The House of Fear

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Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in The House of Fear (1945)

Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of deaths at a castle with each foretold by the delivery of orange pips to the victims.Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of deaths at a castle with each foretold by the delivery of orange pips to the victims.Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of deaths at a castle with each foretold by the delivery of orange pips to the victims.

Director
- Roy William Neill
Writers
- Roy Chanslor
- Arthur Conan Doyle
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

5.7K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Roy William Neill
Writers
- Roy Chanslor
- Arthur Conan Doyle
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos8

Top cast21

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Basil Rathbone

Sherlock Holmes

Nigel Bruce

Doctor Watson

Aubrey Mather

Alastair

Dennis Hoey

Lestrade

Paul Cavanagh

Simon Merrivale

Holmes Herbert

Alan Cosgrave

Harry Cording

John Simpson

Sally Shepherd

Mrs. Monteith

Gavin Muir

Chalmers

Florette Hillier

Alison MacGregor

David Clyde

Alex MacGregor

Richard Alexander

Ralph King
(uncredited)

C.E. Anderson

Mourner
(uncredited)

Wilson Benge

Guy Davies
(uncredited)

Hobart Cavanaugh

Bit Part
(uncredited)

Alec Craig

Angus
(uncredited)

Cyril Delevanti

Stanley Raeburn
(uncredited)

Leslie Denison

Sergeant Bleeker
(uncredited)

Director
- Roy William Neill
Writers
- Roy Chanslor
- Arthur Conan Doyle
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Despite the orange pips, the film is nothing like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes short story "The Five Orange Pips". That is at least partially because the main mystery in the original story is the odd writing of "KKK" in a letter that contained the orange pips, which stands for the notorious American white supremacist/terrorist organization, the Ku Klux Klan. By 1945, the worldwide notoriety of that group made a faithful adaptation of the original story pointless for the audience and any adaptation of any kind required an extensive rewrite to use it.

Goofs
As the murders took place in Scotland, a local policeman would have been sent to the crime scene, not Inspector Lestrade from London. The local constabulary contacted Scotland Yard/Inspector Lestrade at the behest of Sherlock Holmes. It is unlikely a policeman would have been sent from London to the north of Scotland during wartime, even at the request of Sherlock Holmes.

Quotes
Sherlock Holmes: Murder is an insidious thing, Watson. Once a man has dipped his fingers in blood, sooner or later he'll feel the urge to kill again.

Connections
Edited into Who Dunit Theater: Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear (2021)

User reviews80

Review

Featured review

10/10

One of the most original movies I've seen in years

Being older I've found that many times we end up watching the same plot over and over in remakes. This movie was totally different then any I've ever seen to date. I won't spoil the movie by saying much but it kept me guessing whodunit.

The movie had it's share of comedy with Nigel Bruce and moved along at a good pace. This is probably the best of the Sherlock Holmes series by Rathbone and Bruce.

Let no one ruin the ending for you and watch it, I think you'll like it. For a low budget movie it won't let you down. How I survived this long without ever seeing it at least once is amazing.