The House of Fear

"HORROR stalking its halls!"

1945 1h 9m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 122

MysteryCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The Good Comrades are a collection of varied gentlemen who crave one thing - solitude. They reside at Drearcliff House, ancestral home of their eldest member. All seems serene and convivial until one by one the members begin to perish in the most grisly of manners. Foul play is suspected by the Good Comrades' insurance agent, who turns to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson for guidance.

“HORROR stalking its halls!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Troma NOWSubscription

Cast

Basil Rathbone
Sherlock Holmes
Nigel Bruce
Dr. John Watson
Aubrey Mather
Alastair
Paul Cavanagh
Simon Merrivale
Dennis Hoey
Inspector Lestrade
Harry Cording
John Simpson
Holmes Herbert
Alan Cosgrave
Sally Shepherd
Mrs. Monteith

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roy William Neill
Writers: Roy Chanslor
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 69-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

81 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roy William Neill, shot by Virgil Miller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Sawtell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Saul A. Goodkind shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and Aubrey Mather carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roy William Neill directs. Virgil Miller behind the camera. Paul Sawtell scores. Saul A. Goodkind cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 69-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
281 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Roy William Neill, shot by Virgil Miller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Paul Sawtell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Saul A. Goodkind shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and Aubrey Mather carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "HORROR stalking its halls!".
10IMDB entry: tt0037794 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Virgil Miller
Original score: Paul Sawtell
Editing: Saul A. Goodkind
Runtime: 69 min · 1h 9m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The House of Fear (1945)

Part of

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) Collection

A series of fourteen films based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories was released between 1939 and 1946; the British actors Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce played Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively. The first two films in the series were produced by 20th Century Fox and released in 1939. The studio stopped making the films after these, but Universal Pictures acquired the rights from the Doyle estate and produced a further twelve films. Although the films from 20th Century Fox had large budgets, high production values, and were set in the Victorian era, Universal updated the films to the contemporary era of the Second World War, and produced them as B pictures with lower budgets. Both Rathbone and Bruce continued their roles when the series changed studios, as did Mary Gordon, who played the recurring character, Mrs. Hudson.

Also by

Roy William Neill

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-01
★ 7/10
When an insurance man calls upon Messrs. “Holmes” (Basil Rathbone) and “Watson” (Nigel Bruce) in their recently bullet-holed Baker Street lodgings, he raises some concerns about a group called the “good comrades”. They live in a remote, coastal and creepy, mansion house where each have made the others their beneficiaries in the event of their demise. Quite recently, two of them have bitten the dust and when “Holmes” hears that a certain “Dr. Merrivale” (Paul Cavanagh) is amongst them, they decide that they ought to pay these gents a visit. The whole shooting match is hosted by the dithery “Alistair” (Aubrey Mather) and the remainder of them could all be suspects too, but what could be the motive and what’s the significance of the decreasing numbers of orange pips delivered to each victim hours before they go the way of the dodo. Suspicions are duly aroused when the seafaring captain “Simpson” (Harry Cording) has a narrow escape with a needle and tensions only heighten when the hapless “Lestrade” (Dennis Hoey) shows up. With the big house creaking, the residents dwindling and a menacing black raven circling overhead, our two sleuths have their work cut out for them. This is one of the more complex stories for our detective duo, and Mather adds charmingly to the usual supporting cast that also benefits from Sally Shepherd’s housekeeper playing her cards very close to her chest. There are a few clues for us along the way, lots of misty and dingy, candle-lit, scenes and as ever, the pair deliver amiably throughout. Half a crown to deliver a letter? I should have been a postie!

Production companies