La casa roja

Well acted, well written and beautifully photographed, The Red House is overlooked by many today but is a wonderful film to watch. It starts off a little slowly, but the tension builds up quickly and the diverse elements in the plot come together over time. The footage of the woods and countryside alone is worth the time to watch this film, as it looks to have been filmed in the ranches and forests of rural California and the whole setting looks like a picture postcard. All the cast is great, most especially Robinson in a powerful performance, as well as a very young Julie London who plays the beautiful local rich girl. This film is a winner on a lot of levels - watch it!

Watched this film recently and I really loved it! Entertaining throughout and with solid performances from a cast that consists of Edward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister, Judith Anderson, Rory Calhoun and Allene Roberts. The movie is very odd but incredibly atmospheric and at times, a bit spooky. Robinson and Anderson play a brother and sister who have adopted Roberts and have raised her as their own on their farm all the time concealing a dark secret that lays hidden in the red house beyond the woods. Robinson will go to whatever means he has to in order to protect the secret and that includes hiring Calhoun to scare away trespassers with his handy scope rifle. Young McCallister is hired by Robinson to help on the farm and soon proceeds to try and unravel the mystery with the help of Roberts. Excellent direction from Delmer Daves who pumps up the atmopshere with lots of whistling wind, creepy shots of the woods and terrific use of shadows. A mention also must be made regarding the great score by Miklós Rózsa which fits every scene perfectly and creates the right amount of eerieness at the right times. The ending is quite haunting also. A very good film that has become a quick favorite of mine and one I'll definitely be watching again.

Thrilling Film-Noir written and directed by Delmer Daves. A crippled farmer(Edward G. Robinson)living with his sister(Judith Anderson) and adopted daughter(Allene Roberts)is hard pressed to deal with a young man(Lon McCallister)that comes to help out with chores. The young man is a friend of the daughter, but has romantic feelings for the school "hottie" Julie London. Robinson becomes deeper obsessed with keeping everyone away from a mysterious red house hidden in the woods that surround his property. Not only is London very young at this time in her career, but so is Rory Calhoun who hunts the woods and discourages trespassers. This is a passionate and atmospheric mystery that is supported by the haunting music of Miklos Rozsa. I especially enjoyed the scene of McCallister trying to go through the woods in the hard driving rain storm with the creepy music background. If you get the chance to see this on TCM, AMC or PBS...don't pass it up.

Slow-building suspense and some good performances make "The Red House" a pretty good psychological thriller. An interesting story and a good cast headed by Edward G. Robinson are also helped by eerie musical effects that build up tension as the story proceeds.

The movie opens with some deceptively peaceful rustic scenes. Robinson is a farmer who lives with his sister and with Meg, a young woman whom they took in when her parents left her. The farmer hires a local youth (Lon McCallister) to help with chores on the farm. At dinner that evening, there is sudden tension when the conversation turns to the woods behind the farm. The farmer is agitated at the mere thought of anyone crossing through them. As the story proceeds, attention centers on a red house in the woods, which obviously holds some secrets that Robinson is anxious not to have made known. From there, things move slowly but effectively towards a tense climax.

The atmosphere is throughout filled with suspense and anxiety, not just regarding the secret of the red house, but also in the relationships among the characters. McCallister's character becomes close to Meg, but he already has a girl - who in turn is flirting with a mysterious man who lives in the woods. The farmer's relations with his sister and his ward are also filled with tension. Some interesting musical effects in Miklos Rozsa's score emphasize the often uncomfortable nature of it all.

While rather slow to come together, "The Red House" keeps the viewer's attention until the end. It's a good story, and worth watching.

Delmer Daves's The Red House is a gem! But it's not a film for the kids - the film deals with somewhat perverse adult themes in a very psychologically, if not explicitly, realistic manner. The great Edward G. Robinson plays Pete Morgan, a reclusive older gentleman living with his sister (Judith Anderson) and an adopted teenage daughter, Meg (Allene Roberts). Most of the story revolves around Meg's developing romance with Nath (Lon McAllister) - a smart and decent young man who comes to work for Pete. Nath's girlfriend - kind of an erstwhile femme fatale - is played by the lovely Julie London, and it is no surprise to find that as Nath's attention turns to Meg, her attention turns to bad boy "Teller" (Rory Calhoun).

Underneath all the typically teenage romantic dynamics lies several terrible secrets and possibly, something supernatural. All of this will culminate in revealing the secret of a long-forgotten Red House in the woods behind Pete's house.

The acting is excellent. The younger members of the cast are remarkably attractive, an the cinematographer used this to great advantage. Calhoun and London occasionally falter into formulaic acting, but McAllister and Roberts are always exactly where they need to be, and Robinson turns in a typically brilliant performance. Roberts, amazingly, was 18 years old and acting in her first film when she turned in this fantastic, mature performance.

Daves paces the film very nicely. There are relatively few wasted seconds, and the build-up to the climax, and even the epilogue, are barely even noticeable as you are swept away by the increasingly convoluted and disturbing story-line. Lighting, a trademark of Daves and noir in general, is used perfectly in this very nicely shot dark contrast-oriented film. The key to the success of this film, however, is the misdirection of audience sympathies - which is all I will say about the script - to avoid a spoiler.

NOTE: Be willing to spend a few extra dollars to get a good print of this film. Some of the less expensive versions have very poor sound quality - almost unlistenable.

Highly recommended for Robinson fans and non-graphic horror fans. Recommended for noir fans. Not recommended for kids.