Ministry of Fear
Directed by Fritz Lang
Written by Seton I. Miller from a novel by Graham Greene
1944/USA
Paramount Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Willi Hilfe: We thought you’d been killed.
Stephen Neale: Not quite.[/box]
The look and feel of the piece scream Fritz Lang but under a screenwriter who was also the producer, the director wasn’t quite able to work his magic on the story.
As the film opens, Stephen Neale (Ray Milland) waits anxiously to be released from an insane asylum where he has been sentenced for his involvement in the mercy killing/suicide of his terminally ill wife. Anxious rejoin the land of the living, Stephen is attracted by a charity fete put on by “The Mothers of Free Nations” before he can board the train to London. There a fortune teller mysteriously gives him the winning weight of a cake that is being raffled off.
Neale boards the train and is robbed of his prize by a “blind man” who is in turn blown up by a Nazi rocket. When he reaches London, Stephen, who fears any further interaction with the police, heads straight to the headquarters of “The Mothers”. The Austrian refugee siblings (Carl Esmond and Marjorie Reynolds) who run the charity offer to help him to track down the spy ring responsible for the deadly pastry. Murder and mayhem follow. With Dan Duryea in a small role as a sinister tailor.
Ministry of Fear is simply dripping with Lang’s signature style and noir flourishes that make it a visual joy. Unfortunately, the script is not in the same league. The story is confusing, the pace slows to a crawl at points, and much of the acting is dragged down by indecision as to what accent should be used in this very studio-bound “London”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JsdMhwxaBw
Trailer – cinematography by Henry Sharp
