Fear, 1946.
******** 8.0
A medical student, Larry (Peter Cookson), is desperate for money; he murders loanshark, Professor Stanley (Francis Pierlot) and then guilt haunts him. Police Captain Burke (Warren William) sets out to nail him for the murder. A devastating slice of irony reveals that had he waited a bit longer, Larry's money problems would've been taken care of.
We begin by looking in on Larry; talk about a lonely garret...anyway, Larry ponders a letter informing him that his scholarship's terminated. Then his landlady (Almira Sessions) duns him for the rent. Going up several flights of stairs in another apartment building, he looks in on Stanley. Larry needs money, and pawns his watch. We see the old guy take a strong box from a walk safe. There's a poker by the fire...but nothing happens.
At a diner, he sees Ben (James Cardwell). Ben reminds him that he's waiting to hear on some articles he's submitted for publication. The guys describe Stanley as having "an icebox for a heart." Now it's Larry's turn to be the big guy for Eileen (Anne Gwyne), who's even more broke. Larry, receiving more bills, skulks back to Stanley's room. He talks his way in. As expected, he grabs the poker: blam! The old guy's toast. The strongbox yields a load of cash. A late called notices a light on. Larry gets out, and just in time. He's brushed against become wet paint though.
Back at his humble abode, the landlady knocks. There's a detective with her. Now he gets a letter...no matter, he's got to see Burke. Obviously, the cops have recovered the strongbox. Larry's got no alibi. Aha! He discovers that the letter had a check for a thousand bucks, from his publisher. That would square him all the way around. Back at the bar, he sees that Eileen works there now. Detective Schaefer (Nestor Paiva) noses in on the next stool. No big thing; his next move is to ask out Eileen. On a picnic he gets spooked by a wine label; he's edgy. That night, with his guys, they're discussing the murder. Their considered opinion is "who cares?!" But they continue dissecting the crime.
He burns the clothes from the night of the murder. The landlady loves him now, but Schaefer collects him. Burke is sort of a fan of Larry's article--which, ironically, is on justifiable homicide. Larry's arrogant enough to back up his "ends justify the means" theory of crime. Burke mentions the wet paint detail from near the murder scene. Now Schaefer interviews Eileen about Larry. Larry pops in; Scared drops what's probably a red herring--they've arrested the house painted for the murder. Things couldn't bloom better for Larry (other than that pesky murder), as he learns that his scholarship's being renewed. Another date with Eileen. She obviously cares about him. He tries to talk to her, but Schaefer lurking nearby.
Burke is at the murder scene, as Larry goes to him to complain about Schaefer. Perfectly recreating each element of the crime, Burke gets Larry rattled. At HQ, Burke shows him fingerprints on the strongbox; again, probably faked, but this detail ratchets up the suspense. More importantly, they have fibers from a coat (Larry's?) that stick in the wet paint. Pretty much twisting into horror territory, finally Burke invites him to see the cadaver. Well, aren't we a medical student? Back at the bar, there's a magician's act in progress. The trick looks very much like a guy whacking a corpse with a poker. A street vendor gives him a handbill with a macabre message.
Suddenly, he's on railroad tracks, walking right into the path of an oncoming train. A worker saves him just in time. He finds his way to Eileen's. "Relax? How can I relax?!" He starts to talk about Stanley--he admits he killed him. She's more concerned than freaked out; "if only you'd waited (for the check)". He goes to go see Burke in the morning. Actually, he's waiting for Larry. "There were only two suspects--the painter and you" But then Burke leaves. The paper says that the painter has confessed! Larry's off the hook? Hold that thought--he bumps into Schaefer, who implies Is the headline's a plant Or even if true, the painters "a fruitcake" confused and admitting to the crime for some nutty reason.
He sees Eileen waiting to meet him. But, an act of God intervenes: he's hit by a car. Or he dreams that he was. Waking up, he greets the very lively Professor Stanley. That worthy gives him a new loan. Eileen appears to be moving into the same building. But, she's called Cathy. He gets a date once again. The end. Now I see why most commentators hate the ending of Fear.
If it had just stopped with Larry's last encounter with Schaefer the this would be a dead-ringer (really) for film noir greatness. Then we'd have a suitably ambiguous ending to a nightmarish story; with maybe just enough wiggle room for a noir hero to get out of town and put the past (and Schaefer) behind him. He's cleared, he's got is scholarship back, and Eileen is just right for him. It could well be that that to pass the production code, a happy ending had to be tacked on. but there's a good number of noirs that don't flinch by giving us tragic endings.
A dream explanation is a cop-out. It's all the more disappointing in a film with such obvious merit. apparently, director Zeisler had worked in Expressionist-influenced film milieu of Weimar Germany (thanks to TCM's Dave Karger for that background info). These traits show up in a lot of the lighting and motifs here. The black cat seems to be everywhere around the murder site, literally crossing Larry's path as he goes up to kill Standing. There's creepy light and shadow and confined, convoluted spaces almost everywhere in Fear. Another slew of Expressionist touches confront us the most intense sequence--from Burke's reenacting of the crime until the train incident. That reminds me in a dramatic way of the killer's mental torment from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"
If we chop off the last few scenes--the car crash device is almost as trite as the dream--we've got a great and compelling film noir. Almost makes one want to plow into Dostoevesky's Crime and Punishment for the source material. Flawed, but still highly recommended.
******** 8.0
A medical student, Larry (Peter Cookson), is desperate for money; he murders loanshark, Professor Stanley (Francis Pierlot) and then guilt haunts him. Police Captain Burke (Warren William) sets out to nail him for the murder. A devastating slice of irony reveals that had he waited a bit longer, Larry's money problems would've been taken care of.
We begin by looking in on Larry; talk about a lonely garret...anyway, Larry ponders a letter informing him that his scholarship's terminated. Then his landlady (Almira Sessions) duns him for the rent. Going up several flights of stairs in another apartment building, he looks in on Stanley. Larry needs money, and pawns his watch. We see the old guy take a strong box from a walk safe. There's a poker by the fire...but nothing happens.
At a diner, he sees Ben (James Cardwell). Ben reminds him that he's waiting to hear on some articles he's submitted for publication. The guys describe Stanley as having "an icebox for a heart." Now it's Larry's turn to be the big guy for Eileen (Anne Gwyne), who's even more broke. Larry, receiving more bills, skulks back to Stanley's room. He talks his way in. As expected, he grabs the poker: blam! The old guy's toast. The strongbox yields a load of cash. A late called notices a light on. Larry gets out, and just in time. He's brushed against become wet paint though.
Back at his humble abode, the landlady knocks. There's a detective with her. Now he gets a letter...no matter, he's got to see Burke. Obviously, the cops have recovered the strongbox. Larry's got no alibi. Aha! He discovers that the letter had a check for a thousand bucks, from his publisher. That would square him all the way around. Back at the bar, he sees that Eileen works there now. Detective Schaefer (Nestor Paiva) noses in on the next stool. No big thing; his next move is to ask out Eileen. On a picnic he gets spooked by a wine label; he's edgy. That night, with his guys, they're discussing the murder. Their considered opinion is "who cares?!" But they continue dissecting the crime.
He burns the clothes from the night of the murder. The landlady loves him now, but Schaefer collects him. Burke is sort of a fan of Larry's article--which, ironically, is on justifiable homicide. Larry's arrogant enough to back up his "ends justify the means" theory of crime. Burke mentions the wet paint detail from near the murder scene. Now Schaefer interviews Eileen about Larry. Larry pops in; Scared drops what's probably a red herring--they've arrested the house painted for the murder. Things couldn't bloom better for Larry (other than that pesky murder), as he learns that his scholarship's being renewed. Another date with Eileen. She obviously cares about him. He tries to talk to her, but Schaefer lurking nearby.
Burke is at the murder scene, as Larry goes to him to complain about Schaefer. Perfectly recreating each element of the crime, Burke gets Larry rattled. At HQ, Burke shows him fingerprints on the strongbox; again, probably faked, but this detail ratchets up the suspense. More importantly, they have fibers from a coat (Larry's?) that stick in the wet paint. Pretty much twisting into horror territory, finally Burke invites him to see the cadaver. Well, aren't we a medical student? Back at the bar, there's a magician's act in progress. The trick looks very much like a guy whacking a corpse with a poker. A street vendor gives him a handbill with a macabre message.
Suddenly, he's on railroad tracks, walking right into the path of an oncoming train. A worker saves him just in time. He finds his way to Eileen's. "Relax? How can I relax?!" He starts to talk about Stanley--he admits he killed him. She's more concerned than freaked out; "if only you'd waited (for the check)". He goes to go see Burke in the morning. Actually, he's waiting for Larry. "There were only two suspects--the painter and you" But then Burke leaves. The paper says that the painter has confessed! Larry's off the hook? Hold that thought--he bumps into Schaefer, who implies Is the headline's a plant Or even if true, the painters "a fruitcake" confused and admitting to the crime for some nutty reason.
He sees Eileen waiting to meet him. But, an act of God intervenes: he's hit by a car. Or he dreams that he was. Waking up, he greets the very lively Professor Stanley. That worthy gives him a new loan. Eileen appears to be moving into the same building. But, she's called Cathy. He gets a date once again. The end. Now I see why most commentators hate the ending of Fear.
If it had just stopped with Larry's last encounter with Schaefer the this would be a dead-ringer (really) for film noir greatness. Then we'd have a suitably ambiguous ending to a nightmarish story; with maybe just enough wiggle room for a noir hero to get out of town and put the past (and Schaefer) behind him. He's cleared, he's got is scholarship back, and Eileen is just right for him. It could well be that that to pass the production code, a happy ending had to be tacked on. but there's a good number of noirs that don't flinch by giving us tragic endings.
A dream explanation is a cop-out. It's all the more disappointing in a film with such obvious merit. apparently, director Zeisler had worked in Expressionist-influenced film milieu of Weimar Germany (thanks to TCM's Dave Karger for that background info). These traits show up in a lot of the lighting and motifs here. The black cat seems to be everywhere around the murder site, literally crossing Larry's path as he goes up to kill Standing. There's creepy light and shadow and confined, convoluted spaces almost everywhere in Fear. Another slew of Expressionist touches confront us the most intense sequence--from Burke's reenacting of the crime until the train incident. That reminds me in a dramatic way of the killer's mental torment from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"
If we chop off the last few scenes--the car crash device is almost as trite as the dream--we've got a great and compelling film noir. Almost makes one want to plow into Dostoevesky's Crime and Punishment for the source material. Flawed, but still highly recommended.