ESCAPE IN THE FOG (director: Budd Boetticher; screenwriter: Aubrey Wisberg; cinematographer: George Meehan; editor: Jerome Thoms; cast: Otto Kruger (Paul Devon), Nina Foch (Eileen Carr), William Wright (Barry Malcolm), Konstantin Shayne (Schiller), Noel Cravat (Schiller Henchman, Kolb), Ivan Triesault (Hausmer, Schiller’s Henchman), Ernie Adams (George Smith), John H. Elliott (Thomas); Runtime: 65; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Wallace MacDonald; Columbia Pictures; 1945)
“Solid spy thriller directed by Budd Boetticher.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Solid spy thriller directed by Budd Boetticher(“The Tall T”/”The Cimarron Kid”/”One Mysterious Night”)and written byAubrey Wisberg. The programmer is well-produced, well-acted and has a taut story. It makes for highly enjoyable film noir.
Eileen Carr (Nina Foch) is an attractive Navy nurse recovering in a San Francisco hospital from a nervous breakdown. In Eileen’s dream she witnesses the attempted murder of a man dragged out of a taxi under the foggy Golden Gate Bridge and her screams saves his life. When awakened by her screams she’s astounded to find the intended victim, Barry Malcolm (William Wright), a government expert in psychological warfare, standing before her and very much alive. Thus begins a romantic relationship between the two, but Barry’s boss, Devon (Otto Kruger), assigns him on a top secret mission to Hong Kong that if successful should end Japan’s involvement in the war sooner than expected. Barry’s to land there by a Navy submarine and pose as a German agent, and will be given classified papers to coordinate underground proceedings with American intelligence officers. But German agent Schiller (Konstantin Shayne), a jeweler in Chinatown, learned of his mission by attaching a radio device inside Devon’s apartment grandfather clock and with his German henchmen (Noel Cravat, Ivan Triesault & Ernie Adams) tries to kill Barry just like in Eileen’s dream. But Barry’s life is saved by Eileen’s screams, just like in the dream. What follows is a tale of intrigue in foggy San Francisco, as both the American agent and the German agents try to locate the missing spy package.
REVIEWED ON 3/5/2013 GRADE: B
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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