Out Of The Fog

This film seems to get touted a lot as the one of the very first film noirs. Even some film books describe it as a "noir pioneer". Although I enjoyed this movie, and it certainly kept my interest, I could not honestly describe it as "noir". It is true that it was directed by the gifted Anatole Litvak, and the photography is by the superlative James Wong Howe, but the film still lacks many of the key elements of film noir. First of all, there are no deliberate killings, just an accidental death -- although I will say that the death does involve [spoiler alert] the film's villain. Also, there is none of the "inescapable fate" that is such a trademark of many film noirs. There is none of the overwhelming and unavoidable sense of dread and nightmarish destiny that you find in Double Indemnity, Out Of The Past, or Gun Crazy. This film simply has characters that are being victimized by a criminal, and then the guy dies, and everyone is happy. That is NOT, by definition, film noir. Also, in addition to there being no heavy hand of fate, there is no despair in the characters, and there is no harsh cinematic use of heavy shadow and darkened streets. And there is no existential "milestone", where one or more characters decide to do something irrevocably bad, or violently amoral. In noir, that fateful and sinister decision cannot be revoked, or undone. In the world of noir, these types of characters are doomed. But in this film, no one is doomed. No one makes an irrevocable and "evil" choice. It's true that two characters decide to end the criminal's extortion racket, but, instead, he [spoiler alert] simply falls out of a boat and drowns! (And the movie has a happy ending!) As mentioned before, I did enjoy this 1941 film. John Garfield and Thomas Mitchell are both great in it. The rest of the cast, in general, also do fine work. But it is not a noir prototype. Also, it should be mentioned that this film is very "stagey", very play oriented. Which is no surprise, of course, since it is based on a stage play by Irwin Shaw. And I have to say that I thought that the usually marvelous Ida Lupino is unusually wooden here -- her manner, speech, and gestures are very theatrical and clunky. I found this distracting. All in all, though, this is an entertaining and exciting film.... Just not film noir.

DVD was brand new.

Good story -- with some comedic scenes -- about a (wanna be) gangster in Brooklyn and the people he terrorizes for money. Garfield (the gangster), Lupino and the supporting cast are all very good.

wow!!!! if you are a john garfield and ida lupino fan, then this film is a must for you!!!incredible acting, and wonderful performances by everyone.the cinematography is superb, but ultimately, it is garfield and lupino who steal the show!i have always liked john garfield, but after this film, i really fell in love with his acting, and thatincludes ida lupino as well!

Played This Dvd The Other Day, They Did A Good Transfer Of Movie To Disc, I Still Have My Home Made Disc, But This Purchase Looks A Lot Better.

cannot wait to watch it again in a few months.

Loved the video.

If you like John Garfield you will love this movie.You will get to see John Garfield playing the part of a low life.(The lowest)Thomas Mitchell is great.

Jonah (Thomas Mitchell) and Olaf (John Qualen) are two poor, hard-working men who share a love of fishing and have both bought a half-share in a boat that allows them to follow their passion each night. However, they are bullied by Goff (John Garfield) into paying him protection money against the burning of their boat. Things get worse as Goff starts to date Jonah's daughter, Stella (Ida Lupino) and then demands all of Jonah's savings. The fishermen decide to fight back....This is a fun film to watch but it's a shame that it is played so much for comedy. It would have been far more effective if the fishermen played it straight. As it stands, the cast let down the proceedings apart from John Garfield and Thomas Mitchell. Garfield is excellent as the man we hate and Mitchell gives a realistic performance of a man who doesn't want trouble. He gives his character some depth as he holds information back from his daughter and tries to stand up against Garfield's character. At the other extreme are John Qualen and Ida Lupino. Qualen is sooooooo frustrating and such an annoying character that you will want to slap his head and Lupino is wasted as I know that she can do so much better. Her character also wasn't really involved and I think this was a waste of time for her standards of performance. It is maybe the fault of the script as ultimately, she, too, just frustrates.There are humorous moments, eg, when Jonah and Olaf are on the boat with Goff and Jonah keeps yelling out the signal for Olaf to make his move. The scene would fit perfectly into any comedy film and it is genuinely funny. Unfortunately, what Olaf does next highlights exactly why this film is a disappointment. Overall, the film is OK despite some wasted talent on show.

this isn't any great shakes as a film, it's rather routinely made but enhanced by good photography by the one and only james howe wong and ida lupino and john garfield take the acting honours. prior to what has been written about this film, i didn't notice that much in the way of comedy. it is true that the two fishermen characters exchange the odd merry quip but it didn't interfere with the plot, i'm happy to say. i liked the way that the studio backlot and film sets had been shrouded in fog, it was put to very good use as it helped to create and sustain the right kind of atmosphere. the script isn't exactly original but it serves its purpose well enough. although ida lupino has received top billing, i believe that "out of the fog" has another actor who shares and dominates the spotlight, john garfield. he has just as much screentime as lupino and together, they have a good on-screen chemistry. i thought eddie albert was wasted as his character was somewhat meaningless, he didn't have much to do or to offer. he isn't to blame for this, it's the fault of the scriptwriters and that of the storyline. i also felt slightly let down by the ending, it wasn't gripping or dramatic enough after what occured not long before. i expected something a bit more. there are good things to be found in "out of the fog" but "warner bros." have produced far better films.

Bien.