House by the River was made during Fritz Lang's wanderings from studio to studio. The walking stereotype of the screaming German director, Lang had a lot of trouble getting along with the various Hollywood studios he worked for. As a result, he wandered into lower budget projects and productions.
Working at cheapskate studio Republic, Lang filmed this melodrama and brought a lot of style to a low budget production where at times there are some pretty bad looking painted backdrops. The cast was pretty second string as well with only Louis Hayward as a guy who accidentally kills a woman and gradually comes around to the idea of letting his brother take the rap for it.
What the film has going for it his Fritz Lang's way with creating an atmosphere and mood of menace. This was a film maker who really knew what to do with light and shadow especially when filmed in black and white.
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| Herr director Lang getting ready to terrorize the cast after his coffee break. |
In spite of the low budget and somewhat shaky story line, Fritz Lang keeps this film very interesting, he has an actor in Louis Hayward who if he isn't a Mabuse like villain is still a pretty nasty character.
A low budget film noir worthy of some respect, House By The River has a memorable ending.
88 minutes.
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