jarrodmcdonald-1 I watched Fritz Lang's HOUSE BY THE RIVER, because I was curious about seeing Jane Wyatt in a Gothic noir. After all, most people remember her as the wife on TV's Father Knows Best.Also, I was curious about Lang directing a picture at Republic Pictures, a studio known mostly for its moderately budgeted programmers and B-films. Would it even be any good? Rest assured, it was.Lang's story is very atmospheric and makes good use of on-location exteriors involving a corpse floating down river. The set design for the mansion is intriguing, and Wyatt does a rather convincing job as a society wife who comes to discover that husband Louis Hayward is a nefarious murderer. On another note, I have a feeling that Alfred Hitchcock enjoyed HOUSE BY THE RIVER and borrowed from it when making PSYCHO. The way the body is wrapped up and 'drowned' in the water seems repeated in Hitchcock's film. Plus, there's a line where a character says the killer is like a harmless fly...and that is definitely repeated at the end of PSYCHO. Then there's the mansion-- it seems like a looming character in HOUSE BY THE RIVER, just like it does in PSYCHO.

Dalbert Pringle *Possible Spoilers Ahead!*To be completely frank here, I honestly didn't much like House By The River's bleak, over-wrought tale of woe. I found that it took itself way-way too seriously and carried the level of its melodramatics to the point of being downright laughable at times.This business of over-doing it really came to a head in this film's last half-hour.I mean, c'mon. The characters in the story pushed the plausibility of their actions just a bit too far for me to take them at face value.OK. I will gladly admit that regardless of "House" being a poverty-row production from Republic Studios, director Fritz Lang certainly did manage to milk the moody eeriness of its Gothic setting to the fullest extent possible. And, yes, that did serve as quite an effective distraction.But, after all was said and done, it sure seemed to me that all that there was left lurking beneath the ominous-looking shadows and the foreboding ambiance was just the barest bones of a decidedly confused and poorly thought-out story.By the end of the picture I was left feeling quite dissatisfied and misled by "House's" story which told a rather screwy tale of a quirky, second-rate novelist whose pent-up neurosis finally rears its ugly, little head.In a number of ways "House's" story about madness and inevitable murder reminded me a lot of Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart" (with its obvious differences well noted, of course).

Petri Pelkonen Author Stephen Byrne surprises his maid Emily as she comes from the bath.He tries to do a dishonorable deed to her, but he ends up killing her.His limping brother John arrives just after the deed is done, and he ends up helping Stephen in hiding the body.They dump the body in a nearby river.Soon Stephen's wife Marjorie comes back and realizes something is wrong with her husband.House by the River (1950) is directed by the Austrian-American great Fritz Lang.It's based on A.P. Herbert's 1921 novel.There's a great line of actors there.Louis Hayward plays Stephen Byrne.Jane Wyatt is his wife Marjorie.Lee Bowman plays John Byrne.The role of Emily Gaunt is played by Dorothy Patrick.Ann Shoemaker is Mrs. Ambrose.Jody Gilbert is Flora Bantam.Kathleen Freeman is seen as Effie Ferguson- Party Guest.Also Our Gang's Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer is seen there playing Walter Herbert.I watched this movie on Sunday two days ago with my mother, and we both liked it.The movie doesn't lack of great scenes.Like the killing scene is really memorable.And the ending is very impressive.And I really liked the way Marjorie sympathized with the better brother.

kenjha A writer inadvertently kills his maid and convinces his brother to help him dispose of the body. Dark and brooding, this one drips with film noir atmosphere, helped by the Gothic setting (house by the river!). It is masterfully directed by Lang, who it seems was incapable of making an uninteresting film. It is fascinating watching the tension grow between the self-absorbed writer, his caring wife, and his crippled brother. Hayward makes a good villain. Wyatt, who's rarely looked as attractive, is fine as his wife. Bowman is excellent in the sympathetic role of the crippled brother. The ending is somewhat abrupt, but the film is quite absorbing.