Fog Over Frisco

Bette Davis gets top billing even though she isn't in two thirds of the movie? Well, considering how boring the leads were, she deserved it. This films crams a lot into 68 minutes. Red herrings, wild car chases, a butler with a secret and of course Bette Davis as the one who sets it all off, it's all in the film. Davis as Arlene Bradford, seems always in command, that her fate is a little shocking but not unexpected and a little bit delicious. With her short blonde hair and the tight shiny dresses, she is quite a welcome sight. A short fun little film.

This film is so rapidly paced that some of the action flew by me too fast to fully understand, although some of the confusion was cleared up in the end. Director William Dieterle used fancy wipes rather than fade-outs and overlapping sound to speed the action along. I prefer a more leisurely pace to enable me to digest the material. Still, the ending was exciting with location shooting in San Francisco a big plus, and it's always enjoyable to watch Bette Davis, who had emerged as a big star by this time. Hugh Herbert provides very minimal comic relief as an inept photographer. I was reminded a bit by Hitchcock's film "Psycho (1960)," but you'll have to watch this film to see what I mean.

Considering the reputations and historicity of Bette Davis and Michael Curtiz, why hasn't anyone issued this marvelously little fast-paced film on video? Davis is lightning-sharp as wicked Arlene, and Margaret Lindsay was an interesting early Warners player. I understand that Jack Warner, in the early days of the talkies, used this film to demonstrate what a director could accomplish with a tight budget and filmic expertise.

Spoiled San Francisco socialite Arlene Bradford (Bette Davis) returns to her partying ways and brings along her sweet half-sister Val. She steals security bonds from the family and cash out with investment broker fiancé Spencer Carlton. She's involved with crime boss Jake Bello. The theft is discovered as the family business tries to cover it up. Arlene disappears and Val is desperate to find her. Reporters find her body in the car that Val is driving.

This starts as an intriguing drama with Bette Davis. I expected this to be a girl behaving badly and getting over her head. In a way, that's what happens but I'm surprised that Bette Davis doesn't stay in the movie. It stops being her movie. It becomes a bit of a screwball thriller with the body in the trunk. This is a movie split in two. The first half is a character study with Arlene. The second half is more silly starting with the kicking contest in the newsroom. After that, even Arlene disappears for a while. It becomes a bit jumbled. I would have liked to follow Bette Davis for the whole movie. Failing that, the movie should follow Arlene all the way to the end.

Have been through a lot of completest quests recently, most of them yet to be completed. One of those completest was to see all the films not yet seen of the films featuring and especially starring Bette Davis. Whether from early in her career when she was finding her footing, from the late-30s through to the 50s when she had found her style or from her twilight years. William Dieterle also did a fair share of films worthy of admiration and more.

Dieterle did do much better films in his career, epecially 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (one of the best versions), his Paul Muni collaborations and from memory 'Duel in the Sun'. 'Jewel Robbery' also is a gem worthy of more attention. Davis definitely did as well, too many to list being such a great actress who never phoned in regardless of what she was given and many of her films were good to brilliant, though she also did worse. The story also intrigued me but it could have been more.

Although it was great for some that it went at a fast pace and was short, there were times where those things were un-doings for 'Fog Over Frisco'. Did think that 'Fog Over Frisco' was too short, barely over an hour is not enough for a story that gets very complicated in the second half, and it did feel rushed towards the end when it literally felt like it sped up the action.

This resulted in from the middle act the story being too busy and at times very complicated, so coherence is affected. The dialogue does beggar belief far too much of the time, the worst of it vomit-inducingly inane, and Donald Woods is incredibly bland and simply does not have the presence for leading man material.

On the other point of view, Davis gives a fiercely committed performance and is a force to be reckoned with. Margaret Lindsay isn't quite as forceful, but she certainly does have much more presence than Woods and nobody doubts her commitment. The supporting cast are not exceptional but do well in rather cardboard roles, even Hugh Herbert (who for me is a take or leave sort of actor, sometimes amusing and at other times irritating depending on the material) and with Irving Pichel being the standout.

'Fog Over Frisco' looks good, especially the locations which have so much atmosphere. As does the photography which is eerie at its best. The film is hauntingly and not too melodramatically scored and Dieterle does competently with the direction. It starts off great with a very promising first twenty minutes that doesn't take too long to set up. The ending does excite

Concluding, not a great film but fun. 6/10