Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn

Squire William Corder wins the charms of an innocent country maiden, despite the attention she receives from Carlos, a gypsy. Corder seduces Maria and, after she becomes pregnant by him, he murders her in the red barn before burying her body there.

Decent melodrama set in the 19th Century, with a typically over the top performance by Tod Slaughter, so those familiar with his films will know what to expect. Sophie Stewart is the tragic Maria and there is an early role for Eric Portman as Carlos.

The film is set in the Victorian 1820s in a rural area of England. Maria Marten (Sophie Stewart) is generally a sweet woman but gets herself mixed up with the wrong man with promises of marriage, becomes pregnant and then she comes up missing - murdered.

This one isn't too bad. It's not Tod Slaughter's best film but it's not that bad of a movie. It's Slaughter's first acting role on-screen and he wasn't to bad in it either. The screenplay is kinda bland, decent but bland. The whole film feels like they could have added a darker and more mysterious atmosphere to the Victorian appeal.

I did enjoy this film. Some of the acting is over-the-top and they have some pretty funny lines at times - sometimes seemingly strong language for the time period this was filmed in (1935) which worked in the film's favor.

6/10

Compact, entertaining thriller concerning a pompous aristocrat who, following a brief moment of ecstasy with an impressionable young farmer's girl, discovers he's responsible for an unwanted foetus. Tod Slaughter plays the immoral Mr Corder, under financial pressure due to gambling, being threatened by his dalliance now up the duff and in the mood to tell all to her father, who'll surely kill Corder for sullying the family name. What to do but a murder in the red barn.

Well told, straightforward without complications or surprises, just a decent little tale (based on a true event) that showcases stage actor Slaughter's adept villainy, and that of younger Eric Portman in one of his first pictures as the chivalrous Gypsy enamoured by Sophie Stewart's damsel in distress. The cast is immaculate and the inimitable producer George King delivers his usual pint-for-a-pound pulling no punches despite limited resources.

While it's 1935, there's no disguising the atrocious nature of the title crime, and this element along with Slaughter's portrayal of the corpulent, depraved and cowardly ogre is more than just a little unsettling at times. The scene in which he's goaded to "dig, dig" is quite chilling, and the conclusion thereafter is entirely fitting. Worth a look.

Of all Tod Slaughter's films, this horror-melodrama about a young girl brought to disgrace by a local squire easily is my favourite. Slaughter plays Squire William Corder, infatuated with a young Maria who is also admired greatly by a roaming gypsy named Carlos(Carlos is very English, however). Squire Corder consentually has his way with Maria, she later becomes pregnant, and Corder kills Maria in the Red Barn to quiet her so he can continue on with his own marriage plans for some much needed capital in order to pay off his gambling debts. Slaughter is a sight for the sorest of eyes. They just do not cut ham this thick anymore! He rolls his eyes, leers, laughs maniacally with the best, and he also has the greatest ability to be totally likable no matter what variety of fiend he plays. At one point in a scene where Maria confronts Corder about needing his help for these very trying circumstances, Slaughter delivers lines like, "No, don't speak" with relish I just have not seen in film very often. Every line Slaughter says seems to come to life and yet we seem to be in on the joke with him. This is a great piece not so much for the mystery...really is no mystery...but simply to watch an actor who should get more credit than he does act like no other. Great fun, great laughs, great Slaughter!

Prior to renting the video of this movie, I had no idea who Tod Slaughter was, why he has a cult following, or exactly what people meant when they said he was "hamming it up". I couldn't have told you the difference between a Victorian melodrama and a Greek tragedy.

Well, after viewing it, I still couldn't tell you what the big deal with Mr. Slaughter is or how this was any more melodramatic than, say, the movies Hitchcock was making at around the same time, but I will say that this movie was well made and thoroughly entertaining, with never a dull moment. You need not be a Tod Slaughter devotee or know a thing about the history of English theatre to enjoy it.

The Murder in the Red Barn reaffirms my belief that movies from the early sound period managed to pack a lot more into their short running times than today's, which have doubled in length. The action in this movie was non-stop.

Other reviewers have stated that this film feels more like a stage play, but I find that many of the films from this period have that feel. There obviously wasn't as wide a gap between the cinema and theatre back then as there is today.