JohnHowardReid
Lionel Atwill (Alec Ritchfield), Jerome Cowan (John Kavanaugh), George Zucco (Leo Grainger), Sharon Douglas (Gail), Veda Ann Borg (Sylvia Jordan), Ian Keith (Doc Lake), Jacqueline de Wit (Emiline Bronson), John Whitney (Jeff Kingsley), George Lloyd (the butler), Eddie Parker (fight double for Ian Keith).Director: TERRY O. MORSE. Screenplay: Pierre Gendron. Based on the 1937 play "Angel Island" by Bernadine Angus. Photography: Ira H. Morgan. Film editor: George McGuire. Art director: Paul Palmentola. Music: Karl Hajos. Assistant director: William A. Calihan, junior. Sound recording: William R. Fox. Associate producer: Terry O. Morse. Producer: Leon Fromkess.Copyright 15 February 1945 by Producers Releasing Corporation. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 15 February 1945. Australian release through Hoyts Theatres Ltd: 12 September 1946. 7 reels. 6,429 feet. 72 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Deranged man invites his enemies for a weekend on his fog- bound island.NOTES: The stage play opened on Broadway at the National on 20 October 1937 and ran a miserable 21 performances. George Abbott produced and directed a great cast: Arlene Francis, Lea Penman, Betty Field, Carroll Ashburn, Doro Merande, Edith Van Cleve, Clyde Fillmore, Eric Wollencott, Louise Larabee and Joyce Arling. COMMENT: Another killer-let-loose-on-an-inescapable-island entry, "Fog Island: is an atmospherically directed and photographed grand guignol piece, well acted by all concerned (particularly Ian Keith), but somewhat too contrived for my taste. Production values are well above the usual P.R.C. level.
Rainey Dawn
This film is not half bad. It's not Zucco's nor Atwill's best film but it's a pretty good older mystery-thriller with trace elements of horror added to the mix.Leo Grainer (Zucco) is out for revenge. He was set-up and sent to the big house and while he was there his wife was murdered while the criminal or criminals searched for hidden treasures within his home on Fog Island. Now Grainer is seeking out who murdered his wife and to get revenge on the one or those that have betrayed him. He has a step-daughter, Gail, who is staying with him and becomes a part of his plan to help get criminal or criminals.Fun to watch, great way to kill an hour if you like the older mysteries.7/10
GManfred
A creepy old house on an island shrouded in fog, a handful of suspects (victims?) and George Zucco and Lionel Atwill together on the same screen - what else could we B fans ask for? Well, for starters, we could ask for a better script, a few less holes in the plot and a better love interest twosome than Sharon Douglas and John Whitney, who nearly sinks the picture all by himself with a very poor acting job.I have to think this story worked better on the stage as the director here couldn't bring it off on screen. But if you go with it and make generous allowances for the proceedings it will work for you.Plus - did you ever think you could ever see Zucco and Atwill in the same picture? They are here - for the first and maybe only time! Now that's worth the price of admission! All you have to do is overlook the small details.
Spondonman
First time of watching: entertaining low budget spooky house mystery with Zucco and Atwill at their eye-popping peaks. Terrible print - the negative must look transparent, so I would definitely recommend switching the lights off (or a cinema) for optimum viewing.It's a PRC stagey mix of And Then There Were None (in this case, Two) and The Cat And The Canary, with a few extra twists, but with only nine characters. The butler was a short-lived oddball however, quickly dispatched with gusto from the plot to the cynical amusement of Zucco. To my cynical amusement it's at that moment that Zucco is reminded that he "blew his top" when he was in prison - not hard to imagine!The male romantic lead was even more wooden, impetuous and prescient than the rest of the cast (Jerome Cowan was wasted yet again), but overall I enjoyed the film, nice atmosphere when the print allowed and an almost believable nasty-revenge storyline.
AD
