The Red House is a 1947

1947 in film

The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...

 psychological thriller

Psychological thriller

Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...

 starring Edward G. Robinson

Edward G. Robinson

Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...

. It is adapted from the novel The Red House by George Agnew Chamberlain, published in 1943 by Popular Library

Popular Library

Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time was a major pulp magazine, newspapers and magazine publishers...

. The novel was serialized in five consecutive issues of Saturday Evening Post, 10 March 1945 through 7 April 1945.

Plot

Handicapped farmer Pete (Robinson) and sister Ellen (Anderson) have raised ward Meg as their own on a reclusive farm. Now a teen, Meg (Roberts) convinces her friend Nath to come help with chores on the farm. When Nath insists on using a shortcut home through the woods, Pete warns the young man of screams in the night and the terrors associated with the abandoned red house. Curious, Meg and Nath ignore his warnings and begin exploring and troubling secrets are revealed.

Reaction

Reviewer Dave Sindelar gives the film a positive review: "It's not perfect; it's a little too long, so you end up figuring some of the final revelations before you should, and it gets a little repetitive at times, but the strong acting and some memorable images make it worth the investment."

The film is also praised as a "Murky psychological thriller with resonant settings and an emotive Rózsa score.

Featured cast

Actor	Role
Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...	Pete Morgan
Lon McCallister Lon McCallister Lon McCallister was an American actor.Born in Los Angeles, he began appearing in movies at the age of 13. The young actor had leads in a number of films; he usually played boyish young men from the country. Growing only to 5'6" he found it difficult to find roles as an adult. He appeared with...	Nath Storm
Judith Anderson Judith Anderson Dame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian-born American-based actress of stage, film and television. She won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award.-Early life:...	Ellen Morgan
Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun was an American television and film actor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his roles in Westerns.-Early life:...	Teller
Allene Roberts Allene Roberts Allene Roberts was born in Fairfield Highlands, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. She starred in twelve movies between 1947 and 1954 and appeared on TV in Four Star Playhouse, The Adventures of Superman and Dragnet....	Meg
Julie London Julie London Julie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...	Tibby

Copyright status

Chamberlain’s 1943 novel has no copyright registration at the Library of Congress. The five issues of Saturday Evening Post in which the story was serialized were registered for copyright by The Curtis Publishing Co.; the copyrights of all five issues were renewed in 1973 by The Saturday Evening Post Company.

The movie was registered for copyright by Thalia Productions (LP864; 7 February 1947); that copyright was not renewed.