Quickie producer Sam Katzman would be surprised to know that his "C"-budgeted "Face in the Fog" now has a multi-million dollar look. All Bob Hill's economical shooting - even with a few expensive running inserts - in Los Angeles traffic has now paid handsome dividends. You couldn't duplicate such scenes today for under $10 million. This is good fortune indeed, as the climax otherwise is rather tame with the killer shot in the back by a bit player. Superb photography by Bill Hyer and nice green tinting in the print under review further adds to the picture's attractiveness.
It's hard to believe that the so-so script with its pulp fiction characters and dime-novel plot was actually based on a real story by Peter B. Kyne. (Although chiefly remembered to-day as the author of Three Godfathers, Mr Kyne was such a popular and well-known writer in his day that he earned a steady income from Poverty Row producers by agreeing to lend his name to non-existent original screen stories that allegedly formed the basis for numerous "B" screenplays). It's hard to sustain much interest in the script as written, but this lack of audience involvement is compounded by the casting of Lawrence Grant as a second lead. Mr Grant's appearance further detracts from the limited impact of what was already a ridiculously melodramatic old plot. Not that Mr Grant is a bad actor. In fact he's never less than competent. The trouble is that he looks too much like Lloyd Hughes. When both actors are wearing hats - which is often - it's difficult to tell them apart.
A further burden for long-suffering viewers lies in the presence of Al St John as a Keatonesque cameraman. At least he doesn't treat us to his "Fuzzy" impersonation. Clean-shaven, he's mildly tolerable. And he does play two key scenes in the plot.
Fortunately, June Collyer makes a beguiling heroine. And it's always nice to see Jack Mulhall. Though his role and motives are somewhat ambiguous, he makes the most of an unforgettable sequence in which he pretends to ring the police whilst holding down the phone receiver.
By Katzman's impoverished standards, production values are surprisingly high, featuring at least two or three richly-dressed sets.
Review of A Face in the Fog
