Wow! What a disappointment. Caught it on TV, and the combination of the theme and Tourneur promised so much. But it turned out to be a clumsy, boring, heavy, theatrical flick. I think the main problem is that the film drowns us with words the dialogs are too long and pretentious, and the uninspired Mise en scene makes the all experience quite unbearable. From an historical point of view, it's interesting to place this picture seven years or so before the Manchurian Candidate, so these 85 minutes weren't exactly wasted; but had I known it's such a torture, I would not watch it for a million bucks. I also did not like the way the nerd working in the office was treated such a sallow caricature! All of the sudden he is in love with the girl, and of course he has to sacrifice himself in the end. I also did not understand if the hero was brain washed during the war, and if so, what significance does it have? Anyway, it is sad to see a filmmaker as tourneur producing such a banal picture, which could have been made by quite any B-Movies director of the time. I understand it is considered one of his worst films I can only second that view.
Review of The Fearmakers
