House of Fear

Broadway: bright lights, big stars, sheer evil . . . The highly anticipated premier of Coward's Fare is smashed to rubble in the first act when the play's star, Bertrand Woodford, is struck dead on stage . . . Murdered! Before the police can effectively investigate the crime, the actor's body disappears into thin air. The murder goes unsolved but one thing is certain: it is the death knell for the play. Woodford's Theater is darkened, shuttered and chained. Coward's Fare is tossed in the dustbin and is only remembered as that "cursed play." Years later, the original cast return to Woodford's Theater to orchestrate a revival of the cursed play. But Woodford's ghost now haunts the stage and murder is in the wings. First rehearsals reawaken the primal horror that stalks the players once more: the play must not be shown! Get out! . . . This time, though, the cast and stagehands band together for the fight of their lives. Wadsworth Camp's "The House of Fear" (1916) predates the dawn of the Golden Age of Mystery by a mere four years, but it contains many of the trappings that would become the staple of the golden era. Camp's writing is fresh and invigorating, his story compelling. As with much of his fiction (a half dozen novels and numerous stories) Camp weaves the plot with elements of the Supernatural. Bruin Crimeworks is proud to make this extremely rare novel of mystery and suspense available again. Most famously, Wadsworth Camp, a highly successful writer in his day, was also the father of Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time. "The House of Fear" was filmed in 1929 as "The Last Warning" by the great Paul Leni. It was to be his final film and is now available for the first time in a 4K restoration.