Tags:
Film: The House of Mystery
Year: 1934
Directors: William Nigh
Writers: Albert DeMond
Starring: Ed Lowry, Verna Hillie and John Sheehan
Review:
This was a movie that I learned about when compiling a list of horror movies from 1934. I recognized the director's name as I've seen a few of his works in horror previously. The title was generic, but knowing the era this came out, I was still intrigued there. I was able to find this streaming on Tubi so that made it easy. Other than that, I went blind with looking up more information.
Synopsis: an ancient curse and a killer ape are contained inside an old dark mansion.
We start this in India back in 1913. John Prendergast (Clay Clement) stumbles into a bar and orders a brandy. He annoys other patrons here who tell him that he needs to cut down on the drinking. They also don't like the fact that he's been seeing a local dancer, Chanda (Joyzelle Joyner). I'll say here that there are racists things said and the caste system is brought up.
John gets himself into hot water when he kills a monkey as he tries to enter a temple. He is brought before the priest, played by Brandon Hurst, who wakes a gorilla to attack him. John gets away with the help of Chanda. They then flee together.
The time then jumps into the future. I don't recall it stating how long, but we're now in the United States. There is a newspaper headline about treasure of Khali being stolen from the temple. John is blamed. An attorney, Jerome Ellis (Sam Godfrey), is hired by Hyacinth Potter (Mary Foy) and her husband, Prof. Horatio (Harry C. Bradley). What is funny here is that he's aloof. He does get epiphanies and runs off to the museum. This couple is hiring Jerome because Hyacinth believes she saw Chanda and that she's living on an estate with John. They helped fund the expedition so any treasure he brought home, they're entitled to part of it.
Jerome takes the case. He gets the names of the other investors and reaches out to them. There is an insurance salesperson, Dylan 'Jack' Armstrong (Ed Lowry), Stella Walker (Fritzi Ridgeway) and her friend Geraldine Carfax (Dale Fuller). Rounding out this group is David Fells (George 'Gabby' Hayes) and the Potters. There were two British investors, but they were just recently murdered. Jerome is assured that Scotland Yard is working on that case. The attorney has confirmed that this couple are the ones they're looking for. John has shortened his name to Pren, due to upsetting people for what he's done. He has invited the investors to his home.
It is there that we learn that he's willing to give everyone their cut. He has one request though. He claims that the gold is cursed by Khali. He believes that the murders of the investors was due to giving them their cut and that is why they're now dead. John is wheelchair bound and he claims it is due to the curse. He just wants everyone to stay a week at his home, feel the curse and if they still want the money, he will give them their cut. They disagree, but Jerome points out that it quicker than going to court. There is something not quite right going on here and there could be something dangerous living in the house with them.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I wasn't shocked to learn that this was based off a play. It made sense since this is an 'old dark house' film. I'm a fan of this subgenre, even though most of them aren't great. The only thing that was missing was hidden passageways. I could be wrong there as it was hard to tell when certain things were happening if whatever is the case was coming in through the windows or through passages. What I saw appears to be the former. There was also an issue I had is that this is more of a comedy. This can be a tough act to balance.
Where I'll go from there is delving deeper into the aspects I've brought up. I love this idea of John falling in love with Chanda. He is scolded since she is darker skinned. There are racist things that are said throughout. I'm not going to destroy the movie over them. It was more ingrained with the era. There was an interesting thing said early in the movie by the Hindu priest. He points out how colonizers came to their country and stole items from their temples. He is right and that makes the thieves the villains. I did like calling that out. Using a curse on this treasure is interesting, since John does seem to respect that culture. I should point out here that a love square forms. John is with Chanda, but there's a nurse helping him, Ella Browning (Verna Hillie). John is fond of her, as is Jack. She flirts with John. It does seem harmless there, but I don't know if Chanda sees it that way.
Then to look more at the curse. It seems that the two British investors had their necks broken. There is a similar attack at the house. Before each one, there are drums that are heard. Then incense is burning near the victims. What I wasn't expecting is that the police are called and then they show up, led by Ned Pickens (Irving Bacon). What is interesting there is that he demands everyone stays in the house. That helps hold the story. There are vibes of Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None', even though that book would come out after this movie/play. That's the easiest way to describe what we're getting here.
Now I'm not going to go into spoilers here. What I'll say is that this is an ape movie. I saw that on the poster. It makes sense to be honest. This goes back to the curse of Khali and how that god loves monkeys and apes. John raised one to make up for the one he killed. There is a parallel as well to is run in with the priest and the guards. I just wanted to give this bit of information here. I'll also say that I didn't care for the comedy. I get why its here, but it didn't work for me.
Let's then move over to the cast. There are a good number of people here, which helps to build a body count. I like Clement as John, who is the reason everyone is here. If you consider it as well, he's the reason they're dying too. Joyner works as the love of his life, Chanda. She is a figure who doesn't say a lot, but her presence is felt. Lowry is good as our lead. I don't mind Hillie, but outside of causing a divide between the Prens and Jack interested in her, they don't flesh her out. I think that's the era again. I like the reveal to John Sheehan's character of Harry Smith. I wasn't expecting that. I'll say that Ridgeway, Hayes, Fuller, Foy and Godfrey were good as other members at the house. Bradley, Bacon and even Sheehan add comedy. I think how they handle it was fine. Hurst was also solid as the priest we briefly see. The acting here works for what was needed.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I like the setting of this large estate where everything goes down. When we get there, I can see how this started out as a stage play. My only gripe is that I wish it used more hidden passages to fully embrace the 'old dark house'. As it stands, it works. I thought that the cinematography was fine. It doesn't do a lot to necessarily stand out there. What was good was the framing. I like how Chanda will be watching in the background, like a statute. There's also the stuffed ape. I like that this plays out like an early slasher of sorts with having characters picked off. The comedy did hurt fully going into the genre. The gorilla suit looked good. Also, credit to Emil Van Horn who was in it. Other than that, I like the drums, so we know when something bad is coming. That adds tension for sure. I'd say made well enough overall.
In conclusion, this has more to it than I was expecting for a movie just over an hour. The only gripe for the runtime would be to flesh out the characters just a bit more. I do like using this curse from India though. There are racists aspects there, but that comes with the era it was made. The acting was solid across the board. It was made well enough. The setting was good, since I like 'old dark house' movies. I'd also credit the drums and the gorilla effects work. Not one I'd recommend to everyone. There are hits and misses with it. If you are out to watch the history of the genre, this an intriguing piece of history.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10