Footsteps in the Fog

The Interruption. Footsteps in the Fog is directed by Arthur Lubin and collectively written and adapted by Lenore J. Coffee, Dorothy Davenport & Arthur Pierson. It is based on the short story, The Interruption, written by Gothic novelist W. W. Jacobs. It stars Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons, Bill Travers, Belinda Lee and Ronald Squire. Music is by Benjamin Frankel and Technicolor cinematography by Christopher Challis. Stephen Lowry (Granger) is found by the house maid, Lily Watkins (Simmons), to have poisoned his wife. She promptly uses the information to blackmail Lowry. But with an attraction there they begin to have a relationship, however, motives and means are far from clear... A darn cracker of an Edwardian thriller that's redolent with Gothic atmosphere and film noir tints, Footsteps in the Fog also features nifty story telling that's acted considerably well by the then husband and wife team of Granger & Simmons. The plot features murder, betrayal and dangerous love, with warped psychology the order of the day, all done up splendidly in Technicolor by Powell & Pressburger's favourite cinematographer, Challis. Characterisations are deliberately perverse, Lily knows Stephen is a murderer, but is not afraid of him, she loves him on the terms of love that only she understands. Stephen is a dastard, dangerously so, but he's not beyond remorse either, and shows it. Both homme and femme are connivers, a recipe for disaster. These facts mark this particular coupling out as one of the most skew whiff in 50s thrillers. And thankfully when the denouement comes, it's a kicker, a real throat grabber that perfectly crowns this deliciously crafty picture. Support comes from a number of established British thespians like William Hartnel, Finlay Currie and Ronald Squire, while the art department have come up trumps for the period design. All told it's a film deserving of a bigger audience and easily recommended to classic melodrama/thriller fans. 8/10

I have always really enjoyed watching this film. It pairs Stewart Granger, at the top of his game, and his real life wife Jean Simmons and their chemistry is wonderfully effective in this aptly named dollop of Victorian melodrama. We start out on a rainy day in a London cemetery with Granger ("Lowry") burying his wife. He returns home, all doom and gloom, shuts his living room door, pours himself a glass of something then a huge smile beams across his face - nope, I don't think he is too upset to be shot of her. Twists and turns ensue as housemaid "Lily" (Simmons) discovers that perhaps her death from gastroenteritis might not have been quite as the coroner was led to believe and she begins to impose herself - at some considerable peril - on her master. Thing is, her attempts at manipulation fall foul of one thing she hadn't quite bargained on - she falls in love and... It's a super watch, this - the costumes and sets are superb, as is the swirling score from Benjamin Frankel, and the direction from Arthur Lubin allows the two to play off one another like a couple of naturals. Occasionally we get to come up for air - in the form of distractions from Bill Travers and Belinda Lee, but essentially this is a cleverly crafted, suspenseful, two-hander that I still really enjoy.

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John Chard

CinemaSerf