Out of the Fog

Under-rated, unpretentious B-movie that keeps you guessing till the end. David Sumner's 'surly' and unlikeable lead grows on you once you realise that he never lets up; and the ending doesn't let you down. An uncompromising gem. Made on the cheap, for sure - they even stint on the fog - and Montgomery Tully was a hit-and-miss director at best, but this film is about ten years ahead of its time and still has a kind of individualism that weathers the fifty-or-so years that have elapsed since then rather well. From prison to a halfway house to eventual employment to a tentative relationship with a woman who ditches our 'hero' as soon as she finds out about his criminal past ...and then a trap is set, for he is under constant suspicion. This is one of those stories where much of the 'important' stuff -the killings, the planning of a heist- happens off-screen. And it's all the better for it.

This film was recently shown on Talking Pictures and it must be its first outing for many years.I don't recall seeing it on TV before if I had I would definitely have remembered.It builds up very nicely to a truly atmospheric and creepy finale.I can just imagine audiences jumping out of their seats when the stragglers hands suddenly clutch at the blonde policewoman throat.the director,Montgomery Tully is one of those unsung heroes of British cinema of the 1950s.films such as this are far more memorable than the film's they supported.catch it when it is shown again on particular the final ten minutes when you really aren't certain what is going to happen,a rare event for any film in that period.

The heavy overacting by the leading actor was a bit tiresome and got worse as time passed as he played " the angry young man" for all it was worth, this would have been a much better film if he had toned it down a bit. I like James Hayter's deep voice and his films are usually very enjoyable. The ex-cons in the house were a nice mixture of characters and it was unusual to see Michel Ripper in a film without vampires or similar creatures in it him being "Mr Hammer Horror Film Man". A nice period piece but the ending could have been a lot better done. It was probably very cheap to make but it's still worth watching.

On his release from prison, George Mallon moves into a hostel for ex-convicts run by Mr. Daniels. When a series of murders of blond women takes place on the local common, the police suspect Mallon, despite having no hard evidence.

Blonde policewoman June Lock is assigned to befriend Mallon as bait for him to attack her. She thinks he's not the killer, but her superiors aren't convinced ... then instead of taking her to the pictures he takes her across the common ...

From the time the pretty blonde is given the job to bait an ex-con with a giant chip on his shoulder and suspected of strangling blondes on the common around the full moon, there were shades of similarity that struck me - very much similar to a Tales of an Unexpected episode called "Decoy" and seeing the rest of this British B film confirmed this. Now I know the writers of Tales of the Unexpected Decoy - writers of this film aren't the same - copied bits from this film. Of course, there's some minor difference between Decoy and Out of the Fog.

Anyways, Out of the Fog is solid second feature with a good cast, crisp direction and decent production values - the finale is fairly tense. It's quite neatly packed thriller. The suspense regarding the ex-con- whether he's a killer not - is maintained right towards the end. I think there's a bit of a "angry young man" social thing going in terms of the ex-cons character who draws heinous pictures which highlights his disdain for certain people, dislikes women and doesn't trust coppers.

This is a solid, British mystery made on a shoestring budget, that is just as good as the Hollywood classic of the same name with John Garfield and Ida Lupino. The story is completely different; only the title tis the same. This story about an ex-con who is a prime suspect in a string of murders is neatly done. A must see.