A Face in the Fog (1936)
1936 · Feature film · 55 min · dir. Robert F. Hill
From out of the darkness strikes -- The Fiend!
- Mystery
- Crime
- Horror
Synopsis
Cast members of a show at the Alden theatre are being terrorized by a hunchback killer known as the Fiend, using frozen bullets, and two have been killed. Newspaper reporters Jean Monroe, drama editor, and Frank Gordon, accompanied by a dumb photographer, Elmer are on the story. Jean receives a note from Ted Wallington, the star of the play,"Satan's Bride", to meet him. From him, she learns the note was a fake, the lights go out and the Fiend strikes again as Wallington slumps to the floor dead. Peter Fortune, the author of the show, who has helped the police solve previous cases, agrees to assist on this case, but insists on working alone. Jean and Frank have taken rooms at the Globe Hotel, where Reardon, an actor, is also a resident. A telephone message for Frank turns out to be a ruse in the hopes of getting him out of the hotel. Reardon suggests calling the police but, while phoning, his finger is holding the receiver hook down. Meanwhile, Elmer calls Frank and the reporter is dumbfounded to hear his phone ring while Reardon is apparently talking to Police Captain Davis. A fight ensues and Reardon escapes. This gives the hunchbacked terror a chance to slip in the room to make another attempt on Jean's life, but the shot misses. Fortune has some pictures of Reardon donning the Fiend's flowing robe, and Reardon is taken into custody. During an re-enactment of the Wallington murder, Reardon is killed and another theory is exploded. Frank discovers a cigarette case,…
Synopsis from OMDb
Details
- Director
- Robert F. Hill
- Writer
- Peter B. Kyne
- Studio
- Victory Pictures Corporation
- Released
- 1936-02-01
- Running time
- 55 minutes
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Feature Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- murder
- hunchback
Cast & crew
- Robert F. Hill Director
June Collyer
Lloyd Hughes
Lawrence Gray
Jack Mulhall
Al St. John- John Cowell
John Elliott
Sam Flint
Reviews on the Internet Archive
★★★ · Decent Murder Mystery · Poohbah70 · 2019-05-31
If you like 1930s style murder mysteries, then you'll enjoy this tight little drama. For a change, the villain doesn't come out of nowhere at the end - his identity becomes clear as the story progresses. The one flaw is the newspaper photographer Elmer (Al St. John) as an airhead, scared-of-his-own-shadow type, who, in the end and totally out of character, helps track down the murderer. Otherwise, he is a silly fellow and an annoying presence i n the film. The rest of the cast are fine, particularly the leads, June Collyer, Lloyd Hughes, Lawrence Gray and Jack Mulhall.
