Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

DubyaHan The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

mark.waltz Even minus his mustache, British stage actor Tod Slaughter seemed to be twirling it. This predecessor to Snidely Whiplash and Dick Dastardly did everything to innocent young maidens except tie them to a railroad track (probably because his local mercantile was out of rope), and it usually ended with a gruesome demise, both for the maiden he coveted and in the last moments of the film, himself. The fun is in watching his evil get the better of him, knowing that the come-uppance is going to be worth waiting for."Murder in the Red Barn" introduced Slaughter to film audiences in the most unusual way. The prologue takes place on a small theater stage (presumably to give the viewer the idea of how intimate these very dramatic productions were) and has a host introducing all the major players in dramatic descriptions with Slaughter, of course, coming out last. Then, the scene switches to a dance in the titled red barn where Slaughter's squire character is established as a charming rogue who has the locals fooled by his graciousness. He switches gears very fast when a gypsy fortune teller predicts his death by hanging after which he gets into an argument with the dashing young gypsy hero (legendary British leading man Eric Portman) over the sweet Sophie Stewart, a farmer's daughter with a touch of class.An assumed liaison with Slaughter leaves Stewart apparently in the family way (the production code prevented this from being even insinuated), and having gambled away $6000 pounds, Slaughter must marry an aging widow. To avoid having Stewart as a barrier to this, Slaughter arranges to meet her in the red barn where he brutally murders her. He must hide his crime and blames it on Portman, but no villain gets away with their crime for long, and the ironic twist at the end has Slaughter facing his destiny with a definite lack of dignity. There's no punishment greater than guilt for what Stewart's unsympathetic father D. J. Williams must face after tossing her out into the cold which leads to her sad fate.So poorly photographed that it almost seems like a film made right after the advent of sound, this may not appeal to a vast majority of classic film fans. For the most part, Tod Slaughter wasn't a horror movie star, but a melodrama movie star whose actions were horrific but never supernatural like Karloff or Lugosi. He could be referred to as a "poor man's Charles Laughton" with his portly looks. Ironically, Laughton would play one character straight out of a Tod Slaughter movie, the Hitchcock adaption of "Jamaica Inn" where you really couldn't tell the difference between his character and most of Slaughter's.

kai ringler I just found this a joy to watch, first off you have a typical plot of 2 men going for the same girl, but it's different from many other movies because this girl will not live to say who killed her,, she fancies a young Gyspsy, but also an older wealthy gentleman takes a liker to the much younger Maria and is smitten with her, I love the part in the movie where the girl comes home , and she doesn't think that her father is home yet, her mother asks her whats wrong at first the young girl doesn't say , but the all knowing mother get's it out of her, and the young girl starts to confess what's been bothering her,, a man, who she is in love with , but doesn't want her anymore or so she thinks. well then the father walks in just at the right moment and says never-mind I heard everything,, he disowns her .. and kicks her butt to the curb for disgracing the family name... what a lovely movie.. recommend to anyone who likes these old b/w movies.

wes-connors "Based upon a true story, a small English town is the setting of a love triangle involving Squire Corder, the gypsy Carlos, and young Maria Marten. While Maria is smitten with Carlos, a roguish gypsy, she has attracted the attention of Squire Corder, a wealthy older man with a liking for younger women. When Maria disappears, after entering the (titled) Red Barn, suspicions fall upon Carlos, thanks to the efforts of Squire Corder," according to the DVD sleeve's revised synopsis.There is some worth in seeing Tod Slaughter (as William Corder) perform in this old English chestnut, but 1935's filmed version of "Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn" is far too rough around the edges to recommend very highly. This was Mr. Slaughter's movie star debut; he is enjoyable, but rapport with the camera would grow stronger in future films. Eric Portman (as Carlos) does well as Slaughter's rival. And, Sophie Stewart (as Maria Marten) makes it three British stars rising on screen.**** The Murder in the Red Barn (1935) Milton Rosmer ~ Tod Slaughter, Eric Portman, Sophie Stewart

theowinthrop Tod Slaughter was able to do one important action as an actor - he put on film a series of the popular "warhorse" melodramas that were the meat and potatos of Victorian theatre way into the 20th Century. He knew these plays and their lead roles by heart, and how the public wanted him to play those villains. And several of the films were based on actual cases. That is the case with the murder of Maria Marten at the Red Barn in Polstead, England. In 1827 William Corder, the surviving son of a fairly prosperous farmer, had an affair with Maria Marten (the daughter of a mole catcher). She became pregnant, and demanded he do the right thing. After hemming and hawing a bit William agreed to leaving with Maria for their future together. But he insisted she meet him secretly at the Red Barn, and she wear male attire. She did, but she informed her step-mother who watched her head for the Red Barn. Maria was never seen again for the next year. But letters from William, from London, came telling how Maria and he were very happy together. One day (we are told) Mrs. Marten had a nightmare in which she saw Maria's body in the barn. She insisted her husband look. Mr. Marten did, and in digging up the floor of the barn found Maria's remains. The authorities started looking for Corder, and found he was living in London with a wife, and running a school. He was arrested, brought back to Bury St. Edmunds (the nearest town to Polestead), tried for Maria's murder, and found guilty.He was executed in 1828.Did Corder kill Maria? Most criminal historians feel he did, and are impressed at his initial attempt at a perfect crime - but why did it fall apart so easily? However one writer, Donald McCormick, wrote THE RED BARN MYSTERY, and pointed out that there were lots of questionable points in the story. Mrs. Marten's behavior, for instance. Local rumors said she had had an affair with Corder before he turned to Maria. Did the jealous woman suspect Corder's motives about the secrecy and disguise - but if she did, why did she not warn Maria? And if she did why didn't she tell her husband earlier? Did those letters really convince her that Maria was safe, or was her "dream" fake? McCormick suggested a different solution to the murder but it was rather bizaar.Anyway the film with Slaughter keeps the traditional solution. And he goes to town with it.