Fear in the Night

DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy in the original Star Trek) appeared in his first leading role in this 1947 paranoid thriller as a man who awakens from a nightmare in which he murders a man and then finds clues suggesting that the crime actually happened in real life. One of the more interesting noirs to come out of Hollywood's B-movie studios, Fear in the Night is based on a story by Cornell Woolrich—whose work inspired scores of movie mysteries and TV suspense shows—and director Maxwell Shane remains remarkably faithful to the author's nightmarish sensibility. Kelley is dazed and jittery as Vince Grayson, while Paul Kelly as his police detective brother-in-law, Cliff Herlihy, is the voice of reason who tries to convince him it was only a dream, but then starts to believe that Vince really is a killer. Working with an extremely low budget, Shane makes the most of limited resources by shooting close in to the actors and creating an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere. A minor but memorable production that slipped into the public domain many years ago, Fear in the Night has been released in numerous DVD editions, most of them poorly mastered from substandard sources. This Film Chest edition claims to be restored but offers small improvement, with details and visual texture digitally scrubbed from the image along with the scratches and other imperfections, while the soundtrack features a distracting high-pitched hum of audio interference. An optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)