The Fearmakers is one of the last films directed by Jacques Tourneur. He made it soon after completing his Night of a Demon which also starred Dana Andrews in the title role and which now is considered a horror classic and by many even his masterpiece. Unfortunately such words don't apply to The Fearmakers, which had most certainly marked beginning of Tourneur's decline. The film is based on a book by Darwin Teilhet, which was published in 1945.
The main character Allen Eaton (Dana Andrews) is a Korean War veteran who has recently returned from Korea where he had been a prisoner of war for the last two years. When back in U.S., he learns that one of his best friends was killed not a long time ago under unclear circumstances. He naturally wants to find out about the reasons for his death as much as he can. Meanwhile he finds a job at a poll agency and very soon discovers that the poll results are being manipulated with the intent of causing a disturbance and fear among the population as well as twisting public's opinion concerning certain important political figures. Soon he finds his life in danger when he discovers that what he is in contact with is a powerful underground organization operating in the U.S., which is apparently responsible for his friend's death as well.
The Fearmakers might be called a typical 1950s Cold War period movie and a kind of predecessor of 1962 The Manchurian Candidate. But unlike John Frankenheimer's masterpiece, The Fearmakers has almost nothing remarkable about it neither in terms of the story nor in terms of acting. See The Manchurian Candidate instead. 5/10
The main character Allen Eaton (Dana Andrews) is a Korean War veteran who has recently returned from Korea where he had been a prisoner of war for the last two years. When back in U.S., he learns that one of his best friends was killed not a long time ago under unclear circumstances. He naturally wants to find out about the reasons for his death as much as he can. Meanwhile he finds a job at a poll agency and very soon discovers that the poll results are being manipulated with the intent of causing a disturbance and fear among the population as well as twisting public's opinion concerning certain important political figures. Soon he finds his life in danger when he discovers that what he is in contact with is a powerful underground organization operating in the U.S., which is apparently responsible for his friend's death as well.
The Fearmakers might be called a typical 1950s Cold War period movie and a kind of predecessor of 1962 The Manchurian Candidate. But unlike John Frankenheimer's masterpiece, The Fearmakers has almost nothing remarkable about it neither in terms of the story nor in terms of acting. See The Manchurian Candidate instead. 5/10