The House of the Arrow is a 1940 British mystery film directed by Harold French and starring Kenneth Kent, Diana Churchill and Belle Chrystall.[1] It was made at Elstree Studios.[2] The film is an adaptation of A.E.W. Mason's 1924 novel The House of the Arrow featuring the French detective Inspector Hanaud. It was released in the U.S. by PRC as Castle of Crimes.[3]
| The House of the Arrow | |
|---|---|
 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 by | ABPC |
Release date |
|
Running time | 66 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Cast
edit- Kenneth Kent as Inspector Hanaud
- Diana Churchill as Betty Harlowe
- Belle Chrystall as Ann Upcott
- Peter Murray-Hill as Jim Frobisher
- Clifford Evans as Maurice Thevenet
- Louise Hampton as Mme. Harlow
- Catherine Lacey as Francine Rollard
- Aubrey Dexter as Giradot
- James Harcourt as Boris Raviart
- Ivor Barnard as Jean Cladel
- Athene Seyler
Critical reception
editIn a contemporary review, Variety lamented, "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";[4] while more recently, TV Guide also criticised the film's "low production values," and regretted, "Too bad there's no suspense or intrigue in this stock whodunit."[5]
References
edit- ^ BFI
- ^ Wood p.100
- ^ "Castle of Crimes (1940) - Harold French - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ Variety (13 September 2017). "Variety (April 1945)". New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Castle Of Crimes". TVGuide.com.
Bibliography
edit- Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927–1939. British Film Institute, 1986.
External links
edit- The House of the Arrow at IMDb
- Review of film at Variety
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