 It is based on the true story of the 1827 Red Barn Murder.The film is also known as Murder in the Red Barn (short UK title).The film is based on the popular 19th-century melodramas about the case and is highly theatrical, with an opening in which all the characters are introduced by a Master of Ceremonies in front of a painted backdrop, but is also slightly more lavishly produced and cinematically inventive than the later films directed by Tod Slaughter's producer George King.