The House of the Arrow (1940 film)

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	A.E.W. Mason (novel) Doreen Montgomery
Produced by	Walter C. Mycroft
Starring	Kenneth Kent Diana Churchill Belle Chrystall Peter Murray-Hill
Cinematography	Walter J. Harvey
Edited by	Edward B. Jarvis
Music by	Harry Acres
Production company	Associated British Picture Corporation
Distributed by	ABPC
Release date	26 October 1940 (1940-10-26)
Running time	66 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Cast

• 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

In 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]