***SPOILERS*** Tough guy Edward G. Robinson as farmer Pete Morgan goes psycho here much like he did as "Wolf" Larson in the movie "The Sea Wolf" as he tries to keep of what the mysterious and creepy Red House-That's on his property-has hidden in it. All hell breaks loose when he hires his step daughter Meg's, Allene Roberts, boyfriend Nath Storm,Lon McCallister, as a farm hand who get's not only very romantic with Meg, whom control freak Morgan wants to keep all to himself, but insists to check out the area where the red house is located in.
It soon becomes apparent that both Morgan and his live in sister Ellen, Judith Anderson, have a skeleton hidden in the closet that they've been hiding from the world for at least 15 years and in Pete Morgan's case is more then willing to kill to keep that secret from seeing the light of day. There's also both the sexy and hot to trot Tibby, Julie London, who's got the hots from the boyishly handsome Nath and the devilishly handsome local sh*t kicker Teller played by an Elvis Presley looking, some seven years before anyone ever knew of him, Rory Calhoun whom Morgan uses to terrorize anyone from finding out the secret about his red house that he keeps hidden deep in the woods.
****SPOILERS**** You can see that Morgan is not all there to begin with but as the secret of the red house and what's hidden in it starts to leak out, due to the efforts of both Meg & Nath, that he completely cracks up.From at first being a kind and gentle soul who wouldn't hurt a fly to a crazed out of control lunatic going so far as murdering his own sister Ellen. It was Ellen who was about to go to the local authorities and have him committed before he did any more damage. The mentally deranged Morgan even attempts to rape, in thinking that she's his former girlfriend, and murder Meg for walking out on him by getting overly friendly with Nath whom he also attempts to murder. With the secret of the red house now known all over the papers and news outlets-radio & TV- and the police about to take him into custody Morgan makes a dash for it in his jalopy of a pick-up truck and ends up drowning himself. That as he burst into the red house's ice house-with the ice melting in the summer heat- where all the evidence of his many crimes-of some 15 years ago-are hidden.
It soon becomes apparent that both Morgan and his live in sister Ellen, Judith Anderson, have a skeleton hidden in the closet that they've been hiding from the world for at least 15 years and in Pete Morgan's case is more then willing to kill to keep that secret from seeing the light of day. There's also both the sexy and hot to trot Tibby, Julie London, who's got the hots from the boyishly handsome Nath and the devilishly handsome local sh*t kicker Teller played by an Elvis Presley looking, some seven years before anyone ever knew of him, Rory Calhoun whom Morgan uses to terrorize anyone from finding out the secret about his red house that he keeps hidden deep in the woods.
****SPOILERS**** You can see that Morgan is not all there to begin with but as the secret of the red house and what's hidden in it starts to leak out, due to the efforts of both Meg & Nath, that he completely cracks up.From at first being a kind and gentle soul who wouldn't hurt a fly to a crazed out of control lunatic going so far as murdering his own sister Ellen. It was Ellen who was about to go to the local authorities and have him committed before he did any more damage. The mentally deranged Morgan even attempts to rape, in thinking that she's his former girlfriend, and murder Meg for walking out on him by getting overly friendly with Nath whom he also attempts to murder. With the secret of the red house now known all over the papers and news outlets-radio & TV- and the police about to take him into custody Morgan makes a dash for it in his jalopy of a pick-up truck and ends up drowning himself. That as he burst into the red house's ice house-with the ice melting in the summer heat- where all the evidence of his many crimes-of some 15 years ago-are hidden.