Out of the Fog (1941)

Fishermen Jonah Goodwin and Olaf Johnson are confronted by gangster Harold Goff who tries to extort "boat protection" money out of the two men. Afraid to go to the law, the two men decide ... See full summary »

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Robert Rossen (screenplay), Jerry Wald (screenplay),

Stars:

John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Garfield	...	Harold Goff
Ida Lupino	...	Stella Goodwin
Thomas Mitchell	...	Jonah Goodwin
Eddie Albert	...	George Watkins
George Tobias	...	Igor Propotkin
John Qualen	...	Olaf Johnson
Aline MacMahon	...	Florence Goodwin
Jerome Cowan	...	Assistant D.A.
Odette Myrtil	...	Caroline Pomponette
Leo Gorcey	...	Eddie
Robert Homans	...	Officer Magruder
Bernard Gorcey	...	Sam Pepper
Paul Harvey	...	Judge Moriarty

Storyline

Fishermen Jonah Goodwin and Olaf Johnson are confronted by gangster Harold Goff who tries to extort "boat protection" money out of the two men. Afraid to go to the law, the two men decide to take matters into their own hands after Goff falls in love with Jonah's daughter Stella.

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Plot Keywords:

boat | gangster | father daughter relationship | extortion | cook | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gentle People

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After the courtroom scene, when Jonah and Olaf stop in front of a music hall to exchange a couple of words, the music coming out of the hall is "The Merry Go Round Broke Down", better known as the theme from Looney Tunes, another Warner Brothers property.

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Quotes

Olaf Johnson: A man with the brain of a bank president!

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Connections

Version of Gentle People (1969)

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Soundtracks

"South American Way"
(uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
Played on the radio

User Reviews

A heavy and dreary drama of largely synthetic woes...

So said The N.Y. Times in reviewing OUT OF THE FOG and I absolutely agree with their verdict.

JOHN GARFIELD has seldom played a nastier character than he does here as a shake-down hood getting every penny out of his racketeering business from Brooklyn fishermen THOMAS MITCHELL and JOHN QUALEN, and playing around with Mitchell's daughter, IDA LUPINO.

None of the characters are likable, so there's really no one to root for. Ida Lupino's sudden infatuation with the lowdown heel and her willingness to go along with his plans makes no sense when she's clearly a daughter concerned about her father's welfare. Qualen plays a cowardly follower who can never make up his mind about anything (and does it well, by the way). And Thomas Mitchell is a stubborn old man who is finally able to turn the tables on Garfield in an unexpected way.

But the script is one-dimensional gangster stuff with some very good actors given some very banal material to work with. Based on an Irwin Shaw play, it's old-fashioned in concept and tedious in execution even though the director is Anatole Litvak who clearly didn't have his heart in this story.

Garfield and Lupino are fine actors who've done much better work in other films. Both of them are guilty of some heavy overacting here, especially Lupino whenever she loses her temper.