A 1955 film noir. At a remote cabin during the winter, a family; dad, a failing writer, Dan Duryea, his wife, Jean Wallace & their son, David Stollery, are going through the motions since on the surface the family's fine but it's anything but. Even their handyman, Dennis Weaver, knows something is up but no one's calling uncle. Into this not so placid environment comes a trio of bank robbers; Cornell Wilde, Duryea's stuttering brother, his moll, Lee Grant & their twitchy gunsel, Steven Hill, who have shown up to hole up while the authorities are on the hunt. Tensions & the weather soon fuel the fire of past resentments (Duryea's failed lifestyle has been funded by Wilde's bad behavior while Wilde's past relationship w/Wallace make the entire situation come to a boil). Scripted by Horton Foote (who'd win an Oscar 7 years later for adapting To Kill a Mockingbird) & directed by Wilde, the film works in fits & starts, greatly aided by the secluded shack in the wintry woods, where one can breathe & the person at the other end of the room can smell it, making it a potent brew which probably needed some more time in the oven to make this less of a mixed bag.
Review of Storm Fear
