''The House of Secrets'' is a 1929 American

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by Edmund Lawrence and starring

Joseph Striker Joseph Striker (December 23, 1898 – February 24, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in 28 films between 1920 and 1929. Later in the 1930s he appeared on Broadway. He was born in New York City. A resident of Cranford, New Jersey, Str ...

, Marcia Manning and Elmer Grandin.Pitts p.87 The screenplay was written by Adeline Leitzbach, based on the 1926 novel of the same name by

Sydney Horler Sydney Horler (18 July 1888 – 27 October 1954) was a prolific British novelist specialising in thrillers. He was born in Leytonstone, Essex, and educated at Redcliffe School and Colston School in Bristol. His first job was with ''Western Dai ...

. The film is considered lost. It was remade in 1936.

Plot

An American named Barry Wilding travels to England to check out a castle he has inherited there. After hearing of mysterious goings on at the castle, he and his detective friend Joe Blake suspect that a Chinese man named Wu Chang is behind it all.

Cast

as Barry Wilding * Marcia Manning as Margery Gordon * Elmer Grandin as Dr. Gordon *

Herbert Warren Sir Thomas Herbert Warren, KCVO (21 October 1853 – 9 June 1930) was a British academic and administrator who was president of Magdalen College, Oxford for 43 years (1885–1928) and vice-chancellor of Oxford University (1906–10). Early lif ...

as Detective Joe Blake * Francis M. Verdi as Sir Herbert Harcourt * Richard Stevenson as Bill *

Harry Southard Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as Warton *

Edward Roseman Edward Roseman (May 14, 1875 – September 16, 1957), sometimes identified as Edward F. Roseman, was an American actor, who worked primarily during the silent film era. Biography The son of a pharmacist, Roseman was born in Terre Haute, Indi ...

as Wu Chang * Walter Ringham as Home Secretary Forbes

Commentary

Critic Troy Howarth stated "(The film) is a variation on the formula of a mystery surrounding a lavish inheritance....It was apparently an unremarkable mystery thriller with incidental horror elements."

References

Bibliography

* Michael R. Pitts. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each''. McFarland & Company, 2005.

External links

* 1929 films 1929 mystery films American mystery films Chesterfield Pictures films Films set in London American black-and-white films 1929 lost films Lost mystery films Films based on British novels 1920s English-language films 1920s American films {{mystery-film-stub