Ministry of Fear (1944)

Stephen Neale has just been released from an asylum during World War 2 in England when he stumbles on a deadly Nazi spy plot by accident, and tries to stop it.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Seton I. Miller (screenplay), Graham Greene (novel)

Stars:

Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ray Milland	...	Stephen Neale
Marjorie Reynolds	...	Carla Hilfe
Carl Esmond	...	Willi Hilfe
Hillary Brooke	...	Mrs. Bellane #2
Percy Waram	...	Inspector Prentice
Dan Duryea	...	Cost / Travers the Tailor
Alan Napier	...	Dr. JM Forrester
Erskine Sanford	...	George Rennit

Storyline

Stephen Neale is released into WWII England after two years in an asylum, but it doesn't seem so sane outside either. On his way back to London to rejoin civilization, he stumbles across a murderous spy ring and doesn't quite know who to turn to.

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Plot Keywords:

train | bomb | conspiracy | on the run | spy | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 February 1945 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Espions sur la Tamise

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Fritz Lang was disappointed in "Ministry of Fear" because the producer and the screenwriter, Seton I. Miller, were the same person, and Miller the producer wouldn't let Lang rewrite Miller the writer's script, which Lang said "had practically none of the quality of the Graham Greene book."

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Goofs

The way that cake box was flung around and handled, the cake would have been crumbled and in clumps when he got it out to serve to the blind man on the train. At least, most of the frosting would have been stuck to the inside of the box.

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Quotes

Willi Hilfe: We thought you'd been killed.
Stephen Neale: Not quite.

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Connections

Version of Quinta colonna (1966)

User Reviews

Almost a superb flick

If you like Hitchcock's "39 Steps" or "The Man Who Knew Too Much", you're likely to enjoy this one, too. It's weakness, in comparison to "39 Steps" lies in a frustratingly shallow treatment of the characters. Development of the relationship between the protagonist Neale and the very photogenic Fraeulein Hilfe is disappointingly sketchy - and their unwavering trust in each other - and love - essentially instantaneous, not gradually won through tension, doubt and adversity. And our doubts concerning Neale's time in prison for murder are defused all too quickly, assuring us he's no "Stagefright" personality. I can't help thinking Lang attempted to emulate "39 Steps". The result's a fun film, with wonderful close-ups of a very young Millan and his girl, but of "thinner fabric". As in "39" or "North by Northwest", the plot doesn't resist much scrutiny - the bad guys' judgment pretty lame. The fun lies in character eccentricities, great photography, the creation of an artificial universe, etc. Personally, I find "Man Who Knew Too Much" too long, impossible to sit through a second time, excessive in several ways - overacted, over-dramatized; this film, like "39" or "North by Northwest", I have no problem watching again and again.