When the case he's working on leads straight to Terror Castle, boy detective Jupiter Jones enlists the help of his two friends. Together they investigate the castle's many secrets, but end u... Read allWhen the case he's working on leads straight to Terror Castle, boy detective Jupiter Jones enlists the help of his two friends. Together they investigate the castle's many secrets, but end up finding more than they bargained for.When the case he's working on leads straight to Terror Castle, boy detective Jupiter Jones enlists the help of his two friends. Together they investigate the castle's many secrets, but end up finding more than they bargained for.
- Caroline
- (as Annette Kemp)
- Aunt Mathilda
- (as Catherine Cooke)
- Justus Jonas
- (voice)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn this movie, the character Stephen Terrill is depicted as an inventor. In the original book this film is based on, he was a horror actor from the silent film era, who had the ability to appear in different costumes and make-ups (similar to Lon Chaney). He later became unemployed when the sound film was invented, because it required him to speak, and he couldn't hide his lisp and squeaky voice anymore. This resulted in the audience laughing at him, which depressed Terrill so much that he resigned from acting. Subsequently, he isolated himself from the public and resided in his castle, until he reportedly took his own life. Since then, Terror Castle was reported to be haunted by Terrill's ghost.
- GoofsAt the beginning of the movie the Rolls Royce is seen driving on the right side of the road. At the end of the movie, as the boys return from their trip, the Rolls drives on the left side, which is wrong for California, but correct for South Africa, where the movie was filmed.
- Quotes
Pete Crenshaw: What is it about The Three Investigators that we're always going to places like "Terror Castle"? Why can't we ever go on "The Case of the Cozy Cottage," or "The Mystery of Grandma's Little Prairie Home"?
I admit, I didn't have really high expectations for this movie, but I hoped that maybe I would be pleasantly surprised and find that the movies are actually quite enjoyable and a worthy reminder of my youth. Sadly, I was not pleasantly surprised. My initial low expectations were proven correct. These movies use the characters from the books but that's about where any familiarity with the books stops. Admittedly, my memory of the books has faded somewhat, but I have no recollection of them containing as much action and mayhem as the movie does. There was not the use of technology that appears at times in the movie. Heck, we didn't even have technology back then! And Jupiter Jones wasn't such bad as he appears to be here.
So, if you're a nostalgic adult, you can safely give this a miss. This isn't the Three Investigators you remember. If you're a pre-teen though, at the age I was when I read the books, and you have no familiarity with the books, you'll probably enjoy this. There are some adult themes and an unfortunate lack of tension, but there are enough explosions and secret passages and dumb sheriffs to keep preteens amused. I hope so. They may even be inspired to look for the books, although I suspect they'll be quite dated by now.
This movie appears to be the second in a Three Investigator series. It seems to have set itself up for a sequel. I don't think any more were made and, sadly, I don't care.
- CabbageCustard
- Nov 23, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- The Three Investigators in the Secret of Haunted Castle
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $4,451,541
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color