The Red House (1947)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Sorry, this movie sucks

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The Red House has excellent production values, especially the music by Miklos Rosza. However, it is overly-long, hammily-acted by Robinson, and tries to do too much with its convoluted storyline. It is a watchable film, but not compelling in the least. I enjoyed one of the first appearances of Rory Calhoun, who would go on to better things. Even Julie London was pretty good. But the other actors seemed pretty much to be out to lunch.Robinson plays a lower-case Norman Bates, and he really does not have the persona to pull it off. I can buy him as a tough guy, a good guy, a bad guy, and as various doctors. But I have trouble buying him as a nut job; or as some might say, a complex dark characterization. The film is watchable, and not dreadful, but no more than that. It is not a classic of any type.

"Meg" (Allene Roberts) is a teenage girl who lives on the edge of a dark and dreadful forest with a man named "Pete Morgan" (Edward G. Robinson) and his sister "Ellen Morgan" (Judith Anderson) who adopted her when she was 2 years old. As long as she can remember she was told not to venture into the forest. Then one day Pete hires a teenage boy named "Nath Storm" (Lon McCallister) to help with the chores on the farm which pleases Meg to no end even though Nath has a girlfriend named "Tibby" (Julie London) who keeps him focused solely on her. Unfortunately, one stormy night Nath decides to take a short-cut through the woods which greatly displeases Pete and begins a series of bad feelings between the two of them. The friction soon becomes even worse when Meg decides to disobey Pete's instructions and venture into the woods with Nath in search of a mysterious "Red House" which she is told is particularly horrendous. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an entertaining movie which was actually enhanced by the fact that it was filmed in black-and-white as it added a certain macabre feel to everything. It also helped that the sub-plots blended well together to form a cohesive story-line. That being said, I have rated the film accordingly. Above average.

Made in 1946 and released a year later, THE RED HOUSE is a United Artists release starring Edward G. Robinson as a man concealing an ugly secret with his spinster sister. The sister is played by Judith Anderson. Also in the cast are future stars Rory Calhoun and Julie London.The story, based on George Chamberlain's novel, takes many dramatic twists and turns. This is no small feat considering we already know early into the film that Robinson is covering up a crime, one he likely committed years ago. But in some ways, he is backgrounded until the last act; instead, the specter of danger casts its long shadow over two high school couples who are foregrounded-- one played by wholesome Lon McCallister and attractive Allene Roberts, and the other couple being Calhoun and London. The innocence of these young lovers is at risk due to the evil forces that surround them.It should be noted that at an overall running time of 100 minutes, the narrative is gradual and somewhat leisurely until the end. Yet this gives director Delmer Daves plenty of time to emphasize the bucolic countryside and its inhabitants, as well as establish the more sinister atmospheric touches that dot the rural landscape and threaten to overtake it. I won't spoil the final sequence for those who haven't seen it, but when Anderson's life is in jeopardy because she's gone into the woods where the titular dwelling and its secret exist, Robinson's character snaps. He truly goes berserk, setting up a spectacular death scene for the actor to play.Is this Edward G. Robinson's best movie performance? Possibly. For what it's worth, THE RED HOUSE is not only a showcase for him, but for all the performers who make the most of their roles. As for the film itself, it's a glimpse into a simpler post-war time. And it proves that even those simpler times had complicated people dealing with a complicated situation.

An old man (Edward G Robinson) and his sister (Judith Anderson) are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter called Meg (Allene Roberts) . The fostered girl is attracted to a young man of the village called Nath Storm (Lon McCallister) . Meg starts falling in love with Nath , but his sweetheart Tibby (Julie London) has other plans for him . She then brings home the suitor and the old man attempts to keep everyone out of mysterious red house located on his ownership . The elderly farmer unsuccessfully attempts to bury the horrid past . Curious , Meg and Nath ignore dangers and begin exploring beyond the following warning : ¨No trespass at your own risk¨ . Meantime , they all get closer to real risk and the horrible truth about the property . At the end , the terrible secret concerning a hidden abandon farmhouse and located deep in the woods bursts out , as leaving a grand ending the resolution of the mystery .This first-rate but slow-paced picture draws its riveting tale and power from the interaction of finely drawn roles as well as drama and emotion . Rare film Noir about troubled relationships , being based on the novel by Agnew Chamberlain and screen-written by the same director and by notorious and black-listed Albert Maltz . It has a good realization , an original script , haunting atmosphere , intriguing events ; for that reason madness and murder prevail . Exciting as well as strange film , possessing a mysterious and fascinating blend of rural serenity , baroque suspense in which especially stands out the magnificent musical score by Miklos Rozsa . This is pure cinema from the first to the last shot, where there's nothing left and each image has its sense and meaning . Very good acting by Edward G. Robinson on the character of an old crippled farmer "Pete Morgan", who lives with his sister in a secluded farm in front of an eerie forest . He does an excellent job and proves once again he is one of the best players in the history of cinema . Support cast is frankly well such as Judith Anderson of Rebeca as Ellen Morgan , Rory Calhoun as Teller , Allene Roberts as Meg , Julie London as Tibby , Ona Munson as Mrs. Storm , Pat Flatherty as cop and Harry Shannon . Dark cinematography plenty of lights and shades by Bert Glennon . The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely and usually badly edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duplicated from second- or third-generation or more copies of the film. The motion picture produced in low budget by Sol Lesser was well directed by Delmer Daves . Nice work by Delmer Daves in demonstrating his skill at all areas : as technical , using all kind of resources for illustrating the interesting as well as dramatic story with an engaging screenplay , adding great actors filmmaking and enjoyable narration . Daves was a Western expert , including his characteristic use of landscape , for the reason he lived a long time of his boyhood with the Navajo and Hopi Indian tribes as he realized the notorious trail-blazing ¨Broken arrow¨ the first movie for many years not treat the Indians as cannon-fodder for the cavalry , which made the picture unpopular in some quarters . He went on directing the suspenseful ¨3:10 to Yuma¨, other pro-Indian as ¨The last wagon¨ and about Modoc Indians as ¨Drum beat¨ , the Shakespearian style of ¨Jubal¨ , ¨Return of the Texan¨ and ¨Cowboy¨ which a fairly spectacle about a long cattle drive . From 1959 Delmer Daves becomes embroiled for the remainder of his career with teenage love epics and very popular at the Box-office as ¨A summer place¨, ¨Parrish¨, ¨Susan Slade¨, and ¨Rome adventure¨, among others . And of course , he realized Noir films such as ¨Dark passage¨ and this ¨The red House¨ that is absolutely recommended .