Road House

Road House

1948
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 35m
Jefty, owner of a roadhouse in a backwoods town, hires sultry, tough-talking torch singer Lily Stevens against the advice of his manager Pete Morgan. Jefty is smitten with Lily, who in turn exerts her charms on the more resistant Pete. When Pete finally falls for her and she turns down Jefty's marriage proposal, they must face Jefty's murderous jealousy and his twisted plots to "punish" the two. (imdb)
Your probable score
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Road House

1948
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 35m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 65.81% from 79 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(79)
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Rated 05 Jul 2011
85
88th
"I can't believe I left a good drink to come up here." Ida's a hoot and her singing ("Quarter to Three" eg) is fun as well. Indeed, all 4 leads are excellent. Then there's Lupino's Bette Davis impression just before she jumps into the lake. Plays at first a bit MGMish (ie more romance than noir) but then it gets nice and raspy toward the end. Contains a barrel full of tart-tongued quips and one-liners (I mean, even by noir standards).
Rated 15 Jan 2010
85
84th
If you enjoyed All About Eve, you'll be delighted to meet Celeste Holm once more, this time trading catty quips with Ida Lupino, who can hold her own with anyone! Wait till you hear Ida's smoky whispering voice sing Johnny Mercer's "One For My Baby." Wait till you see her steam up the bowling alley in her 1940's version of a tube top. All this while watching Richard Widmark's character evolve from an appealing if naive young man into an obsessed psychopath. Not to be missed!
Rated 04 Nov 2013
84
77th
A slow boil, but it really works. Great cinematography and the four main actors are all excellent. The writing's got some real spark, or maybe it's Lupino and Widmark who really know how to deliver it. Either way it gives the film the energy to power through the slow build up. Other than the pacing the story's really good, a hint of fatalism and a hint of uncertainty along with a couple of twists make it very compelling. That ending is really great too.
Rated 09 Jun 2016
74
80th
Changing my name to Jefty.
Rated 04 Jan 2011
80
84th
Richard Widmark plays Jefty as a slimy evil genius who comes unhinged and Ida Lupino is superb as the sassy and beautiful lounge singer Lily. It's got some great songs and excellently crafted dramatic tension.
Rated 19 Nov 2012
70
56th
Jefty? JEFTY?? What the fuck is a Jefty?!?!?!
Rated 05 Mar 2010
71
37th
Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark both give delightful performances (as does Celeste Holm in a smaller role), and the third act is marvelously tense and twisted. But Cornel Wilde is a real dud, there's too much buildup (although Lupino's songs are very nice) and the script requires a bit too much suspension of disbelief . Despite its charms, the flaws are too noticeable and I don't really see myself watching it again.
Rated 31 Jan 2018
83
73rd
Ano do Centenário de Ida Lupino: Filme #16 (atriz). Céus, como eu amo a Lupino nesses noires e realmente o meu ranço com o Negulesco é coisa do passado, o que ele faz aqui é coisa fina. Ah, Widmark realmente é um dos maiores psicopatas do cinema. DVD Versátil Filme Noir Volume 7.
Rated 18 Sep 2009
9
76th
Great stuff!
Rated 29 Nov 2014
40
19th
Well-directed nonsense. It didn't help matters that I can't stand Widmark when he over-acts and that I find Lupino unattractive.
Rated 18 Nov 2020
65
29th
I appreciate it more afterward thinking about what it did, subverting and interchanging gender roles in noirs, than that I was engaged with the movie while watching. The slow blooming romance in the first 2/3rd of this did little for me. While the change of Widmarks character into a entitled psychopathic mastermind is out of the blue, it does give the last third a momentum the movie missed before that.
Rated 20 Sep 2021
70
96th
I just found Ida Lupino too cool not to love this movie.
Rated 19 Feb 2023
77
54th
Not a bad script, but the slow build-up doesn’t leave much room for sustained suspense.
Rated 24 Nov 2022
68
88th
This was a good one and yet another proof that bowling and Noir go well together. Lupino's role was not the femme fatale I expected; Wilde had the most traditional role while Widmark steals the show in the same vein as his Kiss of Death psycho, but more restrained; like a bomb waiting to explode. My only big issue was the aftermath of a key event. It made the rest of the film feel labored as opposed to the organic 1st half. Northern setting with lakes and cabins give the film an unique flavor.

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