They don't make 'em like that any more - thank goodness!
We realise that those pre-war B-films can often provide a refreshing break from today's fare, but not this one. It's classified in the 'Old dark house' genre, possibly referencing the J. B. Priestley film of that title, though actually going back a lot further, with clichés like timbered halls, butlers with candlesticks, ancient letters and wills in gothic script, and elements of the supernatural.
If these are all you want, you will not be disappointed. But if you're hoping for a coherent plot, with intriguing characters, mystery and suspense, leading to a satisfying climax, then this will not be for you. It comes from a Sydney Horler novel, and all I knew about Horler was that he was a successful fiction-writer who had become unpopular for his anti-semitism, and was then ignored, perhaps unjustly. But this film does not suggest that we have missed much.
The story is barely worth summarising, but it follows an American tourist in England (Leslie Fenton) receiving the news that he has inherited a grand country mansion, from which he is surprisingly barred by guard-dogs when he tries to make his first visit. Before leaving, he is able to exchange a few words with the passably attractive Muriel Evans, whom he had (coincidentally?) met on the voyage over, and who serves as his love-interest, though without much in the way of chemistry.
If I had paid it more careful scrutiny, I might have extracted a little more from it, but B-films were never designed for this anyway. They were suited to a simple boy-meets-girl romp, to be enjoyed in odd glimpses while the other customers are trying to file past you with their kids and popcorn. Other reviews, especially those from the full-time critics, seem to confirm that it would have been a waste of time.
The script yielded just one memorable gag: the heir to the mansion is jokingly asked "Have you been crowned yet?", and he leans forward to show the bump on his head that he has just received. But don't expect much drama in the fight-scenes. Without exception, they qualify for the John Wayne quip: "Fight-scene? Heck, I thought it was a love-scene."
We realise that those pre-war B-films can often provide a refreshing break from today's fare, but not this one. It's classified in the 'Old dark house' genre, possibly referencing the J. B. Priestley film of that title, though actually going back a lot further, with clichés like timbered halls, butlers with candlesticks, ancient letters and wills in gothic script, and elements of the supernatural.
If these are all you want, you will not be disappointed. But if you're hoping for a coherent plot, with intriguing characters, mystery and suspense, leading to a satisfying climax, then this will not be for you. It comes from a Sydney Horler novel, and all I knew about Horler was that he was a successful fiction-writer who had become unpopular for his anti-semitism, and was then ignored, perhaps unjustly. But this film does not suggest that we have missed much.
The story is barely worth summarising, but it follows an American tourist in England (Leslie Fenton) receiving the news that he has inherited a grand country mansion, from which he is surprisingly barred by guard-dogs when he tries to make his first visit. Before leaving, he is able to exchange a few words with the passably attractive Muriel Evans, whom he had (coincidentally?) met on the voyage over, and who serves as his love-interest, though without much in the way of chemistry.
If I had paid it more careful scrutiny, I might have extracted a little more from it, but B-films were never designed for this anyway. They were suited to a simple boy-meets-girl romp, to be enjoyed in odd glimpses while the other customers are trying to file past you with their kids and popcorn. Other reviews, especially those from the full-time critics, seem to confirm that it would have been a waste of time.
The script yielded just one memorable gag: the heir to the mansion is jokingly asked "Have you been crowned yet?", and he leans forward to show the bump on his head that he has just received. But don't expect much drama in the fight-scenes. Without exception, they qualify for the John Wayne quip: "Fight-scene? Heck, I thought it was a love-scene."