Review of The Red House

This is one of the toughest Edward G. Robinson films to review, as it is so different and strange when compared to his other films. Instead of the familiar gangster film, Robinson plays a farmer in this mystery. It doesn't seem like a mystery movie initially, but you soon start to sense SOMETHING just isn't right on this lovely and isolated farm. It all begins to be revealed when a high school student comes to work part-time on the farm. He's a classmate of Robinson's adopted daughter and things seem to be working out fine until this young man wants to take a shortcut across the property. Inexplicably, Robinson STRONGLY warns him not to--saying the woods are very dangerous at night. And because of his vehemence, his daughter becomes fascinated with unraveling the whole mystery behind the woods. Instead of trying to further explain the rest of the film, let's just suffice to say that there are lots of twists and turns and even death awaiting! The total package is very good--too good to just have this film sit on shelves like it has over the years. And while not all the plot elements are completely satisfactory (Robinson at times just seemed a little too goofy and crazed and the final resolution was not the best answer to a mystery I have ever seen on film), the movie is worth seeing--particularly for fans of Robinson and films from Hollywood's Golden Age.