Hidden Fear (1957)

American policeman Mike Brent (John Payne) arrives in Denmark to help clear his sister of a murder rap in which her partner/boyfriend has been killed, and all the evidence leads to her ... See full summary »

Director:

André De Toth

Writers:

André De Toth, John Hawkins

Stars:

John Payne, Alexander Knox, Conrad Nagel

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Payne	...	Mike Brent
Alexander Knox	...	Hartman
Conrad Nagel	...	Arthur Miller
Natalie Norwick	...	Susan Brent
Anne Neyland	...	Virginia Kelly
Kjeld Jacobsen	...	Lt. Egon Knudsen
Paul Erling	...	Gibbs
Marianne Schleiss	...	Helga Hartman
Mogens Brandt	...	Lund
Knud Rex	...	Jacobsen
Elsie Albiin	...	Inga
Buster Larsen	...	Hans Ericksen
Preben Mahrt	...	Danish Detective
Kjeld Petersen	...	Jensen
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Birgit Brüel

Storyline

American policeman Mike Brent (John Payne) arrives in Denmark to help clear his sister of a murder rap in which her partner/boyfriend has been killed, and all the evidence leads to her having been the murderer. Mike works with the Danish Police, but becomes embroiled in a counterfeiters' plot in which the boyfriend was a member...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Danish

Release Date:

July 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

In letzter Minute

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

St. Aubrey-Kohn

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

User Reviews

Really Bad Mystery

Hidden Fear (1957)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

An American cop (John Payne) arrives in Denmark after his sister is arrested for murdering her boyfriend. It doesn't take long for the cop to realize that there's something more going on and that his sister wasn't behind it. One could argue that I watch way too many movies but what can I say? It's a passion of mine and something that I really love. I alway say my favorite genre is horror and that my favorite kind of movies are those with great acting (those two favorites really never go together) but I think I've seen more mystery, noir or crime films, whatever you want to call them. Each time one is on Turner Classic Movies, it get recorded and watched. Each time one gets thrown on Netflix, it gets watched. HIDDEN FEAR is exactly what you'd expect from a crime film as it features a tough good guy, an evil bad guy and the girl who is part good and part bad. HIDDEN FEAR is without question one of the worst films I've seen from the genre as it features one bad moment after another and in the end it never adds up to anything interesting. One could argue that you should never put logic into a film like this and I usually don't but I simply couldn't get around the fact that this American comes to Denmark and their police just start giving him all sorts of information about the case. This isn't believable for a number of reasons not to mention the fact that he's the brother to a murderer so why would they just release anything to him? Payne seems absolutely bored by everything going on as his performance has no energy and it's hard to tell that he's even alive. His line delivery makes it seem as if he's falling asleep and the supporting players, including Conrad Nagel, add very little. The entire plot is just one big bore and director Andre De Toth adds very little excitement or energy to the material.