In 1949, at Republic Pictures, Fritz Lang (self-proclaimed "master of the unusual") created House by the river, a shocking and mordant thriller of passion and murder. Boasting an ingenious script by Spiral staircase scribe Mel Dinelli and evocative photography by Edward Cronjager (I wake up screaming), House ... is an underrated American "Grand Guignol" that transcends its modest origins and affirms Lang's genius.