Wed-mat one

 There was a “colourised” version but I opted for the B&W.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_House_(film)

Review:

Edward G. Robinson doesn't want his adopted daughter to go near "The Red House" in this 1947 film which also stars Judith Anderson, Lon McAllister, Allene Roberts, Julie London and Rory Calhoun. Robinson is Pete, who lives with his sister Ellen (Anderson) on a self-sufficient farm. They have a daughter they both adopted, Meg, who is now a teenager with a crush on Nath (McAllister) so she arranges for him to work for Pete. Nath is interested instead in the gorgeous Tibby (London), a tramp in training who flirts with a randy local (Calhoun). When Nath decides to go home via the woods, Pete becomes very agitated and tries to dissuade him. Meg and Nath decide to find out what's in those woods and start investigating. What they uncover is life-changing.

Directed by Delmer Daves, "The Red House" is one scary noir with lots of night scenes that take place in the woods and a haunting ending. The story is also an allegory for growing up and going out into the world, which Meg and Nath are determined to do. Nath urges his mother to marry her long-time boyfriend and go north with him because it's time he was independent, and Meg wants to be treated like a young woman - not only by a young man, but by the people she sees as her parents. The more Pete tells her not to go into the woods, the more she rebels.

There are several unsettling things in this film - the secret Pete is keeping, for one, as well as very unhealthy obsession with Meg. That is handled subtly for the most part, but is still there. That may seem an ambitious subject for 1947, but it is also an obvious part of the plot of "In This Our Life," as an example. We learn as the film continues that Ellen had a chance at having her own home and happiness with the local doctor, but because Pete would not allow her to take Meg with her, she never married and stayed on the farm. The fact that she wasn't willing to leave Meg alone with Pete is quite telling. As Pete becomes more unbalanced at the thought of anyone trespassing in the woods, we can understand her motives. Another interesting feature of the film is the blatant sexuality of Tibby as opposed to the naiveté of Meg.

All the performances are good, but Robinson is a standout. He could be convincing as both a villain and a lovesick fool, a great man or a coward. Here he slowly fleshes out his character from that of a nice, gentle man to one who is becoming unhinged to complete disintegration in a truly frightening performance. Judith Anderson, so menacing in "Rebecca" underplays beautifully here and is perfectly convincing as Pete's sister. It's a sign of a great actress when she can be at home in Shakespeare and as a farmer's sister. London is stunning and does well as a gal trying to hedge her bets. Roberts and McAllister are appropriately young and have the necessary naive quality.

The best way I can describe "The Red House" is to call it unsettling. The undertones and the end of the film are disturbing, and one can see the beginnings of the psychology and dark feelings that surfaced in film after World War II.