La casa rossa

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!

Until last night I hadn't seen this movie since being 9 years old in 1947. At that time it scared the hell out of me --- particular the ice house scene, etched forever in memory -- although THE RED HOUSE is not a horror movie. Looking at it again after 60 years it's still a winner.

However scary there's almost no violence, but instead it relies on the natural fright of living near a forbidden woods and the haunted RED HOUSE. The evil lies entirely in the mind of the old man (Edward G. Robinson) and the guilt from some long-ago crime. Lon McAlister plays the young man who enters the scene and other youngsters are played by Rory Calhoun and Julie London who later became stars.

It's easy to understand how the dark, forbidden woods affected me as a young child; but I doubt it would be so well received by today's kids. For one thing, they don't play outside much, let alone exploring in a dark woods or haunted house. Secondly, the woods was most likely torn down. My own woods --- circa 1947 -- had a stream, a swamp, a genuine haunted house, a pig's skeleton, and a road leading to nowhere. Today it's all gone; replaced by Holy Cross Hospital, part of the Washington Beltway, 40 new houses --- paradise swallowed up by progress. Nothing remains for today's kids.

The Red House is now in DVD. It's good; see it!

This film-noir may look like a B-film, but it contains two powerful pieces of work, that of actor Edward G. Robinson and composer Miklos Rozsa.

A strange tale, "The Red House" benefits from one of Robinson's most flavorful performances, as a man harboring a dark secret past which returns to haunt him. Ably supporting Robinson is the strong Judith Anderson as the sister, the fine Lon McCallister as a callow but earnest youth, and the striking Rory Calhoun in one of his most impressive roles.

Directed in a somewhat standard fashion by Delmer Davis, interest is maintained by uniformly strong performances, and an extensive, full orchestral score by Miklos Rozsa. As in countless other films, Rozsa, inspired by Ravel (and the generic Debussy) weaves a wall-to-wall tapestry of psychological tension, further raising this enactment above its ordinary production design.

Devotees of Robinson can enjoy their favorite actor in his 53rd film, made at the peak of his powers. His unique film presence boasted a career of 99 films in 57 years, which was preceded by a 15-year stint on the New York stage. Robinson proved that one doesn't have to be unusually handsome to be a star, nor be relegated to minor character parts. Indeed, Robinson played leads in countless classics, with nary a weak performance. Few actors can make that claim.

The DVD transfer is not a restored print, and contains several stretches of poor audio and scratchy images. On a series called, "Hollywood Tough Guys," put out by Madacy Entertainment, one can still be grateful that "The Red House" is available, as respresentative of both Robinson's and Rozsa's unique contribution to film.

Edward G. Robinson doesn't want his adopted daughter to go near "The Red House" in this 1947 film which also stars Judith Anderson, Lon McAllister, Allene Roberts, Julie London and Rory Calhoun. Robinson is Pete, who lives with his sister Ellen (Anderson) on a self-sufficient farm. They have a daughter they both adopted, Meg, who is now a teenager with a crush on Nath (McAllister) so she arranges for him to work for Pete. Nath is interested instead in the gorgeous Tibby (London), a tramp in training who flirts with a randy local (Calhoun). When Nath decides to go home via the woods, Pete becomes very agitated and tries to dissuade him. Meg and Nath decide to find out what's in those woods and start investigating. What they uncover is life-changing.

Directed by Delmer Daves, "The Red House" is one scary noir with lots of night scenes that take place in the woods and a haunting ending. The story is also an allegory for growing up and going out into the world, which Meg and Nath are determined to do. Nath urges his mother to marry her long-time boyfriend and go north with him because it's time he was independent, and Meg wants to be treated like a young woman - not only by a young man, but by the people she sees as her parents. The more Pete tells her not to go into the woods, the more she rebels.

There are several unsettling things in this film - the secret Pete is keeping, for one, as well as very unhealthy obsession with Meg. That is handled subtly for the most part, but is still there. That may seem an ambitious subject for 1947, but it is also an obvious part of the plot of "In This Our Life," as an example. We learn as the film continues that Ellen had a chance at having her own home and happiness with the local doctor, but because Pete would not allow her to take Meg with her, she never married and stayed on the farm. The fact that she wasn't willing to leave Meg alone with Pete is quite telling. As Pete becomes more unbalanced at the thought of anyone trespassing in the woods, we can understand her motives. Another interesting feature of the film is the blatant sexuality of Tibby as opposed to the naiveté of Meg.

All the performances are good, but Robinson is a standout. He could be convincing as both a villain and a lovesick fool, a great man or a coward. Here he slowly fleshes out his character from that of a nice, gentle man to one who is becoming unhinged to complete disintegration in a truly frightening performance. Judith Anderson, so menacing in "Rebecca" underplays beautifully here and is perfectly convincing as Pete's sister. It's a sign of a great actress when she can be at home in Shakespeare and as a farmer's sister. London is stunning and does well as a gal trying to hedge her bets. Roberts and McAllister are appropriately young and have the necessary naive quality.

The best way I can describe "The Red House" is to call it unsettling. The undertones and the end of the film are disturbing, and one can see the beginnings of the psychology and dark feelings that surfaced in film after World War II.

I first heard of this film when Scorcesse mentioned it on his documentary, "A Journey Through American Cinema"...always wanting to see something new, I found a copy of it at work and took it home....WOW!!! This is one of the greatest low budget thriller/melodramas I have ever seen...definately up there with Jacque Tourner's "Cat People" and Edgar Ulmer's "Detour"...Daves conjures up a moltov cocktail of sexual frustration, psychological S&M, and pubescent curiosity that seems primed to explode at any minute, and the volatility of it all is what keeps you in suspense. Even if you do figure out the secret of the red house half way through (I did), the performances of everybody involved (especially Edward G Robinson) keeps your eyes glued to the screen from beginning all the way to the bitter and somewhat ironic end....if you ever run across it, please check it out....sadly, the prints that are available are a bit scratchy at best (which is what happens when a film is forgotten), but the film is an experience everybody should see for themselves.....