Fingers at the Window (1942)

Director:

Charles Lederer

Writers:

Rose Caylor (screenplay) and
Lawrence P. Bachmann (screenplay) ...
(more)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

DANGER AT NIGHTFALL! (original poster - all caps)

Plot:

The City of Chicago is gripped by an Axe Murderer. The streets are empty at night as there has been six murders and six people have been caught...

Plot Keywords:

Axe | Actor | Murder | Police | Nurse

Cast

Lew Ayres	...	Oliver Duffy
Laraine Day	...	Edwina Brown
Basil Rathbone	...	Dr. H. Santelle
Walter Kingsford	...	Dr. Cromwall
Miles Mander	...	Dr. Kurt Immelman
Charles D. Brown	...	Inspector Gallagher
Cliff Clark	...	Lieutenant Allison
James Flavin	...	Lieutenant Schaeffer
Russell Gleason	...	Ogilvie
William Tannen	...	Devlan
Mark Daniels	...	Haguey
Bert Roach	...	Krum
Russell Hicks	...	Dr. Chandley
Charles Wagenheim	...	Fred Bixley
Robert Homans	...	Officer O'Garrity
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iris Adrian	...	Babe Stanton (uncredited)
Ruth Alder	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Ernie Alexander	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Sam Ash	...	Theater Stage-Manager (uncredited)
Hooper Atchley	...	Ambulance Doctor (uncredited)
King Baggot	...	Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
William Bailey	...	Policeman at Hotel (uncredited)
Arthur Belasco	...	Fat Man (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
Margaret Bert	...	Mrs. Geversar - Dr. Santelle's Maid (uncredited)
Robert Bradford	...	Whistles 'Over the Rainbow' (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Dr. Shepherd (uncredited)
Rand Brooks	...	Young Reporter (uncredited)
Eddie Buzard	...	Tall Newsboy (uncredited)
Bobby Callahan	...	Small Newsboy (uncredited)
George M. Carleton	...	Meeting Chairman (uncredited)
Wally Cassell	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Bill - Mounted Policeman (uncredited)
Jules Cowles	...	Crazy Man at the Clinic (uncredited)
Mary Currier	...	Miss Hewitt - Hospital Nurse (uncredited)
Cliff Danielson	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Leslie Denison	...	Paul, at Santelle's house (uncredited)
Lester Dorr	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Policeman outside Clinic (uncredited)
Byron Foulger	...	Bird Man (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Rudy Germaine	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Citizen (uncredited)
Edna Holland	...	Clinic Nurse (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
William Lally	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Jerry Maren	...	Small Boy (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Cabbie with Cat (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
Dick Midgley	...	Police Driver (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
James Millican	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Roger Moore	...	Jim - an Actor (uncredited)
Arthur O'Connell	...	Photographer (uncredited)
George Ovey	...	Old Man with Telegram (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	...	Ambulance Driver (uncredited)
Milton Parsons	...	Jarvis J. Banhoff - First Axe-Murderer (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Police Telephone Operator (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Frances Rafferty	...	Clinic Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
Edwin Stanley	...	Hospital Doctor (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Police Car #12 Driver (uncredited)
David Tihmar	...	Dance Teacher (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Frank Whitbeck	...	Trailer Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Joe Yule	...	Citizen (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Lederer

Writing credits
Rose Caylor		(screenplay) and
Lawrence P. Bachmann		(screenplay)
Rose Caylor		(from a story by)

Produced by
Irving Starr	....	producer

Original Music by
Bronislau Kaper
Daniele Amfitheatrof		(uncredited)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Charles Lawton Jr.		(as Charles Lawton)
Harry Stradling Sr.		(as Harry Stradling)

Film Editing by
George Boemler

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Howard Shoup		(gowns) (as Shoup)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Spurlin	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
William Ferrari	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Music Department
Lennie Hayton	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Robert Bradford	....	whistling double: Lew Ayres for "Over the Rainbow" (uncredited)
Charles Mandell	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1942) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Teakwood Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8102) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Several cast members with their character names in studio records/casting call lists were not seen in the movie: Edward Hearn (Citizen), Joe Yule (Citizen), Arthur Belasco (Fat Man), Ernie Alexander (Reporter), Jack Gardner (Reporter), James Millican (Reporter), Rand Brooks (Young Reporter) and Emmett Vogan (Hotel Manager).

Soundtrack:

Over the Rainbow

Riveting Visuals, Murky Story

That opening is a grabber, straight out of noir classics and Val Lewton's haunted city streets. Too bad that the rest of the movie fails to match this impressive setup. The premise of a mysterious axe murderer striking at seeming random is chilling, especially when we find out there may be more than one. Plus it's the innocent young Edwina (Day) who's being stalked, with only the wise-cracking actor Duffy (Ayres) there to help. And that's part of the movie's unfortunate drop off in impact— Duffy's light-hearted attitude tends to undercut the movie's somber visuals.

Then too, as the story evolves, the plot threads spread out too much, getting murky in the process. Too bad, because some of the lighting compositions anticipate post-war noir in striking effect. And get a load of the sepulchral Milton Parsons as the mute nutcase. His spooky appearance remains one of the glories of '40's movies. Too bad his is just a bit part. And speaking of brief appearances, I could have used more of the great Rathbone than what we get. He always lent such dramatic weight to whatever he was in, including his few minutes here.

All in all, it's a somewhat erratic little programmer whose best features belong to the lighting and staging departments. Happily, Day remains an appealing presence.