mark.waltz This is one of those "could have happened" film noir characters where the dark side of the protagonist is revealed to show exactly what somebody is capable of when pushed to the edge. The surprising element of it is that it came from the lowly Monogram studios, best known for the Bela Lugosi "mad doctor" movies, a series of hundreds of B grade westerns, and the Bowery Boys comedies.Medical student Peter Cookson is having financial difficulties and living a life best described as a mess. Landlady Almira Sessions is constantly badgering him for the rent and the state of his room, and he is in hock up to his neck. Learning that a local professor (Francis Pierlot) has stashed cash, he decides to plot the perfect murder, but it appears that once the crime has been committed, his sanity begins to suffer as well. Seemingly friendly police captain Warren William begins to "invite" Cookson down regularly to police headquarters while detective Nestor Paiva begins to follow Cookson and his new girlfriend (Anne Gwynne) around on their dates. Cookson's paranoia begins to grow as the police seem to be closing in on him. And then, bang, crash, the big twist. That's what gives this above average film noir a touch of class, along with the sly way William moves in on the troubled Cookson.The aging William, in his second to last film, gives a humorous and sly performance as the always happy police captain, carrying a pole and a hook as he tries to catch Cookson with the bate of evidence. Cookson seems to be on a front burner of the stove of sanity, getting hot and bothered by every little question that the police ask of him and every knock on his door from the sour pussed Sessions, a delightful character actress who could get laughs simply by sneering at the person she was snooping on and judging. Pierlot, as the victim, may look like some cute little old man, but his character is filled with darkness as well. This is smartly directed by Alfred Zeisler, an American born producer and director with much experience in Germany who used a lot of expressionism in his work especially as evidenced here. Many have pointed out the similarities to Fritz Lang which is evident in the elements Zeisler incorporates. Even at just 68 minutes, this compact little feature oozes in detail and keeps you glued, with top notch camera work by Jack Rose and brilliant editing by Ace Herman. In fact, it is so notable that this is one of the few times in my reviews that I wanted to single out the photographer and editor. The film noirs made by Monogram and Producers Releasing Corporation in the mid 1940's have completely withstood the test of time and deserve to be listed among the classics. "Fear" indeed is one of the very best of them.

JohnHowardReid If it were not for the ending, I'd rate this moody, well photographed noir much higher than "2". But the way the movie concludes is a real cop-out that not only disappoints but that doesn't make a gram of sense. A pity!This Monogram version of "Crime and Punishment" is well-acted too, particularly by Peter Cookson (hero), Anne Gwynne (an unusual heroine), Warren William (in a rather small part - alas! - as the determined investigator), Almira Sessions (the shrewish landlady), and Francis Pierlot (as the grasping moneylender).It's a shame that all this clever writing, good acting, moody photography (Jackson Rose) and suspenseful direction (Alfred Ziesler) comes to nothing when the cop-out conclusion suddenly bursts on the screen. And the movie is now available on a very good Grapevine DVD too!

LeonLouisRicci Extremely Low-Budget Film-Noir that manages to entertain due to a strong Storyline (cribbed from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment) and some nifty Camera Work and a creative overall Style. What it lacks in slickness it makes up for in Mood and some expressionistic flourishes.There is a rather tacked-on, weak ending that is a misstep of the first order, but that disappointment aside, this is one of the better attempts at Bargin Bin Noir. There is a sombre and fatalistic tone throughout and there is much more Psychology found here than in most Bottom Rung Programmers. There is a good deal of Cat and Mouse and a lot of Soul Searching. Despite its restrictions, this can entertain at a deeper level than a lot of Major Studio B-Movies. In fact it is downright amazing how well it works its Magic through tone, style, and execution. This is not to be missed by Fans of Low-Budget Noir's.

RanchoTuVu Peter Cookson is a medical student who receives the bad news that the medical college he is attending is no longer able to afford to grant scholarships. His future becomes suddenly darker as he's faced with having to drop out with only one year to go. How this bad news affects his psyche is more or less what the film is about in a post-war 1940's era take on psychology and dreams. It seems to revolve around a sense of alienation portrayed through a surprisingly riveting dream sequence that occurs on a dark night on the railroad tracks. In spite of its meager budget this movie succeeds in rating fairly high up on the standards of my film scale.