Out of the Fog
Directed by Anatole Litvak
Written by Robert Rosson, Jerry Wald, and Richard Macauley from the play “Gentle People” by Irwin Shaw
1941/USA
Warner Bros
First viewing/Warner Archive DVD

[box] Olaf Johnson: The man that collects the money always comes.[/box]

This proto-noir is a little stage-bound and heavy handed but I enjoyed it for the performances and for James Wong Howe’s luminous black-and-white nighttime cinematography.

Jonah Goodwin (Thomas Mitchell) and Olaf Johnson (John Qualen) escape their dreary working-class existences four nights a week by fishing in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. They dream of buying a bigger boat and fishing in the clear, warm waters off Cuba.  Jonah has saved $190 as a down payment and they have just convinced the owner of the boat they have their eye on to sell it to them on the installment plan.

But their dreams are shattered by the arrival of Harold Goff (John Garfield), a protection racketeer who threatens to scuttle their little boat if they don’t pay him $5 a week. When Jacob tries to refuse he gets smacked down.  Worse, Jacob’s terminally bored daughter Stella (Ida Lupino) thinks Goff is exciting and continues to consort with him even after she finds out what he is doing to her father.

Desperate, Jacob tries to send Stella off to Cuba for a vacation offering her the $190 he had saved.  Stella refuses the money but tells Goff what her father wanted to do for her. Goff, who “has rocks inside”, then goes after Jacob for the $190.  Jacob unsuccessfully seeks justice from the law and is mercilessly beaten for his trouble.  After hearing Goff’s tirade about how he will always win because “inferior” people are afraid to fight back,Jacob hatches a plan with Olaf to do just that.  With Eddie Albert as Stella’s doting boyfriend. George Tobias as a kvetching bankrupt shopkeeper, and Aline MacMahon as Jonah’s nagging wife.

I don’t think John Garfield ever played a more thoroughly despicable character.  This makes his part in Force of Evil look like Santa Claus.  It is only natural since the screenplay makes it perhaps a little too clear that Harold Goff is a stand-in for Hitler.  In addition, Hayes Code considerations greatly weaken the ending and even turn Goff’s little ride in the fishing boat into something of a comedy.  Stella’s motivation and change of heart is not too clear.

That all said, I liked this an awful lot while I was watching it.  Garfield has such tremendous energy you can’t take your eyes off of him and Mitchell is fabulous as well.  The movie is nicely paced and I’m a sucker for wet dark streets and fog, especially as lit by the great James Wong Howe.

Trailer