Movie Review: The Red House (1947)

Directed by Delmer Daves

Starring Edward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister and Judith Anderson

When most people think of “film noir”, they think black and white crime dramas, chain-smoking  private detectives and mysterious beautiful women with scandalous intent. The Red House has none of these things but make no mistake, this is “film noir” of the highest caliber. A gripping murder-mystery where the cinematographer’s use of light and shadow are as important to the storytelling as the plot itself. Where the score sets the mood, tone and overall feel of every scene. This is the kind of movie that will simply sweep you off your feet and transport you to another time and place.

Movie Review: The Stranger (1946)

Here is another amazing re-master from HD Cinema Classics. This collection is pretty oddball, featuring everything from Al Adamson’s most questionable head-scratcher (CARNIVAL MAGIC) to this, Orson Welles most accessible and readily-available classic, THE STRANGER (1946). Although it has long been probably the easiest to find of Welles’s films, I have never seen such a crisp and beautiful copy. For this Orson Welles freak, it was positively a reason to cheer.

 Buy The Stranger DVD or Blu-ray

Many Welles-ophiles consider THE STRANGER to be Welles’s sell-out movie, made to prove to Hollywood producers that he could deliver a standard Hollywood product on time and on budget. Although there were the usual battles over the final edit of the movie between Welles and studio bosses, The film did become a box office success and for a time did help Welles’s standing with Hollywood studios. The screenplay is credited to Anthony Veiller, but it is commonly reported that Welles and John Huston completely rewrote it. But slick Hollywood fare though it may be, it is not typical of the normal studio post-war dramas, and all of Welles’s trademark bravado is on display. It is a terrific movie, and stands very well on its own.