. . . especially when he's down to his last leg, as "Pete" (Edward G. Robinson) is in THE RED HOUSE. This low-budget mess resulted from someone's lame idea that if you threw several unknown young actors together with "Mrs. Danvers" (REBECCA's Judith Anderson) and DR. CLITTERHOUSE himself (Robinson) you might get a passable suspense and\or horror flick. Unfortunately, the trashy script, based upon a magazine serial, plays like Eugene O'Neill Lite. Instead of DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS, we're treated to WAILING IN THE WOODS. Pete is mad as a hatter, but he lives in some alternate universe in which everyone else exists as his zombie-like enablers, whose sole purpose is to carry out his crazy commands. From sister Ellen to ward Meg, from gamekeeper Teller to handy boy Nath, from Nympho Tibby to Doc Byrne, everyone lets Peg-leg Pete get away with murder. To add insult to injury, this flop is filmed in grainy black & white. Truth-in-advertising dictates that it be retitled THE GRAY HOUSE.
Review of The Red House
