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Released by: Film Chest
Released on: April 24, 2012.
Director: Delmer Daves
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister, Julie London
Year: 1947
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The Movie:
Delmer Daves' 1947 noir thriller The Red House stars Edward G. Robinson as Peter Morgan, a one legged man working his way through life but unable to really look after his farm on his own. He needs some help to get the farm able to support his sister Ellen (Judith Anderson) and their adopted child Meg (Allene Roberts). When Meg crushes on Nath Storm (Lon McCallister), much to the dismay of the other girl in his life, Tibby (Julie London), she convinces Peter to give him a job on the farm.
Near the home are some dark woods which the elder man warns Nath in no uncertain terms to stay out of, but one day when he finds himself short for time, he cuts through them. Peter warns Nath further about the red house that's buried in those woods, but he's not buying the older man's superstitions despite the stories of terrible screams emanating from the hold home late at night. Curious as to what the secret of the old red house really is, Nath talks Meg into helping him figure it all out…
The Red House doesn't start off as a particularly engrossing picture but stick with it, as it's a film that builds really nicely to a more than satisfying conclusion. The only thing close to a horror picture that director Delmer Daves ever made it meanders a bit in the first third but eventually finds its pace and pulls us along for the legitimately thrilling conclusion. The score by composer Miklos Roza helps quite a bit here, helping to set the mood and complimenting the beautifully dark black and white cinematography fairly perfectly. Theramin fans take note, Roza's work with the instrument on this film really stands out.
Performance wise, all three of the principals do excellent work here. Robinson shows some serious range as an actor and somehow manages to go from completely calm and almost peaceful to completely pissed off in a split second without breaking character and without ever chewing through the scenery. He's excellent in his part and makes a great contrast to McCallister's increasingly bizarre but wholly effective turn as Storm. By the time the end of the film comes around, both actors manage to make quite an impact on the viewer, while both Julie London and Allene Roberts do fine with their respective supporting roles. Judith Anderson is also quite good, playing the sweet wife to Robinson's hotheaded farmer very effectively.
If the plot twists are a little predictable, obvious even, by the standards of the modern day it's still easy to appreciate the skill on display here both in front of and behind the camera. The Red House is a very well shot movie that benefits from some great performances, loads of atmosphere, and a remarkably tense finale - definitely well worth seeing.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Red House arrives on Blu-ray in a restored AVC encoded 1.33.1 fullframe transfer which definitely beats previous DVD releases but which suffers from constant and obvious digital noise reduction. The grain has been scrubbed out of the picture and with it some detail. Print damage has been greatly reduced and contrast doesn't look bad but the DNR definitely brings things down a notch. Black levels aren't perfect but again are a improvement over DVD releases and the image is definitely more stable - but almost artificially so thanks to that waxiness associated with excessive noise reduction. The screen caps don't lie…
The DTS-HD Mono mix on the disc is okay for what it is. Some minor hiss is present and periodically things sound a little bit flat but the track is, for the most part, well balanced and plenty easy to follow. Some distortion creeps in here and there and it can be a little distracting but for an older low budget public domain film that has never really been given an 'awesome' home video release, this'll do.
The main extra is a commentary track that is delivered by William Hare that spends more time telling us what we're seeing on screen and stating the obvious than offering us much insight into the production or its history. There are definitely moments where he picks up the pace and finds things to say, discussing the history of the picture and delivering some trivia regarding those who made it, but this track doesn't really catch fire and suck you in the way a good critical analysis or history lesson style track can.
Aside from that, Film Chest have cut a new trailer for the feature that clocks in at just over a minute and provided a before and after restoration demo that also clocks in at just over a minute. Menus and chapter stops are included and as this is a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack release, a standard definition copy is included on a second disc. There's also a postcard that replicates the cover art tucked away inside the keepcase.
The Final Word:
The Red House is a solid movie, mixing up a great noir style and sensibility with the more traditional elements associated with your standard thriller with great results. Definitely a movie well worth seeing, this Blu-ray release from Film Chest seems to be the best way to do that despite the distracting noise reduction. How susceptible you are to that could be a deal breaker, but compared to previous DVD releases from Alpha and VCI, this is an improvement.
Note: Screen caps are from the DVD:
