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Staring: Lee Bowman, Peter Brocco, Howland Chamberlain, William Fawcett, Kathleen Freeman
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Product Details
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0738329041922
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
Label: Kino Video
Manufacturer: Kino Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Kino Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2005-11-22
Running Time: 88
Studio: Kino Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1950-03-25

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Editorial Review
Product Description
Studio: Kino International Release Date: 11/22/2005 Run time: 85 minutes

Amazon.com
Virtually unseeable for half a century, House by the River, the rarest of Fritz Lang's American films, proves to be an atmospheric serving of Southern Gothic with style and perversity to burn. This is a happy surprise, given that the film was made at a low point in Lang's career, at a Poverty Row studio, with a low-wattage cast. Louis Hayward--whose dark, spoiled good looks and insinuating smile suggest Orson Welles' tawdry evil twin--plays an effete author in a small 19th-century town. One hot, lazy afternoon he's tempted (in a brilliantly directed scene) by thoughts of the comely maid soaking in his upstairs bathroom. There follows an awkward pass, a hand over her mouth, and suddenly he finds himself an accidental murderer. With a dead body to get rid of, living by a river comes in handy. But on this river, secrets have a way of returning with the tide.

The script by Mel Dinelli (who had just written the trim 1949 thriller The Window) ably milks the suspense, and there's a creepy moonlit search by rowboat for the now-you-see-it, now-you-don't corpse. The failed novelist, beginning to relish his guilt, acquires fresh inspiration as a writer and also becomes a cagy manipulator of other people, notably the wife (Jane Wyatt) who doesn't know what he's done, and the crippled brother (Lee Bowman) who does. Making a virtue of production resources only slightly upscale of Edgar G. Ulmer, Lang turns the titular domicile into an Expressionist hothouse where lace curtains yield a web of shadows, potted plants throw jagged black spears across high-key faces, and the breeze from the river is anything but fresh. Mastered from British archival materials, the DVD gleams like a cutlery-store window. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

"It will soon be over, John. She'll soon be in the river and it will all be forgotten.", 2006-11-09
The way I understand it, after some commercial failures and word getting around Hollywood that he was difficult to work with, Fritz Lang (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, Metropolis, M) found employment at the poverty row studios directing such features as this one titled House by the River (1950), which was released by Republic Productions. Based on a novel by British author A.P. Herbert, and adapted for the screen by Mel Dinelli (The Spiral Staircase), the film stars Louis Hayward (The Man in the Iron Mask), Jane Wyatt (Lost Horizon), and Lee Bowman (Buck Privates). Also appearing is Dorothy Patrick (Torch Song), Ann Shoemaker (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo), and Jody Gilbert (Willard).

As the story begins, aptly by a house by the river, we meet a man named Stephen Byrne (Hayward), an author of manuscripts, who's just received news that his most recent submission has been rejected. In an effort to console himself he decides to make a pass at his young, pretty maid Emily (Patrick), as nothing says class like trying to diddle the help when your wife's away. Anyway, Emily seriously freaks out, and Stephen accidentally strangles and kills the girl...smooth move, Ex-Lax...Stephen's cripple brother John (Bowman) makes the scene, game leg and all, and Stephen tries to claim Emily fell, but it's apparent to John the woman was murdered. Seems John has more than just a passing affinity for Stephen's wife Marjorie (Wyatt), who's away at the moment, and Stephen uses this to get John to help him dispose of the body (against John's better judgment), the pair stuffing the deceased into a wood sack and dumping it into the river. By this point it's pretty apparent that Stephen's a murderous, manipulative slime ball, but it gets worse. As time passes Emily's `disappearance' makes the news and some salacious rumors begin to circulate, specifically about Emily's character. As it turns out, the rumors were started by Stephen himself, and he's even gone so far as to steal some of his wife's things to make it appear Emily did it, and then took off, perhaps, with an unnamed suitor. For what purpose? Well one would think it was an effort to more fully cover his tracks, but in reality Stephen uses the generated publicity to help promote his books...okay, so not only is Stephen a murderous, manipulative slime ball, but a highly opportunistic one at that. As Stephen basks in newfound limelight, John's suffers terribly given the fact he's a human being with a conscience (Stephen seems to have one, but his is more easily stifled). Now here's where things get really interesting...the corpse surfaces, is found by the authorities, and there's an inquest, one that results in the appearance of guilt resting squarely on John's shoulders, something which Stephen seems to have little issue with...from here things continue their downward spiral as relationships degrade and Stephen, fearful his secret may come out, decides to tie up some loose ends...

This is the third film I've seen by Fritz Lang, the other two being M (1931) and Scarlet Street (1945), and while I'm certainly not an authority, the general consensus seems to be this wasn't one of his best works. That might be true, but if it is the case, then even his middling efforts are still worth attention, in my opinion. Personally, I had a lot of fun with this gothic thriller set in Victorian times. One aspect I liked were the intricacies within the plot, the small details that helped flesh out the relationships, particularly between Stephen and John. Another film would have been content to leave some of this out for simplicity's sake, but I enjoyed the depth it added to the story. One element of the story I had a difficult time swallowing was Marjorie's inability to see her husband for what he really was, an oily, skeevy, lying, opportunistic philanderer and all around no-goodnik, especially since she wasn't portrayed as an idiot. Stephen was certainly charming, and there's a bit where Marjorie speaks to the fact that perhaps this charm had blinded her initially to his peccadilloes, but still, she seemed oblivious towards that which he was capable. At one point we do get a sense she knew about his philandering ways, among other things, so did it really seem all that unreasonable she might have connected Emily's disappearance to her husband long before she did? I don't think so...perhaps she just decided to ignore the obvious in the hopes that it wasn't true, in which case made me rather apathetic towards her character. I think Ms. Wyatt performed well enough despite some significant flaws within her character. As far as the two male leads, Hayward was a lot of fun to watch, especially in terms of seeing how far he was willing to go, not only to cover up his deeds, but also to capitalize on them. Well after the murder and disposal of the body John questions Stephen's willingness profit from the subsequent publicity, to which Stephen replies something about `the ends justifying the means'. I thought Bowman did well enough, but again, here's another character I found myself unable to develop any substantial sympathy for as he seemed to enable his brother's actions, even to the point of taking the blame, that and the fact he passively coveted his brother's wife. He certainly suffered for the former, but only because he allowed it. Despite these perceived issues, the story was engaging, and I thought the direction wonderful, as there were some really creepy visuals and the pacing brisk. The production values were quite good, especially given the fact the film was released by Republic, which specialized in low budget features (occasionally a larger studio would produce a film and then offer it to one of these poverty row studios for release, if it wasn't up to their standards). All in all, while this may be one of Lang's lesser efforts, it's still a great film and one worth checking out.

The picture, presented in fullscreen (1.33:1), on this Kino Video DVD release, looks strong, but does show some signs of wear due to age. Apparently the source material was taken from a print obtained through the National Film and Television Archive in London, so chances are this is the best you see this rare film, at least until someone mounts a full blown restorative effort. The two channel mono audio comes through well enough, with only a slight background hiss. There are a couple of extras including a 7 ½ minute interview with filmmaker Pierre Rissient who apparently discovered the print used on this DVD, and a small photo gallery featuring lobby cards and production photos.

Cookieman108

Gem from Budget Row, 2007-05-20
This shows what a great director like Fritz Lang can do with peanuts. Laughton must have seen this for his "Night of the Hunter", some of the feel is so similar. "Hunter" is superior because the script and cast are, but Jane Wyatt is one of the most underrated talents ever in films, in part because of the Red Scare blacklist of which she was a victim. The other leads are good but the film suffers from mediocre talent in the supporting roles. All the same, this is the kind of film Manny Farber used to champion in his reviews. Pulpy and full bodied. If the budget had been higher, the studio better, this would be talked about in hushed tones.

The Trouble with Emily . . ., 2009-03-07
Although director Fritz Lang's atmospheric exercise in Southern gothic "House by the River" doesn't rank as one of his major films, such as "M," "Metropolis," "Fury," or "The Big Heat," this morbid Victorian melodrama about murder most foul contains enough of his characteristic themes to make it rewarding for people who fancy his films. Several reasons account for its lackluster stature. First, Republic Studios produced and released "House by the River" and Republic wasn't a prominent studio like MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, or Twentieth Century Fox, though great directors such as Orson Welles and John Ford had made pictures at Republic. Second, the talent is strictly second tier. Louis Hayward never achieved the stardom of earlier Lang stars, such as Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda, Ray Milland, and Walter Pidgeon. Nevertheless, Hayward acquits himself splendidly in the role of a treacherous murderer who has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to save his neck, even if it means shifting the blame to his brother. The remainder of the cast is serviceable, except for Jody Gilbert who plays a fatuous housekeeper to the protagonist's brother. Still, nobody can top the wicked Hayward whose character goes from one extreme, sniveling fear at the thought of being arrested to obnoxious egotism.

"House by the River" is confined largely to studio sets. First, the murder occurs in the protagonist's dimly lighted mansion. Second, some scenes unfold in his crippled brother's house--one room. Third, the courtroom is the setting for an inquest. Fourth, the protagonist and his brother ply the river in a boat in long shots of an actual river and a studio tank for the closer shots. Fifth, some scenes transpire on the grounds of the mansion and on a nearby dock. All in all, "House by the River" is appropriately claustrophobic. The river takes on an eerie character of its own, especially the jumping fish that preys on the protagonist's paranoia. Despite its modest surrounding, Lang and his cinematographer do an excellent job of conveying information about the various characters. The imagery has a haunting quality that indicates that Lang was a master of crime movies, even though he labored under less than stellar conditions. Although the melodrama is conventional in every sense of the word, Lang's camerawork and the mise-en-scene that he evokes is far from ordinary. He does a terrific job of depicting suspicion, murder, paranoia, and the toll that gossip takes on an individual.

The problem with "House by the River" is that you know what is going to happen for the most part because Hollywood movies of the 1950s always punished the murderer. In other words, crime never paid and the villains got their comeuppance. Scenarist Mel Dinelli derived his screenplay from A. P. Herbert's novel. Lang and he cultivate a modicum of suspense, but not enough to have you wringing your hands. Actually, it is fun--in a perverse way--to watch the
unscrupulous Hayward tries to get away with his crime, but like previous Lang murderers, he is so warped that he can never escape the consequences of his acts.

A middling crime novelist, Stephen Byrne (Louis Hayward of "Anthony Adverse") murders his wife's maid, Emily (Dorothy Patrick of "Follow Me Quietly"), by accident. Stephen accosts her as she descends the stair after bathing in his wife's bathroom and wearing her perfume and tries to kiss her. It seems that Stephen had a drink and looked up to see a pair of curvaceous thighs coming down the stairs and couldn't control himself. Emily deflects his lustful advances, screams when he refuses to let her pass, and keeps on screaming irrationally until he strangles her to death. Stephen is distracted by the appearance of a nosy next door neighbor, Mrs. Ambrose (Anne Shoemaker of "They Won't Forget"), and assures Emily that he will release her if she only shuts up. He is too worried about what Mrs. Ambrose will tell the community that he doesn't realize his own strength. Tragically, Emily doesn't stop screaming and Stephen kills her with his bare hands. No sooner has Stephen murdered her than sometime comes knocking at his door. Stephen cowers near the corpse hoping that the individual at the door will go away. Just when he thinks this person has left, the individual surprises Stephen and enters by the back door. Stephen is relieved when he realizes that it is only his crippled brother John (Lee Bowman of "Bataan") who walks with a limp and earns his living as an accountant. Stephen convinces John not to go the police because he fears that the authorities won't believe his story. Initially, Stephen lies to John and tells him that Emily fell down the stairs. John spots the marks on Emily's throat and knows that she has been strangled. Against his best instincts, John decides to aid and abet Stephen. It seems that John has helped Stephen out of other jams. Just when John decides to change his mind, Stephen lies that his wife Marjorie (Jane Wyatt) is going to have a baby. Reluctantly, John helps Stephen dispose of the body in the river. Earlier, in the first scenes, Mrs. Ambrose complained that the currents of the river conveyed hideous sites. Lang foreshadows the role that the river will play in Stephen's future. Just when he thinks that he is free and clear, here comes Mrs. Ambrose complaining again about the flotsam in the river. John is especially terrified because he learns to his chagrin that the sack that they stashed Emily in has his name stenciled on it.

Anyway, Stephen and John dispose of Emily's body in the river, but the body comes back on them like everything else. John's guilty conscience gets the best of him and his nosy housekeeper, Miss Bantam (Jody Gilbert of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), suggests that his erratic behavior after Emily's mysterious disappearance is proof that he had something to do with her death. Meanwhile, Stephen unravels and tries to kill his own brother and implicate him for Emily's death. The authorities never catch up with Stephen. His paranoia proves his undoing in a wild comeuppance that has him strangling himself in a curtain that he believes his Emily. As he did in "Fury," Lang uses public opinion generated by gossip to condemn an essentially innocent but misguided character. Good performances, good atmosphere, and Lang's sure hand at the helm make this melodrama better than a lesser director would have made it. While it isn't a comedy, "House by the River" seems to foreshadow "The Trouble with Harry," the Hitchcock movie about a corpse that keeps showing up and driving people crazy.

Gothic thriller at its best, 2009-04-30
Fritz Lang's "House by the River" is not a true film noir, but more properly a gothic mystery or thriller. As such, it compares favorably with Robert Siodmak's "The Spiral Staircase" as the best of the genre. In movies of this type, atmosphere plays a major role, and this one has it in spades: the gloomy old houses, the tidal creek that carries debris out to sea and then washes them back again, the corpse that returns at a most inopportune time for the killer. The print and sound quality are above average for a home video not released by a major studio, though I wish they had included subtitles.

Melodramatic Victorian murder mystery, 2006-10-16
Louis Hayward stars as erratic and unbalanced writer Stephen Byrne in Fritz Lang's despondent film noir drama, "House By the River". The privileged Hayward accidently kills his wife's attractive housemaid after she rejected his unwanted amorous advances. With fear of exposure he wheedles the help of his staid and ethical brother John played by Lee Bowman, to help him dispose of the body. They put the corpse in a sack then submerge it in the nearby river. Curiously the notoriety of the maid Emily's apparent disappearance allows Hayward's writing to increase significantly in popularity.

The crime adversely affects the behavior of both brothers. Hayward's behavior becomes more bizarre detaching him from his wife Marjorie played by Jane Wyatt, who in reality cares more for brother John.

The body soon surfaces and police discover clues that implicate John Byrne for the crime he didn't commit. The demented Hayward is only too happy to have to brother take the fall for him. In the end however, as in most film noir, justice is served.

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