(1947)
Directed by Delmer Daves
Starring Edward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister, Judith Anderson, Allene Roberts,
Julie London, Rory Calhoun, Ona Munson

I had seen this title pop up on some streaming services over the years but never got around to seeing it. Watching the trailer, it seemed like a ‘40s horror picture, with Edward G. Robinson telling a young character not to take short cut through the woods at night. As the young man says he’s not scared, Robinson yells in a very terrified voice, “It won’t save you from the screams in the night that will lodge in your bones all your life!” Sounds pretty chilling, right? So not sure why I never decided to watch it. But when Film Masters released it on Blu-ray, I figured now was my chance.

The funny thing is, when you watch the first 5 minutes, you’d think you were giving the old bait-and-switch, since it feels like something that would be playing on the Disney Channel or Family Classics. But as you watch the story unfold, learning more about the characters through these incredible performances, especially Robinson, you’ll realize this film has so many layers, and so much depth to it, it will have you thinking about it for days to come.

Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, author and scholar on the Film Noir sub-genre, provides us with an audio commentary on the disc. Right in the beginning, she confirms how this doesn’t stay within any lines of a specific genre, saying, “It really is a picture that defies any kind of singular characterization. It could be considered a psychological thriller, a mystery, horror, or film noir. And under the noir umbrella, it could even be thought of as gothic noir, or county noir.”

Honestly, that is the thing that has me enjoying it more and more. You think back upon different scenes or aspects of the story and then start to realize what a character was thinking or how they were reacting during a specific scene, which then makes you realize what they were actually going through at that particular moment.

Based on a 1945 novel of the same name by George Agnew Chamberlain, it tells the story of a brother Pete Morgan (Edward G. Robinson) and sister Ellen (Judith Anderson) living out on a farm outside of a small town. They raised a young girl, Meg (Allene Roberts), who they had adopted when she was a baby after her parents left town, raising her as if she was their own. The Morgan’s have somewhat of a mysterious reputation in town, though nothing is really known as to why to the younger generation. When a young Nath, a fellow classmate of Meg’s, comes to work for the Morgans, at Meg’s suggestion, he learns they seem to be as normal as the next family. Until he goes to walk home late one night after dinner and gets the mysterious speech from Robinson I mentioned earlier. But Nath goes anyway.

Nath heads off anyway into the darkened night, with the winds fiercely blowing, and the intensity of Miklós Rózsa’s musical score, all combine to make it a frightening journey, one that is too much for Nath before he turns back halfway, getting back to the Morgan’s barn before collapsing in the hay and passing out. The next morning, Nath is now determined more than ever to find out what is about the woods, or more specifically, the red house that is deep within the woods, that scares Pete so much. It even brings Meg into realizing she’s been thinking the same thing. This brings Nath and Meg closer together, even though Nath has a steady girlfriend in Tibby (Judy London), who is jealous the minute Nath starts working at the Morgan farm. Of course, this doesn’t stop her from flirting with a local guy (Rory Calhoun) who seems to be hanging around the edge of the Morgan property.

Nath is knocked unconscious by someone during his second attempt through the woods, which makes both him and Meg even more determined to uncover the truth about the woods, and the red house. Pete becomes more and more unraveled at the idea that he’s losing Meg, with the dark secret that he’s buried for years is going to be uncovered, as well as him slowly losing his hold of reality.

There are so many interesting elements in the film, even just a line or two of dialogue that tells you so much about a character, but because of where we are in the story, we might not pick up on it. It’s after the credits roll, and you’re thinking back, you realize what a line or two really meant. Just brilliant.

The film comes with liner notes by Chad Kennerk, but a lot of that info is covered by the very thorough and packed commentary by Hannsberry, covering not only the main actors, but some of the ones in smaller roles, as well as composer Miklós Rózsa, the cinematographer, and so much more. This title was one of those that due to some mistakes in getting it copyrighted, there were plenty of cheap releases over the years. But Film Masters has done an excellent job showing the film what it should like, nice, crisp and clean, allowing viewers to really enjoy the film the way it should be.

The incredible cast is led by Robinson, who goes from being this kind-hearted man, who starts to become someone else as his dark secret starts to be uncovered, and you can see all of this slowly immerging during his performance. With Judith Anderson playing his devoted sister, she even gives a strong performance, knowing there is something wrong with her brother, but unable to stop him. With Lon McCallister and Allene Robers, in her first role, as the young leads, they are so believable and immediately make you feel for them as the trouble thickens around them. Rory Calhoun, years before he’d become Farmer Vincent while running Motel Hello, does a great job in the little screen time he gets. Of course, it’s hard not to notice Nath’s girlfriend Tibby, played by the sultry Julie London.

Not sure if I would agree with Paste Magazine, who stated in 2019 that this was the best horror film released in 1947, I do feel it is an incredibly well-made film, shot beautifully, an amazing score that works so well within the film, as well as such a great story that unfolds as we go. Of course, while the whole cast is great, I feel that it is Robinson’s performance of this truly haunted man, that really makes the most impact. So yeah, I would call it a horror film, but not about a haunted red house, but a man haunted by his past. Definitely a must for all fans of cinema!

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