Edward G. Robinson is a complex and complete actor - from noir to comedy and from drama to thriller he did it all. He costars with great movie names: Lon McCallister, Judith Anderson, Rory Calhoun, Allene Roberts and Julie London.
In this film - The Red House (1947 based on the novel by George Agnew Chamberlain - he plays a slightly above middle-age crippled farmer that lives with his sister on a farm that's separated from the town by what it seems to be quite a large wood. I guess that if you are here reading this, you have already seen the movie, if not, go watch it and after that return here, cause i am not going to retell the story like your usual movie reviewers do.
Right from the start i have to say that this is exceptional drama thriller with a very low body count, as this is not your usual serial killer/violent thriller or whatever. This is a toned down movie, slow paced, building its story, characters and mistery. And while a bit after the middle of the film you can guess that E.G.R. is the (arguably) antagonist, there's still enough mistery to keep you on your toes till the end. Actually i can say that Teller is the true antagonist, an out of luck character that wants to make a hit and run out of town with Tibby, a femme fatale wanna be (Lolita style), that's actually a scared girl that wants more from her life than to be a farmer's wife. To be honest the movie would have worked better without both characters and without the other filler characters. E.G.R., his wife, the hired farm hand that falls in love with their adopted daughter, and a police officer showing at the end would have been perfect. Yes this is my one and only complain about this movie - filler characters.
Other than that, as previously stated, it's a fantastic thriller. It has a victorian gothic vibe that more than once made me think of a favorite of mine Wuthering Heights. E.G.R.'s character is a crippled (in mind this time) as Heathcliff. Tormented by a forbidden love he, same as Heathcliff, kills the object of his love (yes in Wuthering Heights he didn't killed Cathy himself, but he had a very big part in her death). He's tormented by the act, he hears her voice... Again, same as Heathcliff he has an overwhelming influence and dominance over the will of the women in his life. His sister denounced her own life and liberty to stay with him, take care of him and keep his secret, trying every day to give him excuses for his double murder, as he also killed Jeannie's husband. His adopted daughter is none other that the daughter of the people he killed, and as she knows nothing about the fact she idolizes him as the perfect parent. And credit where credit's due he did offer her an almost perfect life. Somewhat with and through her he created the perfect life he imagined he would have had with Jeannie. But as Meg grows into a woman she starts to look more and more like her mother. And her obssesion with the hidden red house in the woods, and her love for Nath pushes Pete's already unstable mind over the edge. He wants Meg only for himself to live the perfect life he envisoned, isolated from the world only him, Meg and Ellen.
In the end he couldn't make out anymore what's real and what's not, he sees Meg as being Jeannie and he takes her to the red house to tell her that he didn't wanted to kill her, and as he grows deep into his madness he tries to kill her, thinking that if he kills Jeannie's ghost he will be set free, only ending getting himself dead by drowning in the watermill. Again a victorian gothic setting for the climax, that i really loved.
This is not at all a horror movie as is decribed almost everywhere. It's a great drama thriller with a stunning performance by Edward G. Robinson.
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