Main Cast: Paul Kelly, DeForest Kelley, Ann Doran, Kay Scott, Robert Emmett Keane
Release Year: 1947
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 72 minutes
Plot
One of several low-budget mellers directed by scriptwriter Maxwell Shane, Fear in the Night was based on the short story Nightmare by William Irish (pseudonym for Cornell Woolrich). In his first starring role, DeForest Kelley plays Vince Grayson, a young man who has a terrible nightmare wherein he sees himself killing someone. When he awakens, Vince finds a couple of pieces of evidence indicating that his dream was no dream. Detective Cliff Herlihy (Paul Kelly) doesn't believe that Vince has killed anyone, but agrees to investigate. While taking shelter from a storm in a remote mansion, the detective and the young man stumble upon a mirrored room -- just like the one in Vince's dream. The frenzied Vince is nearly driven to suicide, but Detective Herlihy deduces that his friend's nightmare was the handiwork of Lewis Belnap (Robert Emmett Keane), the mansion's owner, who is a dabbler in hypnosis. Fear in the Night was remade in 1956 as Nightmare, with Kevin McCarthy and Edward G. Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Fear in the Night is totally implausible, but if a viewer can get past that fact, he'll find himself absorbed in this taut, gripping mixture of "mystery" noir and psychological thriller. Coming in at a lean 72 minutes, Fear is a fast-paced picture that concentrates less on character development than on plot and atmosphere. It plays its melodrama straight, accepting the story as just a fun pulp exercise, and coming off as much more enjoyable and effective for that reason. Production values are admittedly spare, even for a B-picture, but they're used to good effect, with John H. Greenhalgh Jr.'s moody lensing helping to mask the film's basic cheapness. Maxwell Shane's direction is almost as bare-bones as his script, but that's not cause for complaint; it perfectly compliments the writing, and makes for a film with maximum impact. In the leads, a very young DeForest Kelley is convincingly overwrought; he already has some of the mannerisms that he would become famous for on Star Trek, but they work well here. Paul Kelly is an excellent foil for him, and he brings an edge to his role that is interesting; at times, he seems to not really care for this brother-in-law of his, and that creates a nice dynamic. Best of all is Robert Emmett Keane, whose villainous hypnotist is a great deal of fun, especially during the hypnosis-by-watch sequence. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Charles Victor - Capt. Warner; Gladys Blake - Bank Clerk; Chris Drake - Elevator Operator; Stanley Farrar - Patron; Julia Faye - Mrs. Tracey-Lytton; John Harmon - Mr. Bilyou; Michael Martin Harvey - Bob Clune; Dick Keane - Lewis Belknap; Joey Ray - Contractor; Janet Warren - Mrs. Belnap; Jeff York - Torrence; Leander de Cordova - Man; Jack Collins
Credit
F. Paul Sylos - Art Director, Maxwell Shane - Director, Howard A. Smith - Editor, Rudy Schrager - Composer (Music Score), John H. Greenhalgh, Jr. - Cinematographer, William Pine - Producer, William C. Thomas - Producer, Elias H. Reif - Set Designer, Harry Reif - Set Designer, Maxwell Shane - Screenwriter, Cornell Woolrich - Short Story Author
