Frayeur

Maltin's summary, and his star-and-a-half rating, for this quickie film noir fails to put it in the context of other, far more dismal Monogram productions. "Fear" has lots of interesting camera-pushes, nice use of close-ups, relatively interesting lighting, and a great nightmare montage. Plus, an expressive touch at the moment the key murder takes place (which I won't reveal) is just brilliant. Three things link this film to Fritz Lang's work--the marked coat (from "M") the dream-frame ("The Woman in the Window"), and perhaps most explicitly the palmreading of Larry's hand, revealing an "M", which stands for. . . . [supply your own dramatic music here]. Noir fans should seek this one one out for sure. Others may not be so impressed.

The dream (or nightmare) structure was a staple of the noir cycle; The Woman in the Window, Fear in the Night, and its remake Nightmare were some of the films that employed this device. Far from a cop-out, it was a way of packaging a rather subtle psychological insight: that our dreams expressed our conflicts between our superegos and our ids. (In a later film with noirish roots, Brian De Palma's Body Double, the "story" of the movie similarly sketched the protagonist's worst self-estimation, triggered by a claustrophobic episode.)

In Fear, a medical student (Peter Cookson) is on the brink of abandoning school because his money has run out; in frustration, he murders a professor who moonlights as a pawnbroker. Questioned by the police, he ill-advisedly spouts warmed-over Nietzsche like the effete killers in Hitchcock's Rope. Then, out of the blue, a scholarly periodical to which he submitted an article sends him a check for $1000 (!) -- the most implausible occurrence in the entire noir cyle. He grows more reckless, and suspicion continues to grow....

Fear was a low-budget Monogram programmer (clocking in at just over an hour) but looks a lot better, angled and shadowed like more lavish productions. It won't satisfy the literal-minded, but it's a decent enough way to while away a dark hour.

Peter Cookson (Larry) is a student who needs money – his college fees and rent need paying and he can't do it. He goes to College Professor Francis Pierlot (Prof Stanley) who moonlights as a loan shark to help him out. Pierlot keeps all his money in his apartment in a safe and he's also a pretty unpleasant character. Is he unpleasant enough to be murdered? Yeah, probably…….but will his attacker get away with things…

This film zips along and keeps us watching as to whether a crime will go unpunished and things are done in a suspenseful manner. Unfortunately, the ending doesn't quite live up to expectations so view this film as a bit of fun. You'll see what I mean.

Extremely Low-Budget Film-Noir that manages to entertain due to a strong Storyline (cribbed from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment) and some nifty Camera Work and a creative overall Style. What it lacks in slickness it makes up for in Mood and some expressionistic flourishes.

There is a rather tacked-on, weak ending that is a misstep of the first order, but that disappointment aside, this is one of the better attempts at Bargin Bin Noir. There is a sombre and fatalistic tone throughout and there is much more Psychology found here than in most Bottom Rung Programmers. There is a good deal of Cat and Mouse and a lot of Soul Searching.

Despite its restrictions, this can entertain at a deeper level than a lot of Major Studio B-Movies. In fact it is downright amazing how well it works its Magic through tone, style, and execution. This is not to be missed by Fans of Low-Budget Noir's.

I rated Fear (1946) 5/10. Pretty great B #noir. A lot of good visuals that are reminiscent of German films of the 20s and 30s. It's too bad it is a bit too trite and kind of like a zillion others to be amazing.