Saturday Night Cinema: The Red House

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Tonight's Saturday Night Cinema feature is "The Red House," starring Edward G. Robinson and the young beautiful Julie London. Robinson will not be disappointed. He gives us another classic Robinson performance in this dark, moody thriller.

The Red House (1947) NY Times film review

A.W. Published: March 17, 1947

It's been a long time since the Hollywood artisans have turned out an adult horror number. "The Red House," which arrived at the Globe on Saturday, is just such an edifying offering, which should supply horror-hungry audiences with the chills of the month. For this tenebrous tale of an abandoned house set deep in a tangled and forbidding forest and its impact on the lives of a group of people living close by, is told intelligently and with mounting tension. If rationalization should reveal the house's secret long before the denouement, or much talk level rising gooseflesh now and again, the picture's cumulative effect still is as eerie as a well-spun ghost story.

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A newcomer to this film genre, Delmer Daves, the director, who also wrote the screen play, has followed the blueprint laid down by George Agnew Chamberlain's novel. The somber and brooding mood is set as the camera, swinging over a sylvan scene, comes to rest on "Ox-head woods, which have the allure of a walled castle." When teen-aged Nath Storm comes to help with the chores on the adjacent Pete Morgan farm, both he and Meg, Pete's adopted daughter, are warned away from "Ox-head—the red house—and screams in the night" by the dour and suddenly aroused farmer. And it is through these naturally inquisitive youngsters that the mystery is slowly and suspensefully unfolded, a story involving a couple of fifteen-year-old murders and their dire hold on Pete Morgan, his spinster sister and Meg.

Edward G. Robinson is excellent as crippled Pete, whose mind is cracking under the thrall of the horrible secret of the red house, and Judith Anderson gives a taut performance as his sister who has silently shared his mental burden. They, as well as Lon McCallister, who is fine as the sensitive and courageous Nath, are supported by a pair of newcomers whose portrayals are seasoned far beyond their records. Include in this category Allene Roberts as Meg, the troubled daughter who is torn between her affection for her foster father and the strange "allure" of the red house, and Julie London, as Nath's girl friend, a curvaceous flirt who employs her obvious charms competently. Rory Calhoun, as a handsome and unlettered woodsman, and Ona Munson round out the uniformly good cast.

Delmer Daves' fluid direction and an appropriately macabre musical assist from Miklos Rozsa, has done nothing to detract from their characterizations.

THE RED HOUSE, written for the screen and directed by Delmer Daves; from the novel, "The Red House," by George Agnew Chamberlain; produced by Sol Lesser for United Artists release. At the Globe.
Pete Morgan . . . . . Edward G. Robinson
Nath Storm . . . . . Lon McCallister
Ellen Morgan . . . . . Judith Anderson
Meg . . . . . Allene Roberts
Tibby Rinton . . . . . Julie London
Teller . . . . . Rory Calhoun
Mrs. Storm . . . . . Ona Munson
Dr. Byrne . . . . . Harry Shannon
Officer . . . . . Arthur Space
Don Brent . . . . . Walter Sande

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12 years ago

THEY WALK AMONG US
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Barking man cited for noise violation
Published Monday, April 16, 2012
Officers cited a man for violating the county’s daytime noise violation Sunday afternoon after people complained he was cursing and barking like a dog in his yard in the 100 block of Brentwood Drive, Athens-Clarke police said.
The ordinance forbids noise in residential areas that can be heard more than 300 feet away, and the officer noted in the report he marked a distance of 320 feet from the spot where he heard the man, police said.
The 35-year-old man denied that he was yelling, and told the officer some people call him “the holy lamb of God,” according to police.
He refused to sign the citation, police said.
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Denver man tries out to be Broncos’ first male cheerleader
Published April 16, 2012
A Colorado man danced off against more than 200 women in a bid to become the Denver Broncos’ first male cheerleader.
The NFL team’s judges welcomed the unlikely entry from Sacha Heppell in the first round of the 2012 tryouts Sunday.
“It’s huge. I’m excited, totally thrilled,” Heppell told KUSA before his audition. “No male has ever made it through auditions. I don’t even know if a male even made it to the auditions.”
“It’s an open call, so anyone can show up and try out,” a member of the judging panel said, adding that the decision on whether to accept a male hopeful would be based on his “dance ability” alone.
After being put through his paces, Heppell said getting the chance to perform his pro football routine was “amazing,” although he admitted, “I messed up a few times.”
The judges agreed, cutting him from the competition to cheer Peyton Manning and Co. at Mile High next season.
“I’m a little disappointed. I gave it all I got,” Heppell said, though he remained undeterred in pursuit of his dream. “I’m going to continue to practice throughout this year, and I will be back next year.”
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PA Arab Ignites Himself in Firebomb Attack
A Palestinian Authority Arab accidentally set himself on fire Tuesday while attacking Israeli security forces with a firebomb.
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First Publish: 4/18/2012, 2:44 PM
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Taliban commander turns self in… for reward on ‘Wanted’ poster
By Kevin Sieff
Sometimes, capturing a Taliban commander requires vast resources and complex operations. Last week in eastern Afghanistan, it required neither.
Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, strolled toward a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee referenced on the poster: $100.
Afghan officials, perplexed by the man’s misguided motives, arrested him on the spot. Ashan is suspected of plotting at least two attacks on Afghan security forces. His misdeeds prompted officials to plaster the district with hundreds of so-called “Be on the Lookout” posters emblazoned with his name and likeness.
When U.S. troops went to confirm that Ashan had in fact come forward to claim the finder’s fee, they were initially incredulous.
“We asked him, ‘Is this you?’ Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, ‘Yes, yes, that’s me! Can I get my award now?’” recalled SPC Matthew Baker.
A biometric scan confirmed that the man in Afghan custody was the insurgent they had been looking for.
“This guy is the Taliban equivalent of the ‘Home Alone” burglars,” one U.S. official said.

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