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House by the River
House by the River
7.5
/10
1,425 Ratings

HOUSE BY THE RIVER

Directed by Fritz Lang
United States, 1950
Crime, Drama, Film noir

Synopsis

While his wife is away, Stephen Byrne—a wealthy, deranged, and failed writer—accidentally murders his maid after she resists his advances. He ropes his brother John into helping him hide the body and then does his best to pin the blame for the murder on his sibling.

Synopsis

While his wife is away, Stephen Byrne—a wealthy, deranged, and failed writer—accidentally murders his maid after she resists his advances. He ropes his brother John into helping him hide the body and then does his best to pin the blame for the murder on his sibling.

Our take

By 1949, Fritz Lang had been exiled to “poverty row”. Though stuck with a small budget and no stars, the noir master used the creative freedom to make one of the eeriest, most downright Lynchian thrillers of his storied career. Long buried, it’s been revived with a shot at getting its due.