I have a particularly good psychological thriller for you all this week and one starring an actor that has become a favourite of mine recently, Edward G Robinson. In ‘The Red House’ Robinson plays Pete Morgan who lives in a remote American farm with his sister Ellen, played by Judith Anderson and their adopted teenage daughter Meg, played by Allene Roberts.

The family live an odd life, cut off from their neighbours by distance and also separated from them by a brooding, sinister forest that Pete forbids his daughter to enter, especially at night. They live their own life in their own way relatively undisturbed for years until Pete, who has had a leg amputated following an accident years previously, hires one of Meg’s school friends, Nath, played by Lou McCallister, to help out with the heavy work on the farm.

At the end of a day working on the farm, Nath leaves for home and says that he will take a short cut through the forest. This enrages and upsets Pete who tells Nath of all the horrible voices and screams that he will hear in the forest and also to beware of what Pete called ‘The Red House’. Nath ignores Pete’s pleas and enters the forest to go home. On the way he perceives that he can hear screams although it might only be the wind. On a second occasion when Nath traverses the forest on his homeward journey, he is smashed over the head by a club wielding assailant who Nath initially thinks is Pete who jealously guards access to the forest.

Nath, Meg and Nath’s girlfriend, a glamorous and hard bitten girl called Tibby, played by Julie London, become curious about the forest and one Sunday set out to explore it and find this mysterious ‘Red House’. They find nothing but agree to explore again. Meg decides to explore alone and finds the fabled ‘Red House’, a collection of farm buildings which includes a red painted ice house. Whilst standing there looking at the buildings nestling in a hollow, she finds her self being shot at by a mystery rifleman. She runs off in terror.

The teenagers have stumbled across a the scene of a terrible crime, one that had occurred long ago and one that would have a profound effect on at least one of the teenager’s lives and many others as well.

I thought this was a fabulous psychological thriller with a nice film noir feel to it. It is well filmed and has a highly gripping plot. I was delighted to discover this film and really enjoyed watching it and I hope you do too.