User reviews

Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger are brilliant in this murder thriller. There are so many twists and turns that you'll never guess what is going to happen next. I wasn't particularly taken with the film the first time I saw it but after several more viewings it is now a firm favourite. Simmons in particular shines as the manipulative girl in love with Granger and this is probably their finest teaming together on screen. See if you can guess how it's all going to end - a clever ending to an enjoyable movie.

"Footsteps in the Fog" is a truly excellent Victorian drama starring husband and wife team Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons.

Granger plays Stephen Lowry, a man who has murdered his wife and gotten away with it; Simmons plays his maid, Lily, who knows he did it. There are two different paths he can take to keep her quiet. He prefers one way; she prefers the other.

Meanwhile, Lowry has fallen for a beautiful woman, Elizabeth Travers (the luminous Belinda Lee) of his own class, and, after a suitable period of mourning, wants to marry her.

The fly in the ointment there is a solicitor, David MacDonald (Bill Travers) who is also in love with Elizabeth and very suspicious of Lowry's behavior. When Lowry is accused of a crime, Elizabeth asks David to take the case.

This is a really neat film with a surprise ending. The acting is wonderful, as is the atmosphere, which captures not only the danger in certain scenes but the whole ambiance of Victorian London.

Jean Simmons to my mind has always been underrated. She does an excellent job here as the quietly wily Lily. Granger is attractive and plays the fairly unflappable Lowry very well.

Sadly, the gorgeous Lee would die a few years later, at the age of 26, in a car accident. Not only is she lovely in the role, but no expense was spared for her costumes, especially that blue gown.

Filmed in color. Highly recommended. A real buried treasure.

Footsteps in the Fog is directed by Arthur Lubin and collectively written and adapted by Lenore J. Coffee, Dorothy Davenport & Arthur Pierson. It is based on the short story, The Interruption, written by Gothic novelist W. W. Jacobs. It stars Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons, Bill Travers, Belinda Lee and Ronald Squire. Music is by Benjamin Frankel and Technicolor cinematography by Christopher Challis.

Stephen Lowry (Granger) is found by the house maid, Lily Watkins (Simmons), to have poisoned his wife. She promptly uses the information to blackmail Lowry. But with an attraction there they begin to have a relationship, however, motives and means are far from clear...

A darn cracker of an Edwardian thriller that's redolent with Gothic atmosphere and film noir tints, Footsteps in the Fog also features nifty story telling that's acted considerably well by the then husband and wife team of Granger & Simmons. The plot features murder, betrayal and dangerous love, with warped psychology the order of the day, all done up splendidly in Technicolor by Powell & Pressburger's favourite cinematographer, Challis. Characterisations are deliberately perverse, Lily knows Stephen is a murderer, but is not afraid of him, she loves him on the terms of love that only she understands. Stephen is a dastard, dangerously so, but he's not beyond remorse either, and shows it. Both homme and femme are connivers, a recipe for disaster. These facts mark this particular coupling out as one of the most skew whiff in 50s thrillers. And thankfully when the denouement comes, it's a kicker, a real throat grabber that perfectly crowns this deliciously crafty picture. Support comes from a number of established British thespians like William Hartnel, Finlay Currie and Ronald Squire, while the art department have come up trumps for the period design. All told it's a film deserving of a bigger audience and easily recommended to classic melodrama/thriller fans. 8/10

A great cast makes this Victorian thriller a near-classic, hampered only by a low budget. Stewart Granger stars as a recent widower who is in fact a murderer. This fact is known only to one of his his servants (Jean Simmons), who uses this knowledge to improve her station. When the wily widower ends up in a romantic relationship with a woman of his own class, he decides to put an end to the servant. From this point, everything that can go wrong does, and the clever twist ending is a real hoot. A young Bill Travers plays a barrister in love with the woman the widower has his eyes (an lips) on. Since the movie is working with almost no budget, the action is played out on basically three sets, so that it feels a bit like a theatrical play. No harm done in the end, as it is well written and wonderfully acted. Simmons absolutely shines.

She died last weekend aged 80, a great star whose career never seemed to find a summit, forestalled by middling films and imprecise casting. While this Edwardian Gothic gave her one of her more intriguing roles I've always felt she was too beautiful for it. If Lily the blackmailing housemaid had been less attractive the dangerous affair with her murderous employer would have felt a lot darker, seamier and her final pathos - the little skivvy whose dream-world collapses around her - more acute. When the Grangers are together they look perfectly suited - a married star-team of their day. Full marks to their performances, though.

While one or two plot-twists are far too facile - the brother-in-law mistaking the barrister for Lowry just because he comes out of a room, for instance - Arthur Lubin's direction gets the points across clearly and efficiently though lacking the Hitchcock intensity and lingering touches which might have made this a minor classic. A solid Technicolor production there's nonetheless a certain aura of rush and tweaking here and there with odd continuity slips and scenes that suddenly trail away in mid-sentence. Some bad processing is evident when the rather wet second-leads go driving together in the new horseless-carriage, which at least provides some topically amusing light-relief. But it's a memorable little show overall, good to watch with a last glimpse of Granger that's quite clammy - and now to be cherished more than ever as another movie-icon slips away from us in the dark.

Fascinating British drama, notable for having two depraved, totally unlikeable protagonists--a murderer and the blackmailer who loves him. All the trimmings are here for perfect Late Late Show credentials: Gothic mansion, bickering servants, thick fog, the portrait over the fireplace, poison, blood stains, secret letters, a clueless blonde ingénue, a hooded figure in the dark...but filmed in lush Hammer-style color, rather than a more appropriate b/w, which gives the film a ghoulish modern edge. Stewart Granger and Gene Simmons get high marks for underplaying this vile pair...particularly Simmons, who nails her final scene. What a great, unsung actress.

This movie is certainly one of the best victorian-era thriller melodramas ever made. The atmosphere is perfect (at least according to what we expect victorian atmosphere to be). Both Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons give wonderful performances, each being ideally cast in his/her role. The suspense builds up perfectly, answering the viewers question as to how the katharsis will come at the end. And it is a very satisfying solution - with the exception perhaps of the last words said by Jean Simmons. All in all an excellent movie that deserves much wider recognition than it actually enjoys.

W. W. Jacobs was a master of the short story and 'The Interruption' is one of his most compelling. It is basically a two-hander in which recently widowed Spencer Goddard is locked in a battle of wills with his cook Hannah who knows his dreadful secret. So as to be rid of her he resorts to drastic measures.........

To say that the bare bones have been fleshed out in this film adaptation would be an understatement.

Spencer Goddard has here become Stephen Lowry whilst Hannah is now Lily Watkins. They are played respectively by husband and wife Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons. The beautiful and diminutive Miss Simmons is a far cry from the tall, angular figure with the 'lean, ugly throat' of Jacobs' imagining.

By it's very nature film is all to do with 'compromise' and this is essentially a vehicle for one of the most glamorous couples of the time. Whereas in the original the cook is loathed by her master, here the sexual chemistry between the two is palpable.

Both Granger and Simmons are excellent in this and although Granger, as prickly as ever, did not attempt to disguise his dislike of director Arthur Lubin, he turns in one of his best performances as a narcissistic sociopath. Miss Simmons is both enchanting and touching enough to make us forgive her trespasses.

The 'added' characters are too numerous to mention and include what are usually termed the 'juvenile leads' played by Belinda Lee and Bill Travers. He loves her but she of course is mad about the cad Lowry. Miss Lee here is still fulfilling her duties as a Rank starlet before going off to Europe. She has what Byron called 'the fatal gift of Beauty' and one would hope it brought her at least a measure of happiness before her death at just 25. Travers was a crummy actor and his continued career in films remains one of life's mysteries.

Nice to see inveterate scene stealers Ronald Squire and Finlay Currie.

Apart from 'The Phantom of the Opera' of 1943 this is probably Arthur Lubin's most prestigious film and he has done a pretty good job. One could pick a few holes in the plot but that does not lessen its entertainment value. The device of the incriminating letter in the original is developed here to great effect. There is a good courtroom scene and in keeping with the title, a splendid pea-souper.

Great sense of period with atmospheric cinematography by Christopher Challis and an entrancing score by Benjamin Frankel.

I would recommend your reading Jacobs' original if only out of curiosity. It won't take you long!

Forget the alliterative title that was meant at the time for American markets. A story by W. W. Jacobs provides one of the unsung triumphs of moviemaking. To call this a 'British' movie is a misnomer. Yes, it was made in Britain. But with American money and direction- Arthur Lubin. This is important, because a studio-made movie, set in Victorian England, to look convincing for Cinemascope photography takes big dollars. Thankfully, advantageous 1950's American-British exchange rates and tax breaks meant moviegoers were the ultimate winners. From the evocative photography, hauntingly memorable Benjamin Frankel score to the starring of the then 'hot' husband-and-wife team Stewart Granger [ruthless Stephen Lowry] and Jean Simmons [the ambitious above-her-station maid Lily Watkins], there's everything right about this movie. The sexual tension between the two is tangible throughout. The plot is Victorian murder, portrayed with period ambience by a distinguished British cast. Like all great movies the plot, though watertight, is not important. The movie is. Its stentorian elegance dwarfs its audience. They just know that this one was, and still is, a biggie. If you haven't seen it yet- lucky you!

When we first see Stephen Lowry (Stewart Granger)he seems to be a grieving widower as he stands beside his late wife's grave in Victorian London .The truth is another thing altogether and we soon learn that he has murdered his wife ,by poison ,and concealed the evidence .Unfortunately for him he was observed by the ambitious and put upon parlour maid Lily Watkins (Jean Simmons)who blackmails him into giving her the job of housekeeper and takes possession of the deceased's jewels .She is also in love with Lowry and he strings her along with promises of marriage while plotting to kill her and marry the dutiful Elizabeth (Belinda Lee)the daughter of his business partner Alfred Travis(Ronald Squire).much to the consternation of straight arrow lawyer David Mcdonald (Bill Travers)who is in love with Elizabeth and who harbours the gravest suspicion about Lowry.

This is a well made movie ,with lavish interiors ,some striking Tecnicolor photography and a moody score .It is strikingly well acted especially by Granger who always appeared at ease in period roles .Simmons struggles a tad with the Cockney accent but still manages to convince as an opportunistic female with a pathetically unrequited love for Lowry .Strong support from Marjorie Rhodes as her nagging boss ,Peter Bull as a prosecuting attorney and William Hartnell as an oily blackmailer also boost proceedings .The whole thing is lushly and slickly made melodrama that stands out from the run of the mill studio product of its time

Set in the early years of the 20thc this film was yet another thriller that inundated the British cinema of the 1950's. Thanks to television I caught up with it mainly to see one of my favourite actors, Jean Simmons. Sadly like others in the cast she seems puzzled by why she is in it. Paired with her then husband Stewart Granger she plays the role of a maid, and rather badly tries to adopt a voice accent that does not suit her. No spoilers but she falls in love with Granger, who is master of the house and he has a past of murder and becomes the victim of his own fate. There is a foggy night murder shrouded in darkness, and when seen Granger looks like Hyde to his Dr, Jekyll. It is Hammer horror stuff but not made by Hammer. None of the characters are at all interesting, and psychology is thin. Belinda Lee plays a beautiful woman who is loved for very superficial reasons, and Bill Travers who wants her gives a wooden performance and is completely adrift along with the rest of the cast. As a film it is well made and in a painting by numbers sort of way plods to its depressing end. I give the film a 2 for its painful effort to be an important film of 1955. In my opinion it fails completely. Not recommended.

The then husband and wife team of Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons star in this Edwardian era melodrama about a man who poisons his wife and the servant who blackmails him into a permanent place in the household and the comforts that brings. Granger plays your typical Edwardian era upper class gentleman who admits he married his first wife for her money and then slowly poisoned her. Simmons is the servant who finds the incriminating poison, but instead of going to the cops she holds it for blackmail.

Granger for one of the few times in his career plays one pathetic loser. He tries to murder Simmons and ends up killing another woman who was wearing a similar outfit. When he's brought to trial Simmons gives evidence for him and when charges are dismissed he's more in her clutches than ever.

It all goes downhill from there for both of these people now chained to each other through murder and perjury. If there's a hero in the proceedings its Bill Travers who despite misgivings as a lawyer defends Granger at a preliminary hearing and gets charges dismissed. Travers is also in love with Belinda Lee who is another rich girl who Granger is now courting, but he has this Simmons problem.

As for Jean, she's playing with dynamite here and now she's bound to a man she knows wanted to murder her. You can safely assume it doesn't work out too well for either of them.

A nice period atmosphere characterizes Footsteps In The Fog with Granger and Simmons giving good performances and being well supported by a choice cast of players.

A twisted (if not airtight) story (co-written by two women) which goes to some dark places and arrives at an ironic conclusion, but Arthur Lubin's direction, though impeccable, is mostly pedestrian. The film is good for a foggy night in, but it's no classic. **1/2 out of 4.

Footsteps in the Fog (1955)

Some kind of cross between a Bronte drama (like Jane Eyre) and a British crime film. And it falls a little flat for that very reason, being neither one very well.

It also suffers a little from the bland performance of the leading man, Stewart Granger, who is never as chilling, or duplicitous, or charming as he needs at various stages to be.

Jean Simmons, on the other hand, is fabulous, playing both coy and cunning equally well—sometimes at the same time. The situation is seemingly simple: Granger's character is a rich widower and Simmons, playing his housekeeper, has some serious dirt about him. What might seem like a blackmail situation gets sticky fast, however, and there are emotional twists and some more desperation before it all levels out.

I hate to paint a whole industry with one color, but this strikes me as a typically British way of handling a juicy, suspenseful dilemma. It's restrained and refined, and it tries for nuance rather than splash. Imagine, five years earlier, an American film noir version of this (there are several, including the 1946 Deception which might have parallels). Some might prefer the dramatic style here, which practically owes something to earlier Paramount productions—25 years earlier, that is. For me it made me feel as polite watching as the whole enterprise must have seemed to the participants.

It's good, it's totally worth watching, but it's also revealing about style and intent in the industry in this fuzzy period between classic Hollywood and the 1960s.

At first glance, FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG looks to be a traditional Gothic mystery about a maid becoming involved with her sinister master, who may or may not have contributed to his wife's demise. Once you start watching it, though, you quickly realise that this film is anything but traditional. Instead it's a uniquely quirky black comedy, an exploration of some of the seedier aspects of the human condition; the '50s version of VERY BAD THINGS, if you will.

Stewart Granger, who has the capacity to be wooden (see SODOM & GOMORRAH), is a good fit as Stephen Lowry, a shifty aristocrat who thinks nothing of poisoning his wife when he tires of her. Even better is Jean Simmons as his timid maid who decides to take on her master. The whole film hinges on this central relationship, and it's a real zinger.

Excellent production values, plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour, and a finely-judged humorous supporting role for William Hartnell (HELL DRIVERS) all help to provide the interest, and by the end of it FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG has become a thoroughly engrossing and atypical mystery story with plenty of twists you'll never see coming. A gem, in other words!

Stewart Grainger plays Stephen Lowry, an initially sympathetic character. The audience's goodwill dissipates rapidly however, when he maltreats the family cat: some things a hero should never do. He is guilty of even worse, too, but that's not for this review. Suffice it to say that he meets his match and it's then that things become really interesting. Jean Simmons is Lily Watkins, another character who holds our sympathies - but should she? Such is the nature of this terrifically twisting plot that you never really know.

The intrigue takes on a darker turn and thus provides the thrust of the story. All this in a richly furnished, luxurious house that quickly becomes cold and unfriendly - a terrific setting for the bleak drama, all furnished with a host of well-known faces like Victor Maddern, Bill Travers, Peter Bull and the original Doctor Who, William Hartnell. My score is 8 out of 10.

I found "Footsteps In The Fog" a bit of a disappointment. It was handsomely mounted and with an attractive cast - maybe too handsomely mounted, as the film lacks suspense and tension, and is more of a melodrama than a thriller which is how the website classifies it. There is nothing sinister or compelling to the picture as the title would suggest.

Having said all that, I always liked Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger, two good actors who were man and wife in real life. She was too refined for her role here and his performance lacked the requisite menace of a double murderer. It could be the picture needed another director as Arthur Lubin was best-known for the Francis The Talking Mule series.

As is, I felt "Footsteps In The Fog" was another bland trudge through the landscape, which is a shame. It could have been a gripping Edwardian murder mystery. Maybe the title and the synopsis promised too much.

I disagree with other reviewers who persistently label this a Victoria melodrama.This historically would be anytime between 1837 (Victoria's accession) until her death in January 1901.In fact judging by Bill Travers' second hand motor car seen in a couple of scenes, this is most definitely an Edwardian melodrama.Victoria's eldest son ruled briefly from 1901-1910 as his mother had ruled for 64 years which is still the record; (although I suspect it will be broken by our present monarch who is now in her 56th year.

Now that historical point is out of the way, I awarded this film an above average 6/10 for acting, direction and other film credits including production values.Jean Simmons was miscast playing a lowly maid much as Audrey Hepburn did not in my opinion convince for the same reason as Eliza Doolittle.Jean as an actress was too refined and middle class and as another reviewer noted she could not affect a convincing working class cockney accent; (See "Eastenders" TV soap if you want authenticity).In 1955 when this film was made, drama schools were mainly run by a leftish middle class who trained often middle class actors for a mainly middle class audience and tended to drum out the regional vernacular accents of their charges during their training.How different now (post kitchen sink drama) when for example Sean Bean was told at R.A.D.A. to keep his broad Yorkshire vowels for a succession of working class roles.I did not feel Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons had much chemistry together, surprising considering they were married at the time.

Bill Travers was rather wasted as the lovelorn barrister and the actress whom he wished to be affianced was rather a lacklustre character.However Finlay Currie relished his small part as the police inspector.Finlay was often cast in myriad different character roles in his long career and when Hollywood producers wanted someone who looked old and wise the casting request would often land in Finlay's agent's in tray.Another small character part was well played by William Hartnell (who played the first Dr.Who in 1963).He played an oily blackmailer whom the police should have thanked for putting them on the trail of the dastardly Stewart Granger.

The film somewhat lacked tension, pacing and suspense although it was filmed adequately, hence my rating of 6/10.