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Deforest Kelley has a nightmare in which he kills a man. He can't go in to work, so he goes driving with his sister and girl friend and brother-in-law Paul Kelly... to the house in which he dreamt the murderer.

It's a film noir from a story by Cornell Woolrich, so you know up front that it's going to be overwrought. It's also Kelley's first feature, and screenwriter Maxwell Shane's debut as director. Given the poor condition of the copy I looked at -- plenty of hiss on the audio track, as well as looking as if it was made from a 16mm. TV print -- I was not able to evaluate cinematographer Jack Greenhalgh's visuals, so important for a movie with extensive dream sequences.

Even with those handicaps, I was able to see the basic competence of this Pine-Thomas production. There's little that's fancy about the production, but the ripeness of the source material, the solid actors (Ann Doran has a solid role, and old Demille hand Julia Faye an uncredited bit) make this an agreeably disagreeable noir.

DeForrest Kelley has "Fear in the Night" in this 1947 low-budget B film, also starring Paul Kelly and Ann Doran.

Kelley plays Vince Grayson, who has a vivid dream that he has committed murder. In fact, he wakes up and finds a key and a button, which were part of the dream, and also blood on his wrist. He tells his cop brother-in-law Cliff about the dream, but Cliff brushes it off as just that, a dream.

Later on, Vince goes on a picnic with his sister Lil (Ann Doran) and husband Cliff. When the rain starts coming down in buckets, they jump in the car and Vince directs them to a house, which turns out to be the murder house, down to the octagonal mirrored room that Vince described to Cliff. Cliff now believes that Vince committed murder and lied when he described the dream.

Very good story that makes use of hypnosis as part of the plot. It is very well done, but you can't help thinking of what someone like Hitchcock would have done with the story.

Instead, we have grainy film and footage of downtown Los Angeles, including, I think, the Commodore Hotel. The shots of old LA are wonderful - sometimes when films are done cheaply there is city shooting and use of the city in process shots, which always adds authenticity to the movie.

When I showed my sister one of the screen shots and announced it was DeForrest Kelley, I thought her eyes would bug out of her head. Yes, he was once that young. He does a very good job, too.

Well worth seeing, and if you're a fan of "Star Trek," it's a must!

What the movie lacks in believability it makes up for in sheer visual imagination. That opening sequence is a real grabber. Just what the heck is going on with the fuzzy focus and dreamlike images. People are going here and there in front of a bank of mirrors. Then, all of a sudden, someone hands Vince a drill. But Vince doesn't stick it into a chunk of wood. Instead he plunges it into a man's heart! Good thing Vince wakes up in bed, maybe sweaty, but at least inside a focused reality. Must have been a bad dream, but then why the bloody wrist and where did that weird key come from. From what we see, it's almost like he's come back from a strange parallel world.

So did Cliff actually kill someone or was it just a bizarre subconscious. Good thing he's got Mr. sober-sides Cliff as a cop brother-in-law. Maybe Cliff can figure it out since it's driving Vince nutty. Trouble is Cliff thinks his in-law really did kill someone, but in the interest of family harmony resists turning him in. So how will all this weirdness turn out, and what's suddenly the big deal about a candle.

Kelley really nails his part as the hapless Vince. Catch his many shaded expressions as he suffers through the nightmare. Paul Kelly too nails his part with a no-nonsense demeanor that keeps things anchored. But the real star is the production itself that manages to dangle us between two worlds with the many off-center effects. Sure, too much storyline stretches over the edge. Still, it's pretty gripping stuff, straddling the murky line between noir and horror. The premise was loaded enough to get re-made a few years later, Nightmare (1956). But this one, I think, is better. So don't let it slip by.

Okay, I admit it, a lot of the charm of this really low budget effort comes from Deforest "Bones" Kelley. Kelley's homely mugg was made for b-picture third bananas / villains and this rare, unlikely turn as the goodguy lead (his first credit) is as much the source of FEAR IN THE NIGHT's enjoyment as anything. Kelley gives a nice try in a role he wasn't really built to play, overcoming several overly melodramatic moments with generally naturalistic and believable reactions to the rather ridiculous and murky situation he finds himself in. Direction and other performances are unremarkable, though a little bit of stylistic cinematography in the flashbacks isn't bad.

NIGHTMARE was the slicker remake which came about nine years later with Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, and slightly more money, but I would suggest that this earlier version has more suspense and rooting interest (Kelley is far more sympathetic than McCarthy.) More importantly, the flimsy plot holds together better in FEAR IN THE NIGHT, omitting the poorly motivated Edward G. Robinson character entirely. This is far from a great movie; it's not even really a good noir, but Kelley's rare lead performance is fascinating and he makes us care about what happens. Anyone who is into Star Trek classic will probably be as quickly hypnotized by his young non-baggy-eyed presence as Deforest is by the badguys.

OK, this is a little film noir from 1947. You can stream this one for free on Netflix or for free at Archive.org. Fear in the Night is about a man (Vince) who has a terrible nightmare in which, he kills a man in a strange mirrored room.

When he wakes up he discovers that he has blood on his wrist on bruises on his neck just like in his dream. Slowly Vince begins to realize that he may have actually committed the murder that he dreamed about. In a panic Vince enlists the aid of his brother in law Cliff and the two of them try to figure out what happened before Vince is arrested for murder.

You can tell right away that this was made on a modest budget and some of the acting is pretty atrocious but, it's an interesting crime drama and was an enjoyable watch.

This movie was re-made with the same director in 1956 with Edward G. Robinson. This time it was called Nightmare.

This is the feature film debut of DeForest Kelley who later went on to play "Bones" on Star Trek.

Fear in the Night (1947)

This is one surprising film. It's not "great" for several reasons (it's not even very good), but it has great, bizarre, creative, daring aspects for a commercial film. In fact, its brilliance is only the more tragic relative to its drawbacks (a clumsy plot and some mediocre acting, unfortunately). But the special effects, dream sequences, and just plain surreal imagery are all worth the look.

There are a couple of deep flaws in the plot--like a group of four people drive up to a house they've never been to and because it's raining they go inside and make tea and take a nap. And the characters are kind of just going through the motions sometimes to get to the next step. Decidedly low budget. But you know how a low budget can inspire makeshift solutions--here we have room of mirrors, some hypnosis, a murder that the murderer can't remember, crazy dreams, and a brother-in-law who is a tough detective.

The two leads are Paul Kelley (rather good, the strength of the cast) and DeForest Kelley (solid, too, and later to be Dr. McCoy in Star Trek, yes!).

How some of these reviews got through vetting. Totally spoiling the entire plot & movie. Even their review headings spoil it. Let alone the blatant spoiling reviews not even marked as spoilers in the reduced red 'Warning: Spoilers' one line version. (Some were though). Revealing the ENTIRE plot. Entertaining enough if stumbled across without reading any of these IMDB reviews first. Looks like old movies don't matter so much to IMDB.

Wonder if the producers did the 'Eric Bana' thing, who shall we get for the role of Bruce Banner, I know lets have Eric Bana. In this case who shall we get for the lead Police detective role, lets have Paul Kelly, how about the younger other guy, let's have the newcomer De Forest Kelley, hardly a coincidence!. Paul Kelly had been around for 30 odd years beforehand, could have been the other way around but I doubt it. Bones had only just about started out in movies, very little had changed in 20 years then, he had umpteen roles in between this and Star Trek. Could have played McCoy straight after this one, he was able to put a lot of vulnerability into his roles as well as playing the heel. A decent enough actor overall, playing his roles with conviction.

Worth a watch if you can find it, but don't expect much. The YT version looks better quality than the Roku sourced one. Didn't quite get the plot in it's full absolute entirety towards the end, but most of it to mildly enjoy it. BTW, The new Commodore Hotel as seen in this movie, built in 1922 is still standing in Los Angeles, now known as the Commodore Regency Apartments.

From the looks of "Fear in the Night," it cost no more than the noir classic "Detour," made a couple years earlier, but it doesn't have that films' standing in the realm of noir. Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich ( as William Irish), the film concerns a young man who dreams of killing someone, and then finds evidence that his dream was reality, even though he has no conscious memory of it. He appeals to his brother-in-law, a police officer, to help, and together they piece out the solution to the bizarre mystery. Reliable Paul Kelly plays the cop, while "Star Trek"s DeForest Kelley, in his screen debut, plays the confused protagonist. Looking remarkably like a young Edward G. Robinson, Kelley is all right, though he clearly has not mastered film acting. In particular, his face morphs and shifts in the dramatic scenes like it has insects crawling underneath. The mystery's solution is a little out there, if not entirely impossible -- a hallmark of original author Woolrich. While not distinctive in any way, "Fear in the Night" is an adequate time-killer.

DeForest Kelly (Star Trek's Bones) stars in this film noir from 1947. A man wakes up in his bed w/a vivid memory of killing a man & woman. He works at a bank & calls in sick alarming his co-worker who's holds a romantic candle for him. Kelly reaches out to his brother-in-law, a homicide detective, w/the details of his memory but brushes it off but when details turn up in the news he starts to worry his sister is married to a murderer. After hitting a rain storm coming back from a picnic, Kelly & his brood find themselves driving on a road which stirs Kelly's memories leading them to a large manse which is currently unoccupied. A local lawman (tasked as caretaker) finds the drying occupants in the house & connecting w/Kelly's brother-in-law in blue further fills in the hazy details. Kelly feeling guilty about the revelation nearly tops himself when he attempts suicide by jumping from a hotel window but his brother stops him & they decide to settle in, not leaving till the mystery is revealed. Lean & mean & wearing its cheap budget proudly on its sleeve, this potboiler is engaging enough for one to forgive the budgetary constraints but the professional actors are game enough make this ride enjoyable.

Fear in the Night brings to mind Edgar G. Ulmer's legendary Detour in its brevity, its cast of unknowns, and its technical primitiveness. It doesn't have that film's crude and daring originality, though. Basically it's the story of a nightmare that turns out to be true (in fact it was remade in the 50s as Nightmare, with Edward G. Robinson). The whole premise of the plot is of such an implausibility that it's hard to take seriously, but if you close your mind and swallow it, the film develops a certain sleazy integrity. If you clicked onto this movie during a long, sleepless night of the soul, you'd probably stay till the (metaphorical) dawn.

Very decent noir thriller that is just that little bit different. Difficult to describe without giving everything away and I have to say that at a certain point about two thirds into the movie, I guessed what was going on. I doubt views in the 40s did though and this remains a most unusual movie with some very real scary moments. Not a lot or tearaway action but plenty of mind games and surreal goings on. The opening is spellbinding and an absolute thrill, the acting with DeForest Kelley and Paul Kelly is fine, even if the latter struggles now and again in what is a very difficult role. Clearly made for nothing, written and directed by Shane, this is a great example of what can be done in cinema with just a bit of imagination and a decent story.

Fear in the Night possesses all the hallmarks of a low budget entry from one of the Poverty Row studios, but was, surprisingly perhaps a 1947 release from Paramount.

Like the similarly raw, unrefined 'Detour' this slimline psycho-noir is well worth investigating. The special effects, including some mind-warp camera work, which may have seemed striking 70 years ago come off as clunky and dated to the point of being quaint. These factors, however, simply add to the film's period charm, becoming a source of arcane fascination.

DeForest Kelley and three companions are forced to seek refuge from a storm in an empty mansion, which turns out to have been the setting for Kelley's recent traumatic and life changing nightmare. The plot has been dismissed in some quarters as implausible. Personally, I thought that cinema was largely about fantasy, escapism and imaginative leaps into the surreal.

More implausible is the bewildered reaction of Kelley's boss at failing to reach him by phone, after his employee had earlier rung in sick. Didn't it occur to him that Kelley might have had a doctor's appointment, or was perhaps unable to answer due to a chronic case of what touring English cricketers refer to as Delhi Belly !

Due to Star Trek's popularity, Deforest Kelley became a household name in the 1960's (a bit like Domestos). Not exactly an overnight sensation, but it is interesting to see him in a principal role at the outset of his career.

Panned by the critics upon its release,'Fear' has gradually developed a cult following among aficionados of the genre. Not top notch, but if you can live with the rudimentary production values this is a rewarding discovery for those seeking something enigmatic and obscure.

Waking from a dream in which he commits a murder, a man finds clues suggesting that maybe it was not a dream after all. The film offers an intriguing premise but the execution is too poor to make this anything more than a curiosity piece for fans of Kelley (McCoy on "Star Trek"), making his film debut. Unfortunately, Kelley turns in a less than compelling performance here as the suspected killer. Faring better is Kelly as his brother-in-law, a cop who is skeptical of Kelley's claim that it was all a dream. It is incompetently directed by Shane, a writer making his directorial debut. The script is choppy, the acting is uneven, and the visual effects are cheesy.