The Red House

I fought fate 15 years ago and I lost. The Red House is directed by Delmer Daves who also adapts the screenplay from the novel written by George Agnew Chamberlain. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Judith Anderson, Lon McCallister, Rory Calhoun, Allene Roberts and Julie London. Music is scored by Miklós Rózsa and cinematography by Bert Glennon. Pete Morgan (Robinson) and his sister Ellen (Anderson) struggle to conceal the secret of the red house in the woods from Meg (Roberts), their adopted teenage daughter... What lurks in the darkness? Part horror thriller, part noirish fairytale, The Red House is very much hard to clearly define. Which is actually OK. Over the years it has built up a good reputation with film noir critics whilst struggling to convince a new age public viewing it courtesy of naff public domain prints. Now newly remastered on DVD and Blu-ray (truth be told nothing is gained from the Blu-ray print, the DVD print is pretty much the same quality), Delmer Daves' film can be seen in all its atmospheric glory. Things start off brightly, a splendid countryside, a burgeoning teenage love and the chirp of mother nature. Then we get introduced to Pete Morgan, in an off kilter shot, and from there on in everything else is either unhealthy in the present or troubled by the past. Any relationship not involving Meg, who is curious and "finding her sexuality", doesn't sit right. The Morgan's, the brother and sister with guilt, regret and longings seeping from every pore, young Nath Storm (McCallister) and his mother, where he seems to call the shots and a farewell kiss is all too long, and the sexualised Tibby (London), who doesn't see the danger of pairing off a battle for her affections between Nath and moody older boy Teller (Calhoun), the latter of which has been given carte blanche by Pete Morgan to stalk the woods like some shotgun wielding predatory keeper of the woods' secret. Trespass At Your Own Risk. The director ensures that all and sundry are in fear of the woods, and sure enough, whenever the story switches to that area, the eerie factor is pumped up. Glennon brings the chiaroscuro and Rózsa brings the nightmarish aural strains (oh that darn theremin flicks away at the spine). The atmosphere firmly in place, we know that it is a place of emotional discord, of pain, hurt and damage psyche's. While the red house itself, and its annexe, are places where bad fairy tales were born. Places, in fact, that prove you just can't escape your past. Ox Head Wood! The problem the film has is that it's very obvious quite early on in the story just what the problem is. Those in need of a mystery to be solved, or even a longing for a supernatural element, will struggle to last the course of what is too long a running time. But as a whole this does provide good suspense and unease, with the noir touches proving absolutely dynamite for fans of that persuasion. The cast are very good, with Robinson doing superb angst and fear, while the efforts of Daves, Glennon and Rózsa showcase the best of their respective skills. It's a thoroughly enjoyable picture to enjoy by the fire on a cold winter night. Double it up with The Spiral Staircase or Night of the Hunter, for although it may not be as good as either of those films, it is more than worthy (perfect) as an appetiser. 7.5/10

This is one of those films where the sum of the parts - Edward G. Robinson ("Pete"); Judith Anderson ("Ellen"); the lighting; the cracking score from Miklós Rózsa alongside the newbies in Lon McCallister ("Nath") and Allene Roberts ("Meg") all combine to give us a really taut, tense thriller that really does keep you interested all the way through. Rory Calhoun features in a slightly distracting sub-plot, but otherwise we are never quite sure why "Pete" is obsessed with keeping "Meg" from their local woods - where she thinks she hears screaming. The tension builds as their idyllic family relationship starts to crack as she takes a bit of a shine to their newly hired helper "Nath" and he starts to encourage her to act and think for herself. Robinson is great in this, particularly juggling the roles of affectionate father with someone who clearly has some sort of terrible secret to keep; and as ever Anderson thrives in the less-is-more style of performance, I was slightly disappointed with the ending, but the pace of the story augmented with some great, eery lighting and sound effects makes for a good watch.