amdew717
....but his signature is all over it. Yes, I know he wrote and produced but I've seen enough of his films to know his trademarks, like the unwitting American who has stumbled into international intrigue with bumbling results (Cotten is perfectly cast here), the ridiculous laughter of the captain and his "boom-booms," and the many quirky supporting players. There's much more Welles going on here than simply the writer and supporting role.Despite the film's short length, it never felt rushed and I was not aware of any missing scenes that many have alluded to. However, we can only hope that one day an expanded edition might be released. This is a very entertaining film even in shortened form.
utgard14
While in Turkey with his wife, Navy engineer Howard Graham (Joseph Cotten) finds himself pursued by Nazi agents out to kill him for reasons that aren't so clear to him (or us). Colonel Haki (Orson Welles) of the Turkish secret police puts him on a steamship to get him out of the country safely. On board he meets an assortment of colorful characters before realizing the assassins have followed him onto the ship.This is one of those movies Welles acted in that has so many of his directorial touches, yet another person is credited as director. In this case, Welles' friend Norman Foster. There are conflicting reports on who actually directed the film, including different statements from Welles himself. What we know for sure is that Foster directed at least some, if not most or even all, of the picture. Welles was set to direct but had to back out. He did co-write the screenplay and his notes for when he was going to direct were likely still used by Foster. This looks nothing like Foster's other films yet it does have that Welles feeling so, whatever the truth about who stood behind the camera, I think it's safe to say creatively the movie is more Welles than anybody.A blend of film noir and a WW2 espionage tale, the story doesn't always make a lot of sense but it's such a good-looking movie that it kept my interest throughout. It's also a short movie; about the same length as the average B picture of the time. The cast backing up the always-good Cotten and Welles features some entertaining Mercury Theatre regulars like Agnes Moorehead and Everett Sloane. Dolores del Rio is fine, as well. It's got a nice atmosphere and a reasonable amount of tension. As I said, it certainly looks great. In many ways, this feels like a Hitchcock imitator. But don't expect that kind of pacing or tight storytelling. It has suspenseful moments but the confusing plot brings the momentum to a halt at times. Welles fans will probably enjoy it more than most.
Claudio Carvalho
The American ballistic expert and naval engineer Howard Graham (Joseph Cotton) is traveling with his wife Mrs. Stephanie Graham (Ruth Warrick) to Batumi by train. They stop in Istanbul to meet Kopeikin (Everett Sloane), who is the armaments representative of Graham's company, and he takes Graham to a nightclub to discuss business. Kopeikin introduces the dancer Josette Martel (Dolores Del Rio) to him and during the show, the magician invites Graham to go to the stage. The killer Banat (Jack Moss) tries to kill Graham, but hits the magician instead. Graham is forced to go to the Turkish police and Colonel Haki (Orson Welles) from the secret service shows him photograph of Banat, who has been hired by the Nazi Muller (Eustace Wyatt) to kill him. Haki asks Graham to travel to Batumi by steamship since it would be a safer trip. However, Graham stumbles over Banat and Muller, in the beginning of his journey into fear."Journey into Fear" is a deceptive classic with an entertaining spy story. With the names of Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton and Dolores Del Rio, any viewer would expect a great classic but the result is a disappointing plot. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Jornada do Pavor" ("Journey into Fear")
writers_reign
Considering the turmoil in the aftermath of Kane one could suppose that we're lucky to have even a truncated second/third film from old Awesome. It was, of course, always going to be a problem following Kane even if everything was running smoothly, as it was, Welles was here, there, and everywhere initially trying to decide on a project, then leaving a second masterpiece in the hands of the abattoir known as RKO whilst off in Rio on an aborted project and somewhere in the middle of all this deciding on an Eric Ambler novel - all his life Welles was a sucker for espionage thrillers - rounding up his Mercury players, assigning Jo Cotton - who had never written anything more ambitious than a Christmas card - to adapt the novel, playing only his second ever acting role on screen, albeit a brief one, coming up with another collection of 'signature' shots and handing the directing credit to Norman Foster. Okay, it's less than perfect - in one sense it resembles a blueprint for Mr. Arkadin - but even imperfect Welles is light years better than, for example, overrated 'pure' Hitchcock. If ultimately disappointing it is at the same time fascinating.
AD
