Out of the Fog (1941 film)

Out of the Fog (working title: Danger Harbor) is a 1941 American film noir crime drama directed by Anatole Litvak, starring John Garfield, Ida Lupino and Thomas Mitchell. The film was based on the play Gentle People by Irwin Shaw.[1]

Out of the Fog
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnatole Litvak
Produced byHal B. Wallis
Screenplay by
Based onthe play Gentle People
by Irwin Shaw
Starring
Music byHeinz Roemheld
CinematographyJames Wong Howe
Edited byWarren Low
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • June 14, 1941 (1941-06-14) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Two aging men, Goodwin and Johnson (Mitchell and Qualen), are fishermen in their spare time. They are trying to buy a new boat, but their Brooklyn pier is controlled by Goff, a gangster (Garfield), who extorts "protection" money of $5 a week from them.

Goodwin's daughter (Lupino) falls in love with Goff, who learns that Goodwin has tried to persuade her to holiday in Cuba. After he demands $190 from them, the sum Goodwin had promised his daughter, the fishermen plan to kill the gangster, but neither can go through with the act. The gangster attempts to strike one of them but falls into the sea and drowns. Goff turns out to have been a wanted man in five cities, and they recover the extorted money.

Cast

Reception

On release, the film was criticized due to changes from the play, and the box office gross was lower than expected.[2] A contemporary review from Bosley Crowther of The New York Times described it as "a heavy and dreary recital of largely synthetic woes, laced with moderate suspense and spotted here and there with humor".[3] Writing at Bright Lights Film Journal, Alan Kohn said, "As Goff, Garfield — the progressive, the true common man whose miserable fate it was to be destroyed through the Hollywood Blacklist travesty — reveals the depravity and fantasy of Depression-era capitalist society as he condemns all fascist forces at play in a world at war."[4]

References
  1. Out of the Fog at the American Film Institute Catalog.
  2. Capua, Michelangelo (2015). Anatole Litvak: The Life and Films. McFarland & Company. p. 58. ISBN 9780786494132.
  3. Crowther, Bosley (June 21, 1941). "Out of the Fog (1941)". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  4. Kohn, Alan (April 30, 2003). "Little Big Man: John Garfield Triumphs in Anatole Litvak's Out of the Fog". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.