Being the only noir movie on a set I own which I haven't reviewed yet, I decided to save Fear In the Night for last for a good reason. It's probably the most mediocre noir out of the 9, and while I normally have a vague recollection of how movies I've seen far in the past end, I had no such memory of this one's conclusion. Fear in the Night begins with a bank employee named Vince Grayson (DeForest Kelley) stabbing and killing a man in a tiny, octagonal room lined with mirrors and then hiding the corpse behind a door. It turns out to be a dream, but when Vince awakens, he looks in his bathroom mirror to find marks on his throat and also has blood near one of his wrists. He's also in possession of a key that he insists he did not have prior to waking up. Cliff (Paul Kelly), Vince's brother in law, tells him how ridiculous it is to fathom the possibility of bringing items back from your dreams, so he says Vince must have had the key before. One day during a picnic with Vince and his wife Lil (Ann Doran), it begins to rain hard, so they get in a car and Vince directs Cliff to make a right when a pair of pillars come into view. He doesn't know how he got this information, but apparently these pillars indicate a house: the same one in his dream. The cops have recently found two bodies at this house; one in the room with the mirrors and the corpse of Mrs. Belknap (the owner's wife). She was apparently run over and bled to death in the driveway. Initially convinced his odd dream makes him a murderer in reality, Vince thinks he is scot free now since he doesn't know how to drive. However, it's revealed that before Mrs. Belknap died, she gave the cops a description of her killer, and it seems as though she was describing Vince. Later, Vince is shocked when he realizes both dead people are present in his dream. Cliff manages to find out that a hypnotist (who also happens to be Mr. Belknap) has been altering Vince's mind. Vince goes back to the house and hides in the mirror room, waiting for Belknap. When he shows up, Vince threatens to shoot him, but Belknap hypnotizes Vince with a watch and persuades him to drop the gun. While in this state, Belknap takes Vince for a drive and tells him to write a note incriminating himself in the murder of both people at the house. Belknap drives to a lake and tries to mind control Vince into drowning himself. Cliff is right behind Belknap in a car of his own and saves him. As Cliff resumes chasing Belknap's car, he makes him crash and fall into a ravine. Once Belknap is dead, Cliff and Vince are outside a courthouse, with Cliff telling him not to worry since he killed the person in the mirror room to protect himself. Based on a story by William Irish, I found this to be a painfully average movie, and it doesn't help the print on the set is grainy looking. This was probably the best quality one they could find, which, considering how forgotten this movie is, seems believable. I think the best part of this movie is actually the very start, since the mirror room does look like something out of a dream, given how small and oddly shaped it is. There's some interesting dreamlike sequences and effects throughout, but other than this, there's not much to say. Since this was made when noir was at its zenith, I was expecting something a bit more impressive than some guy bringing back objects from his dreams and then attempting to commit suicide just because someone made him look at a watch. Oh well.
Review of Fear in the Night
