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Journey Into Fear (1943)
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Overview
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
12 February 1943 (USA)
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Tagline:
Welles and Del Rio together! as Terror Man vs. Leopard Woman--for possession of a mysterious stranger in the powder-keg Middle East...a man with a military secret worth more than his love and his life!...It's menace melodrama thrilled with mighty mystery and suspense...SEE IT!
Plot:
A US Navy engineer, returning to the US with his wife from a conference, finds himself pursued by Nazi agents...
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User Comments:
Visually arresting...but quirky and bizarre tale of murky espionage...
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Joseph Cotten | ... | Howard Graham | |
| Dolores del Rio | ... | Josette Martel | |
| Ruth Warrick | ... | Mrs. Stephanie Graham | |
| Agnes Moorehead | ... | Mrs. Mathews | |
| Jack Durant | ... | Gogo Martel | |
| Everett Sloane | ... | Kopeikin | |
| Eustace Wyatt | ... | Prof Haller | |
| Frank Readick | ... | Matthews | |
| Edgar Barrier | ... | Kuvetli | |
| Jack Moss | ... | Peter Banat | |
| Stefan Schnabel | ... | Translator for ships captain | |
| Hans Conried | ... | Swami magician | |
| Robert Meltzer | ... | Ship baggageman | |
| Richard Bennett | ... | Ship's Captain | |
| Orson Welles | ... | Colonel Haki |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
68 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
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Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In late August 1942, RKO decided to delay the release of the movie because critics panned it in press previews. By that time, Orson Welles' contract was terminated by a new studio head. As part of the settlement, Welles agreed to recut the last reel and film additional scenes. He added the voice-over by Joseph Cotten at the beginning and end of the movie, and designed the pre-credit sequence.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: During the chase outside the hotel in the rain, Banat's pistol, a P-08 "Luger" runs out of ammunition but the action closes normally after he fires the last shot. This particular pistol was designed so that the action stays open after the last round is fired, giving a clear indication to the user that the gun is empty.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Suburban Girl (2007)
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Soundtrack:
Three Little Words
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (30 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Journey Into Fear (1943)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| who played the bar girl? | mheckman-1 |
| Alternate version? | kmiv |
| Is this out on DVD yet? | daquila54 |
| Was this originally longer? | wadetaylor |
Recommendations
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Somewhere along the way, someone took scissors to this film and left it with plot holes that don't connect. Despite the obvious flaws in continuity and plotting, Eric Ambler's novel has been so changed in transferring it to the screen that he didn't even recognize it as his own story, according to Robert Osborne of TCM.
The marquee value of Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles is likely to lure viewers into thinking they will see another classic along the lines of THE THIRD MAN. Not so. This is a visually interesting espionage yarn, very little of which is coherent and much of which leaves the viewer in as much confusion as Joseph Cotten's character is. Whom should he trust and who is really trying to kill him?
Cotten plays a U.S. Naval engineer aboard a dilapidated freighter who learns that Nazi agents are planning to kill him. The usual Welles Mercury Theater players fill the supporting roles, along with the beautiful Dolores Del Rio. Once the film leaves the claustrophobic freighter and shows Cotten running from his captors, it takes on heightened interest. The scenes in the torrential rain are wonderfully staged and the B&W cinematography gives the illusion of menace in every shadow.
But there is virtually no coherent plot and Welles is completely wasted in a small role that he underplays. While the credits say that Norman Foster directed, it is highly probable that Welles himself directed much of it. Perhaps it all made more sense before the running time was cut down to 71 minutes.
Ruth Warrick has a couple of nice moments as Cotten's patient wife but none of the characters are fleshed out enough to really understand or care about. Cotten gives his usual workmanlike performance but it all ends with a rather abrupt finish, much ado about nothing.
Too many weaknesses to call a classic.