Leofwine_draca There are those who say that the Rathbone/Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films began to run out of steam as the years passed. Well, this is definitely NOT the case with THE HOUSE OF FEAR, an extremely atmospheric and entertaining variant on the old Agatha Christie story TEN LITTLE INDIANS. This is a dark thriller with plenty of deadly booby traps and moments with our heroes in peril. It also has surprisingly high macabre undertones, with talk of 'mutilated corpses' and 'torsos' with arms, legs, and heads missing. Saying that, it's still as light-hearted as ever, with the mystery and thriller aspects of the film nicely mixed together with the plentiful comic relief.There is plenty of good acting from an accomplished cast who fit their roles well, from the gruff bearded sailor to the amicable, demented old codger. Rathbone and Bruce are as strong a pairing as ever, and their double act is by now firmly cemented and all the stronger for it. Bruce once again stays in the background to Rathbone's Holmes, yet gives a perfectly judged turn. Rathbone himself is dashing, intelligent, and brooding, all that he should be. Thankfully, the great Dennis Hoey is also in tow for extra comic relief, bumbling around and getting the facts wrong as usual. A lot of the humour could be considered naïve - and perhaps childish - these days, such as a scene where Bruce mistakenly converses with an owl which keeps saying "who?", but it's still pretty funny.Like all good mysteries, this keeps you guessing as to the identity of the murderer right up to the end. As Rathbone comments, there are actually TOO many clues and suspects this time around, so it's difficult to work out who the killer is. By the time the ending comes (amid some spooky, clichéd wandering around a dark house with a storm outside) there's a twist in the tale which is good enough to rival the likes of THE SIXTH SENSE. THE HOUSE OF FEAR comes as highly recommended, and is in fact one of the best of the Rathbone/Holmes canon.

calvinnme ... even though I saw the end coming a mile away. I've got the entire series of Basil Rathbone Holmes films on DVD, and I think the films were better being brought into the modern era when they were taken over by Universal, although this particular film has such a Gothic atmosphere it really could be set in either the 19th or 20th centuries.Seven well-off men in rural Scotland who enjoy each other's company have named themselves "the good comrades" and have oddly taken out life insurance policies on themselves, naming all of the others as beneficiaries. However, two of them have been murdered after receiving an envelope containing a number of pips equal to the number of surviving comrades at that instant in time. Sherlock Holmes is recruited to solve the mystery, not by the police, but by the insurance company that doesn't want to pay off seven large policies. Who gets the money if all seven die? That detail is conveniently omitted for the viewers' pleasure.Thus Holmes and Watson are off to the castle in which the Good Comrades meet. The murders continue even while they and the police are actively involved in the investigation, including a near miss on Holmes' life with a large boulder thrown from a cliff along the beach. As usual, Holmes says things that tell you he's hot on the trail of the solution to the mystery, but nothing that would let the viewer in on matters until the final scene when Holmes solves the crimes.Holmes is generous to the police in letting them take credit, and generous to a fault to his friend and colleague Dr. Watson who may know medicine but is usually neither a help nor hindrance to Holmes. However, in this film, one key detail is noticed by Dr. Watson.Of course, you have to wonder, if you know who the intended victims are, why not just round the surviving comrades up in a room with a cadre of policemen and Holmes as watchdogs, but then, that wouldn't be much of a film now would it? Highly recommended for the atmosphere, for Rathbone and Bruce who wear the roles of Holmes and Watson like a perfect fitting glove, and for the sight of the housekeeper at the comrades' meeting place delivering all of the "death envelopes" as though they were routine telegrams and trudging around the castle at night wielding a hatchet when she thinks she hears a noise, like something straight out of a Universal horror film of ten years before.

MattyGibbs The black and white Sherlock Holmes films have a fantastic atmosphere and Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce make a great Holmes and Watson pairing. The House of Fear is a strong entry in the series containing atmosphere, suspense, moments of comedy and of course the small matter of guessing who is behind the murders. You can pick holes in the plot if you are like and some of the actions taken by the victims and Holmes and Watson don't always ring true. However this film is never anything other than entertaining with strong performances from a fine cast.

jonfrum2000 I've just watched the Rathbone/Bruce Hound of the Baskervilles, and I have to say I far prefer this story. It spares us the war propaganda story lines of other films in the series, and in spite of its contemporary setting, its old dark house atmosphere puts us right back in Victorian times. Nigel Bruce and Dennis Hoey play their standard roles, and Rathbone is his masterful self. This is one film in the series without the usual love interest or femme fatale, and does fine without them.I was thinking while watching this movie that I wish the production had been in the hands of the mid-era Charlie Chan crew. The lighting in those films was far superior. The old stone mansion seen here is a fine setting, but some atmospheric lighting would have done wonders for the story.