JohnHowardReid Under the inspired advertising slogan, "Horler for Excitement", Sydney Horler became an extremely popular and prolific writer in the 1930s. Under his own name and two pseudonyms, he published over 150 books. If this picturization of The House of Secrets represents a fair sample of his plotting and characterization abilities, the public was indeed sold a counterfeit, second-rate product. Not only are Horler's plots outrageously dependent on the most incredible co-incidences, but his characters are the leftovers of impossible melodrama. No attempt is made at vivifying these walking pasteboards with any semblances of credibility - let alone originality. And as for the dialogue, Horler's is so riddled and weighed down with the cliched, the mundane and the flatly ridiculous as to make it all seem as if the author's real intention was to write a spoof of Victorian melodrama, complete with energetic but completely smitten hero, beautiful but darkly mysterious heroine, secretive yet overly protective father, thuggish but stupid gangsters, helpful but simple-minded domestics, well-spoken but devious city men, dumb but implacable policemen, aloof yet timely detectives. Add a cackling lunatic or two, a couple of creepy henchmen and a blackmailing stranger (who disappears from the tale after receiving an elaborate introduction) and you have The House of Secrets. A witless spoof, admittedly, but even this possible glimmer in the Horler darkness is negated by the deadly dull seriousness of all the actors on the screen - except Syd Saylor - who play this stupefying nonsense through from beginning to end with not so much as a twinkle of the eye, let alone tongues firmly in cheeks. No wonder Sidney Blackmer doesn't include this feeble effort in his filmography! 64 minutes - it seemed more like 164!

csteidler 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.

wes-connors 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

wrbtu 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.