Maria Marten, or the Murder in the Red Barn

THE MURDER IN THE RED BARN, sometimes subtitled MARIA MARTEN, is based on the true story of a murder that took place in Suffolk in 1828. It was subsequently adapted for the stage by the Victorians, and in the 20th century Tod Slaughter became popular for his performance as Squire Corder, the villain of the play. With the success of Dracula, FRANKENSTEIN, et all in the early 1930s, some cheapie British producers obviously felt the time was right for some home-grown horror and melodrama, and the play was finally adapted for the big screen. This low budget production is neatly preceded by an announcer introducing all of the actors in the movie, which proves to be a charming reminder of the olden times. The film itself is a sometimes turgid potboiler that manages to pack quite a lot of detail and incident into a scant one hour running time. To cut the story short, a young village woman shuns her gypsy lover in favour of an older seducer. When her seducer learns she has become pregnant, he murders her, with the rest of the film chronicling the subsequent investigation (by the Bow Street Runners, no less). THE MURDER IN THE RED BARN is cheaply made and impoverished, and the sets and camera-work can't hold a candle to American or German competitors. However, it is entertaining in its own right, with an engaging storyline – forgotten today – and a barnstorming performance from Tod Slaughter, one that was to put him on the movie map and which was to lead to his typecasting as a villain in another dozen or so movies over the next twenty years. Slaughter is an acquired taste, to be sure; he's often hammy, but gives the performance here his all, so he's impossible to dislike; imagine an early Vincent Price or Michael Gough and you'll be halfway there, although Slaughter is all on his own. He's like a throwback, a leftover from yesteryear, an age when silent film and stage actors had to overdo their expressions and overemphasise their lines so audiences could understand what was going on. The rest of the cast are also surprisingly good, and I can't think of one weak performance. Sophie Stewart is a damsel in distress whom you can root for, while Eric Portman's gypsy hero is always sympathetic. Inspector Lestrade actor Dennis Hoey has fun in a mostly comic supporting role as a gambler who drains Slaughter's money. The first half of the film is quite slowly paced, setting up the plot until the actual murder, but the last twenty minutes is tremendous fun, with people shooting pistols all over the place, Slaughter undergoing a mental breakdown and becoming haunted and mad in equal measure, and a neat conclusion that sees him climbing the gallows. Slaughter's next role was to be his most famous; that of SWEENEY TODD, DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET.

Based on the real life "Red Barn Murder" of 1827, which was something of a sensation at the time that led to a well-publicized trial / execution, popular stage plays and even merchandising of murder scene memorabilia (!), this also introduced film-goers to British (over)actor Tod Slaughter, who'd first made a name for himself playing villains on stage before transitioning over to quota quickies, starting with this low- budget effort. In the small village of Polstead, naive farmer's daughter Maria Marten (Sophie Stewart) is torn between two men; Carlos (Eric Portman) and Squire William Corder (Slaughter). Though Carlos is a gentleman truly in love with Maria, he's also a poor gypsy with low social standing in the community. The Squire, on the other hand, is a respectable magistrate. Maria unwisely chooses the latter option, little realizing the type of guy she's really getting involved with. When she finds herself pregnant, Corder - who has racked up some major gambling debt - rejects her and instead plans to marry a socialite because he'll be getting a large dowry in the process. Maria's father (D.J. Williams) finds out about the pregnancy and kicks her out of the house, forcing her to turn to Corder for help. Instead, he lures her into a barn, shoots her and then buries her. Corder attempts to use Carlos as a scapegoat, but unfortunately he dropped the murder weapon into the grave with the body... I read up on the real case before watching and this actually does seem to stick with the basic facts, though the motive and certain other details have been altered. The performances are pretty good (Slaughter only hams it up in a couple of isolated scenes) and it's well made; albeit entirely predictable. Instead of the usual medium static shots and long takes typical of most low budget films from this time, this surprisingly has a good number of close-ups shots, which are smoothly edited with the master shots. It's also noteworthy for being a bit seedier than what one would see in most Hollywood productions from the era. The heroine isn't some virginal innocent (though apparently she's depicted here as being much more wholesome than the real Maria), but this also has some dialogue ("You think I'd soil my hands with a common village *?") that'll have you raising your eyebrows.

The film is set in the Victorian 1820s in a rural area of England. Maria Marten (Sophie Stewart) is generally a sweet woman but gets herself mixed up with the wrong man with promises of marriage, becomes pregnant and then she comes up missing - murdered. This one isn't too bad. It's not Tod Slaughter's best film but it's not that bad of a movie. It's Slaughter's first acting role on-screen and he wasn't to bad in it either. The screenplay is kinda bland, decent but bland. The whole film feels like they could have added a darker and more mysterious atmosphere to the Victorian appeal. I did enjoy this film. Some of the acting is over-the-top and they have some pretty funny lines at times - sometimes seemingly strong language for the time period this was filmed in (1935) which worked in the film's favor. 6/10

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.

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source: Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn

This was really entertaining. Tod Slaughter plays the outrageous classical villain who laughs maniacally. This was apparently a very well-known Victorian play, and based on a true story. There's really no spoilers possible because everyone at the beginning of the story knows that Tod Slaughter's character gets an innocent young woman pregnant and then murders her in a red barn (and yes he gets his comeuppance). The pleasure comes from watching the performances.

Tod Slaughter made his name starring as the villains in revivals of hoary Victorian melodramas. In 1935 he enacted one of his most popular roles, that of the actual historical murderer, Squire William Corder, for the screen in MURDER IN THE RED BARN. This is a compelling film. It has the feel and resonance of a folk tale. Despite, or perhaps because of, the all out melodramatic presentation, it is more viscerally involving than many a smoother and more elegantly acted story. The plot has the bite of veracity. Supposedly wealthy Squire William Corder seduces the young and foolish Maria Martin. Heavily in debt due to gambling losses, Corder arranges a marriage to an ugly but rich woman. When Maria informs him she is pregnant and begs him to do the right thing, he promises marriage to trick her into meeting him at the remote red barn, where he murders her and buries her body under the barn's dirt floor. Of course Corder gets his just deserts due to the intervention of Maria's loutish but honest young gypsy lover, her judgmental but regretful father, and a nosy dog. The old fashioned, creaky style of the movie works to its advantage. The murder during a violent thunderstorm and the nighttime discovery of the body are wonderfully atmospheric. Tod Slaughter, of course, dominates the action. He is beyond hammy but try to take your eyes off him while he's on the screen, taking villainy into a whole different dimension. MURDER IN THE RED BARN is a good introduction to Slaughter and I plan to seek out more of his work.

Squire William Corder wins the charms of an innocent country maiden, despite the attention she receives from Carlos, a gypsy. Corder seduces Maria and, after she becomes pregnant by him, he murders her in the red barn before burying her body there. Decent melodrama set in the 19th Century, with a typically over the top performance by Tod Slaughter, so those familiar with his films will know what to expect. Sophie Stewart is the tragic Maria and there is an early role for Eric Portman as Carlos.

Compact, entertaining thriller concerning a pompous aristocrat who, following a brief moment of ecstasy with an impressionable young farmer's girl, discovers he's responsible for an unwanted foetus. Tod Slaughter plays the immoral Mr Corder, under financial pressure due to gambling, being threatened by his dalliance now up the duff and in the mood to tell all to her father, who'll surely kill Corder for sullying the family name. What to do but a murder in the red barn. Well told, straightforward without complications or surprises, just a decent little tale (based on a true event) that showcases stage actor Slaughter's adept villainy, and that of younger Eric Portman in one of his first pictures as the chivalrous Gypsy enamoured by Sophie Stewart's damsel in distress. The cast is immaculate and the inimitable producer George King delivers his usual pint-for-a-pound pulling no punches despite limited resources. While it's 1935, there's no disguising the atrocious nature of the title crime, and this element along with Slaughter's portrayal of the corpulent, depraved and cowardly ogre is more than just a little unsettling at times. The scene in which he's goaded to "dig, dig" is quite chilling, and the conclusion thereafter is entirely fitting. Worth a look.