The beautiful and enchanting Nina Foch ("My Name is Julia Ross") headlines this decent thriller, more a wartime espionage yarn than true film noir. (Although it has wonderfully foggy, atmospheric moments.) Eileen Carr (Ms. Foch) has a nightmare of a man being murdered on the Golden Gate Bridge, then is stunned to encounter the guy in real life! He's Barry Malcolm (William Wright, "Philo Vance Returns"), an undercover operative assigned to a delicate, all-important mission in which she inevitably gets involved.
Although directed by future big name Oscar "Budd" Boetticher, Jr., "Escape in the Fog" is of no real distinction. Certainly, it tells an okay story in capable fashion, but it's the kind of thing you forget pretty quickly once it's over. At the least, like many B pictures of the long-ago past, it's very short & snappy, moving along more than adequately.
Foch is a delight, the handsome Wright merely okay. The villains (enemy agents, of course) are pure stereotypes, but they are effectively played by Konstantin Shayne ("Vertigo"), Ivan Triesault ("Notorious"), and Ernie Adams ("The Pride of the Yankees"). Top-billed Otto Kruger ("Saboteur") plays the boss who sends Malcolm on his way. And recognize that female cabbie? It's a very young, uncredited Shelley Winters, in one of her earlier film appearances.
Even if nothing special, this entertains well enough for an agreeable 63 minutes.
Six out of 10.
Although directed by future big name Oscar "Budd" Boetticher, Jr., "Escape in the Fog" is of no real distinction. Certainly, it tells an okay story in capable fashion, but it's the kind of thing you forget pretty quickly once it's over. At the least, like many B pictures of the long-ago past, it's very short & snappy, moving along more than adequately.
Foch is a delight, the handsome Wright merely okay. The villains (enemy agents, of course) are pure stereotypes, but they are effectively played by Konstantin Shayne ("Vertigo"), Ivan Triesault ("Notorious"), and Ernie Adams ("The Pride of the Yankees"). Top-billed Otto Kruger ("Saboteur") plays the boss who sends Malcolm on his way. And recognize that female cabbie? It's a very young, uncredited Shelley Winters, in one of her earlier film appearances.
Even if nothing special, this entertains well enough for an agreeable 63 minutes.
Six out of 10.