| The House of the Arrow | |
| Director: | Harold French |
| Producer: | Walter C. Mycroft |
| Music: | Harry Acres |
| Cinematography: | Walter J. Harvey |
| Editing: | Edward B. Jarvis |
| Distributor: | ABPC |
| Runtime: | 66 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
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]
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]