Fog Island

Although "Fog Island" is very stagy (which is understandable, seeing as it was adapted from a play), and the acting is often atrocious, it's very enjoyable for its black and white mystery atmosphere. It reminded me of the kind of drama that used to be produced for the radio on shows like "Inner Sanctum." The admittedly contrived story takes place predominantly in an old dark mansion which is, we are told, located on an island where the fog is constant and overpowering. Lionel Atwill, who was framed and sent up the river by some shifty associates in his business, devises a scheme to lure the conspirators to his remote home and have them kill each other for the fortune they think is hidden there.

The creaky story relies on all of the characters being murderously greedy, and this is the kind of movie where booby traps exist alongside secret passages and hidden compartments. Did houses like this really exist anywhere other than the movies?

Interestingly, although the plot comes off as contrived, it's not entirely predictable, either. It also benefits from not being overly long, clocking in at just about an hour. The presence of Lionel Atwill helps immensely. Would be great on a double bill with "Secret of the Blue Room".

Leo Granger, falsely framed for embezzlement and living on Fog Island with his stepdaughter, invites the 4 persons who framed him and one of which is responsible for the murder of Granger's wife. The only reason for the 4 to go to the former pirate hideaway, is that they, along w/ Granger's former cellmate, believe that somewhere in the house is a stash of money, Granger accumulated. One of the four, Kingsley, is the son of the recently deceased person who framed Granger, and is only there for Gail, the step-daughter. At the island, Granger gives each a clue to ultimately get "what's coming to them", and he waits to see how the group's greed will get the best of them. The film has the right atmosphere and a good cast, but that's all to recommend it. Obviously with a PRC budget, you might have had a style similar to Clair's And Then There Were None. Morse's direction is uneven, very often breaking the tension. Still a good production from the studio. Rating, 5.

Wow, Atwill and Zucco together at last. I was expecting crackling transformers, electrical arcs, and monsters galore. No such luck. They do have one minor face-off, but I don't think the producers knew what sinister potential they had in these two veteran madmen.

It's a typical PRC cheap budget— a big drawing room, some secret passages, and an underground room that becomes a swimming pool at inconvenient times. And that's about it. The plot's supposed to be about an island host (Zucco) using a ruse to get people who wronged him onto his island as guests so he can get revenge. Maybe the premise is not very original, but it does have potential. Trouble is there's very little development producing either suspense or mystery. Mostly, it's scattered dialog and playing hide and seek in semi-darkness. In short, the narrative's a series of individual occurrences that fail to build beyond themselves. Thus, we're left with a few interesting set-ups but little more. Too bad.

Oh yes, mustn't forget not just one spider woman, but two—Borg and DeWit. Both are tall, forceful, and attractive. Like Zucco & Atwill, they do have one minor face-off, but I guess I was hoping for an all-out catfight, or more aptly a lioness fight. Now that would have been memorable. Anyway, the film does have its moments, but fails to cohere into anything more.

This crime/mystery drama is pretty murky in a number of respects, but it holds your interest most of the time with a tense and rather complicated story. George Zucco and Lionel Atwill are right at home in this kind of material, and the rest of the cast is solid if unspectacular.

The setup has Zucco as an ex-convict who has a mysterious home on "Fog Island", to which he lures an assortment of persons whom he holds responsible for framing him and for killing his wife. Zucco is convincing as a half-mad plotter, and although parts of his plan remain obscure or confusing, it's interesting in that his approach to revenge is not the usual one of direct confrontation.

Atwill and Veda Ann Borg are the liveliest of the supporting characters. John Whitney and Sharon Douglas are at least likable, but they are too plain to arouse much interest in their characters, who are significant to the story.

The fog and darkness that dominate the settings help to hide the low-budget production, and they also help in setting the atmosphere of confusion and distrust. There are a fair number of interesting moments, and although it doesn't all fit together as well as it could have, it's a fairly interesting offbeat feature of its kind.

I would have voted 6, but had to subtract one for the grizzly, bouncy print, even the DVD print purchased from DeepdiscountDVD was wretched (not their fault.) But, the price was right, under $5.00 on sale. The actors were wonderful in their scenery chewing portrayals of the various greedy characters. Many of them were quite well known actors in the 40s. The only truly bad acting was by the two actors portraying the young lovers, whose characters added no value to the story anyway. The other reviews pretty well cover the story and need not be repeated here. The story was adapted from the play "Angel Island". What was fun about the movie presentation is that it doesn't stray far from the stage play form. The scenes don't change often and the action is concentrated in one spot. This helps maintain the continuity of the story, which in low budget presentations can quite often get lost. If you like stories like "Ten Little Indians", you'll like this.