saturday matinee, complete with the creative flair of The Rocketman or Flash Gordon. Cue the theatrical music.

The film's creative direction is like a skilled conductor leading a symphony orchestra on a rollercoaster ride. Excellent shots and smooth pans try valiantly to salvage the chaos. Sadly, even the best directorial finesse struggles to wrangle this narrative rodeo.

Yet, amid the storm, the cast stands tall. Picture a group of acrobats navigating a circus tent collapse - they manage to keep their composure and deliver performances that, against all odds, make the film bearable, if not entirely lucid.

So, is The House of Secrets worth your precious time? Well, imagine this: a rainy afternoon or a lazy Sunday morning where your entertainment options are as barren as a moral desert. In those moments, this film might be the quirky oasis you're seeking. It's a whirlwind adventure - albeit a perplexing one - that could leave you bemused, bewildered, but strangely entertained. Therefore, if you're up for a cinematic rollercoaster with more twists than a pretzel, give House Of Secrets a look-see.

This film is very disappointing, even for a lover of the 1930s cinema. The way the leading man is brutally thrown out of his own property by government agents acting illegally is a downright outrage, but it could have provided for a good start if they had developed a plot that made sense. The "friends", the politicians, the psychopathic scientists, the corrupt policemen and especially the "love interest" around Leslie Fenton are all horrible people, even nastier than the American gangsters searching for a hidden treasure, as those are the only ones who are doing their job sort of honestly (indeed, they do what is expected from them). It is overall so downbeat that one should think of remaking this film to get things squared once and for all. And for the love of goodness, don't go to England to collect an inheritance!