Fear in the Night (1947)A man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real. Director:Maxwell Shane |
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Fear in the Night (1947)A man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real. Director:Maxwell Shane |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
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Paul Kelly | ... |
Cliff Herlihy
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| DeForest Kelley | ... |
Vince Grayson
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| Ann Doran | ... |
Lil Herlihy
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Kay Scott | ... |
Betty Winters
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Charles Victor | ... |
Captain Warner
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Robert Emmett Keane | ... |
Lewis Belknap, aka Harry Byrd
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Jeff York | ... |
Deputy Torrence
(as Jeff Yorke)
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Joey Ray | ... |
Contractor
(scenes deleted)
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Loyette Thomson | ... |
Waitress
(scenes deleted)
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Bank teller Vince Grayson wakes from a nightmare in which he and an unknown woman murdered a man in a strange, mirrored room. Only a dream...but Vince finds that he has physical objects and bruises from his "dream." His cop brother-in-law dismisses his story...until the family, on a picnic, takes shelter from a thunderstorm in a deserted mansion containing that mirrored room. Is doom closing in on Vince? Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Very decent noir thriller that is just that little bit different. Difficult to describe without giving everything away and I have to say that at a certain point about two thirds into the movie, I guessed what was going on. I doubt views in the 40s did though and this remains a most unusual movie with some very real scary moments. Not a lot or tearaway action but plenty of mind games and surreal goings on. The opening is spellbinding and an absolute thrill, the acting with DeForest Kelley and Paul Kelly is fine, even if the latter struggles now and again in what is a very difficult role. Clearly made for nothing, written and directed by Shane, this is a great example of what can be done in cinema with just a bit of imagination and a decent story.