The Red House (1947)

Directed by Delmar Daves; produced by Sol Lesser

Pete Morgan (Edward G Robinson) runs his farm with the help of his sister, Ellen (Judith Anderson) and their adopted daughter, Meg (Allene Roberts). But he is aging, and Meg persuades him to hire Nath Storm (Lon McCallister), a young local man. Warned by Pete to stay out of the nearby woods, and away from its mysterious Red House, Nath’s curiosity is aroused, as is Meg’s; the girl feels connected to the abandoned building somehow. Yet the more questions the young pair ask and try to answer, the stronger becomes Pete’s desire to keep the answers hidden.

The Red House is an eerie and unusual film, possibly a film noir, but more of a psychological thriller. As is usual with successful movies, it depends not just on one element, but on acting, directing and writing.

In terms of acting, Robinson is a big part of the movie, though he doesn’t carry it; he isn’t even really its centre. This actor, who could play villainous and sympathetic, comedic and dramatic, nonetheless provides much of the action, if dialogue and emotion that move a story may be termed that. He manages well to convey a man haunted by a past that may or may not undo his appearance of decency.

Lon McCallister is probably an unfamiliar name to many now, despite his second billing here. He forsook acting in his forties, and The Red House is likely his most significant rôle. He does very well in it, though his character doesn’t really give him much to work with. Allene Roberts started acting with The Red House; the reason for the brevity of her career – even shorter than McCallister’s – is clear; she is adequate as a performer, but no more.

The screenplay is good; co-written by the director, it effectively creates a sense of tension, especially when concerned with Robinson’s character. There is, perhaps, too little to the secret at the heart of the movie’s mystery; the viewer may guess at least the gist of it some time before it is revealed. That doesn’t mar the story. Indeed, the finale is both exciting and fitting.

Delmar Daves is another name that might be largely unknown these days, though with much less reason than McCallister’s. As a writer, he penned Love Affair, Destination Tokyo, Dark Passage, and A Summer Place, among others. As a director, he helmed some of those films, and more. One of the factors to making The Red House work is the contrast that Delves makes between the pleasant countryside, with its open fields, well-kept farms and swimming ponds, and the claustrophobic woods, the overgrown cabin and menacing shadows. As well, the direction – and the script – shows the loving, almost chummy relationship between Nath and his mother – he keeps trying to get her to marry her long-time admirer – next to the unhealthy obsession centred about the title house. The aspects of light and dark are more than just visual.

Neither a ghost story nor a tale of crime, The Red House manages to combine these features – at least figuratively – in a movie that will, even if it doesn’t keep you guessing until the end, will keep you entertained.