The House of Mystery (1940)
Directed by Walter Summers
Genres - Mystery |
Sub-Genres - Detective Film |
Run Time - 61 min. |
Countries - United Kingdom |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
The modest but intriguing British melodrama At the Villa Rose was released in the U.S. by Monogram and given the more prosaic title House of Mystery. A gang of clever thieves kill a wealthy woman in hopes of stealing her gems. But the thieves aren't clever enough to ascertain the location of those gems, so they consult a phony spiritualist (Ruth Maitland). Then they decide to dispose of the mystic by framing her for the murder. Inspector Hanaud (Kenneth Kent) is called in on the case, meticulously piecing the puzzle together and determining the identities of the real culprits. House of Mystery was based on a story by A.E.W. Mason, better known for such British-empire tomes as The Four Feathers.
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Keywords
clue, evidence, frame-up, investigation, investigator, jewel-robbery, kidnapping, killing, murder, mysticism, opal, robbery, socialite, spiritual, Britain, detective, house, widow/widower