Gee, I started watching this film knowing its reputation as a gripping psychological melodrama, but watching the first five minutes of it, it's almost possible to confuse it with one of those 8mm educational film reels that they show you in grade school, with a bunch of clean-cut, non-threatening white teenagers in the 1940's, bright eyed and bushy tailed as you please, complete with Brylcreemed crew-cuts and high school letterman sweaters. Everything's just as optimistic, keen, and neato as you could imagine, right down to the stark white photography, leaving the viewer to wonder, perhaps for just a moment, "did I rent the right movie?!"
Ah, but don't fret, my pretty. We soon meet the incomparable E.G. Robinson and the home-viewer can rest assured that he/she will be treated to a fine piece of cinema. A previous reviewer already mentioned how the genuinely creepy and excellently sinister background score emerges just a few minutes into the picture to begin its gradual segue into the true plot, the one we all came to see. Apparently, there's a lot more to the E.G. Robinson character than really meets the eye. He does an extraordinary job in this, and he's probably the only reason that I've scored the film so highly. His performance reminds me a great deal of the psychotic sea-captain that he played in "The Sea Wolf", only, despite his character's flaws in this film, you can still sympathize with him, as he basically means well, and is more haunted than psychotic.
"The Red House" is competently directed by Delmer Daves, a director whose work I usually love, but I have to say, this is not Delmer Daves at his best. I can't even believe, watching this film, that it's the same director who brought us "Dark Passage." It may have turned out to be a lot more effective as a thriller if a better suited director had been assigned to the project. For instance, can you imagine what Jacques Torneau or Val Lewton could have done with it?! Oh well...
My only other gripe with this film is that it features some very hokey, pointless, and mostly unnecessary sub-plots featuring a bunch of highschoolers that I just don't care about. This may be the only thing keeping "The Red House" from being an honest-to-goodness film noir! Too many dang teenagers! They're annoying! I want my noir characters to be gruff, hard-bitten, old, and crusty. For example, if Naith had been played by Robert Mitchum, complete with a cigarette dangling from his lip, broad-brimmed fedora and five 'o' clock shadow, looking like he had just rolled out of bed with a nasty hangover all through the film, it would have been just dandy. Instead, we get some teenage dork in a letterman sweater who can't act his way out of a paper bag. An interesting note, however, is that the role of Tibby, the hot-blooded dame who competes with Meg for Naith's affections, is played by none other than Julie London, who, a few years later, would become known not as a famous actress, but as a very successful and legendary jazz singer.
All in all, "The Red House" is a pretty good little thriller, and a darn good choice for some late-night viewing. The atmosphere is always there, and the tension builds very subtly, thanks in large part to the REALLY great score. E.G. is fantastic, as he is in everything, and he really saves this film from being just another mediocre teen "haunted house" story. I really can't see this as a "Film-Noir", as it's usually categorized, but it definitely has all of the right elements. My rating: 7/10
Ah, but don't fret, my pretty. We soon meet the incomparable E.G. Robinson and the home-viewer can rest assured that he/she will be treated to a fine piece of cinema. A previous reviewer already mentioned how the genuinely creepy and excellently sinister background score emerges just a few minutes into the picture to begin its gradual segue into the true plot, the one we all came to see. Apparently, there's a lot more to the E.G. Robinson character than really meets the eye. He does an extraordinary job in this, and he's probably the only reason that I've scored the film so highly. His performance reminds me a great deal of the psychotic sea-captain that he played in "The Sea Wolf", only, despite his character's flaws in this film, you can still sympathize with him, as he basically means well, and is more haunted than psychotic.
"The Red House" is competently directed by Delmer Daves, a director whose work I usually love, but I have to say, this is not Delmer Daves at his best. I can't even believe, watching this film, that it's the same director who brought us "Dark Passage." It may have turned out to be a lot more effective as a thriller if a better suited director had been assigned to the project. For instance, can you imagine what Jacques Torneau or Val Lewton could have done with it?! Oh well...
My only other gripe with this film is that it features some very hokey, pointless, and mostly unnecessary sub-plots featuring a bunch of highschoolers that I just don't care about. This may be the only thing keeping "The Red House" from being an honest-to-goodness film noir! Too many dang teenagers! They're annoying! I want my noir characters to be gruff, hard-bitten, old, and crusty. For example, if Naith had been played by Robert Mitchum, complete with a cigarette dangling from his lip, broad-brimmed fedora and five 'o' clock shadow, looking like he had just rolled out of bed with a nasty hangover all through the film, it would have been just dandy. Instead, we get some teenage dork in a letterman sweater who can't act his way out of a paper bag. An interesting note, however, is that the role of Tibby, the hot-blooded dame who competes with Meg for Naith's affections, is played by none other than Julie London, who, a few years later, would become known not as a famous actress, but as a very successful and legendary jazz singer.
All in all, "The Red House" is a pretty good little thriller, and a darn good choice for some late-night viewing. The atmosphere is always there, and the tension builds very subtly, thanks in large part to the REALLY great score. E.G. is fantastic, as he is in everything, and he really saves this film from being just another mediocre teen "haunted house" story. I really can't see this as a "Film-Noir", as it's usually categorized, but it definitely has all of the right elements. My rating: 7/10