Ministry of Fear (1944)
Genre: Filmnoir / Thriller
Duration: 84 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Stars: Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds and Carl Esmond
IMDb score:
7,1 (9.677)
Releasedate: 19 May 1944
Ministry of Fear plot
"Thrilling drama of the Invisible Network of Terror!"
Stephen Neale accidentally comes into possession of an important microfilm intended for a Nazi agent. Things deteriorate and Neale is on the run from both the Nazis and the police.
Actors and actresses
Stephen Neale
Carla Hilfe
Willi Hilfe
Mrs. Bellane #2, spiritualist
Inspector Prentice
Cost aka Travers the tailor
Dr. Forrester
George Rennit, private investigator
Tailor's Delivery Man (uncredited)
Scotland Yard Man (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
mrklm
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- 12190 messages
- 10362 votes
Although it lacks the epic proportions of Fritz Lang's greatest masterpieces, with this intelligent thriller he shows that he can deliver craftsmanship even with (relatively) few resources. The screenplay is based on a Graham Greene novel and has an interesting premise: Stephen Neale [Ray Milland], a man who appears to be completely rational, is released from a mental asylum. He attends a quirky convention where he meets a fortune teller who asks him to participate in a guessing game. He promptly takes off with the top prize, a cake, but during the train journey to London he is knocked unconscious and loses his prize. When Stephen decides to investigate this incident, he is unintentionally involved in a dark plot.
It's a somewhat bizarre start, but that's what makes the film so intriguing: just like the main character, you quickly get the idea that you can't trust anything and anyone. The unusual camera angles and atmospheric lighting by cameraman Henry Sharp contribute to an ever captivating film that is one of the better spy thrillers made during WWII.
Translated from Dutch · View original
scorsese
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- 13430 messages
- 11264 votes
Good film about a man who has just been fired from an institution and soon gets into trouble. A simple and not very innovative plot that takes place during the second world war. But it is, certainly at the beginning, presented with enough mystery. The whole thing almost continuously reminds of a Hitchcock film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
starbright boy (moderator films)
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- 22555 messages
- 5219 votes
The third of three anti-Nazi films Lang made during the war. I saw the second one (Hangmen Also Die) earlier this year and I still have the first one (Man Hunt). Lang loved the book (by Graham Greene) and snapped when Paramount offered him the movie, but he didn't seem to like the script and wasn't very proud of the movie.
Unlike the other two, Ministry Of Fear is a full-blooded noir (including a very expressionistic style, especially in the first half). And these were often against the background of espionage in the Second World War or just after. It is clearly a lesser film than yesterday's (The Woman in the Window) but much better than Lang seemed to like the film himself. I particularly liked the first half, in which the drama is outlined and an uncanny atmosphere is created. Lang does not reach that level anymore in the second half. But it doesn't get much worse either.
What is striking is the pacing of the film. The film has a good pace (not too fast) and is over before you know it and continues to fascinate
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