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IMDbPro

House by the River

  • 19501950
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
House by the River (1950)
House By The River: An Absent-Minded Murder
Play clip3:02
Watch House By The River: An Absent-Minded Murder
1 Video
65 Photos
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir
A deranged writer murders a maid after she resists his advances. The writer engages his brother's help in hiding the body, causing unexpected problems for both of them.A deranged writer murders a maid after she resists his advances. The writer engages his brother's help in hiding the body, causing unexpected problems for both of them.A deranged writer murders a maid after she resists his advances. The writer engages his brother's help in hiding the body, causing unexpected problems for both of them.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Fritz Lang
  • Writers
    • Mel Dinelli(screenplay)
    • A.P. Herbert(novel "The House by the River")
  • Stars
    • Louis Hayward
    • Lee Bowman
    • Jane Wyatt
  • Director
    • Fritz Lang
  • Writers
    • Mel Dinelli(screenplay)
    • A.P. Herbert(novel "The House by the River")
  • Stars
    • Louis Hayward
    • Lee Bowman
    • Jane Wyatt
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 55User reviews
    • 40Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    House By The River: An Absent-Minded Murder
    Clip 3:02
    Watch House By The River: An Absent-Minded Murder

    Photos65

    House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)
    Louis Hayward and Dorothy Patrick in House by the River (1950)
    Jane Wyatt in House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)
    Louis Hayward in House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)
    House by the River (1950)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Louis Hayward
    Louis Hayward
    • Stephen Byrne
    Lee Bowman
    Lee Bowman
    • John Byrne
    Jane Wyatt
    Jane Wyatt
    • Marjorie Byrne
    Dorothy Patrick
    Dorothy Patrick
    • Emily Gaunt
    Ann Shoemaker
    Ann Shoemaker
    • Mrs. Ambrose
    Jody Gilbert
    Jody Gilbert
    • Flora Bantam
    Peter Brocco
    Peter Brocco
    • Harry - Coroner
    Howland Chamberlain
    Howland Chamberlain
    • District Attorney
    Margaret Seddon
    Margaret Seddon
    • Mrs. Whittaker - Party Guest
    Sarah Padden
    Sarah Padden
    • Mrs. Beach
    Kathleen Freeman
    Kathleen Freeman
    • Effie Ferguson - Party Guest
    Will Wright
    Will Wright
    • Inspector Sarten
    Leslie Kimmell
    • Mr. Gaunt
    Effie Laird
    • Mrs. Gaunt
    Bob Burns
    Bob Burns
    • Courtroom Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Edgar Caldwell
    • Square Dancer
    • (uncredited)
    Edward Clark
    Edward Clark
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Dae
    Frank Dae
    • Col. Davis
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Fritz Lang
    • Writers
      • Mel Dinelli(screenplay)
      • A.P. Herbert(novel "The House by the River")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Fritz Lang originally wanted a black woman to play the role of Emily Gaunt but the producers refused.
    • Quotes

      John Byrne: Stephen... I can't go through with this.

      Stephen Byrne: You promised to stay up there.

      John Byrne: Listen to me. The only thing to do is go to the police. Tell then exactly how it happened. It was an accident.

      Stephen Byrne: But, they'll never believe me. Even you don't believe me!

    • Connections
      Featured in Le funeste destin du docteur Frankenstein (2018)

    User reviews55

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Cold-blooded and callous murder and a flawed cover-up
    House by the River (1950)

    A straight up Gothic murder scenario with echoes of the 1945 "Spiral Staircase." A family with two brothers at odds with each other is living in a house and one of them is a murderer. And at first only the audience knows who. Their relative isolation on the banks of a wide river means only that they will have little help when danger occurs. The neighbors and police and few and far.

    Louis Hayward plays the main character, Stephen Byrne, a writer and a bit of a self-important cad. Hayward has an odd style on film during this era, attractive and likable at first, but with an acerbic humor and some kind of unworkable stiffness, as if you know he's always performing. But he's clever about it, and when you realize he isn't meant to be exactly lovable, he's pretty well cast. Byrne's brother, wife, and maid all come through with solid if uninspired performances, and you wonder exactly what held everyone back. Fritz Lang has many more successful melodramas than this one.

    I think the weakness is largely the raw material, the story itself, which is a bit straight forward. One brother commits a murder, the other is drawn into helping cover it up, and then the tensions build between them as an inquest raises questions. It has moments, but there are no further twists that work. The ending is out of character, almost comical in its false (and unlikely) horror.

    Along the way, though, are a series of nice scenes, inside the house at night, along the river at night, at a party meant to hide the killer's guilt, and so on. The music is especially helpful in jabbing the audience at key moments. American Georges Antheil was a composer famous for his avant-garde pieces in the 1920s in Europe before settling into a Hollywood routine. You can detect, and appreciate, the edge he brings to the score. The photography by contrast is good without rising up to the possibilities of these kinds of settings--the house, the river, the dock, all have more dramatic potential that we just don't see.
    helpful•11
    2
    • secondtake
    • Aug 11, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 25, 1950 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Floodtide
    • Filming locations
      • Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Fidelity Pictures Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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