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Fear

  • 1946
  • Approved
  • 1h 8m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
703
YOUR RATING
Peter Cookson, Anne Gwynne, and Warren William in Fear (1946)
Film NoirDramaMystery

In this Americanized retelling of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, a medical student--broke, hungry and desperate for money--murders a loan shark to whom he owes money. After the killing, ... Read allIn this Americanized retelling of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, a medical student--broke, hungry and desperate for money--murders a loan shark to whom he owes money. After the killing, he's tormented by guilt over what he's done. A police captain, who's convinced the student... Read allIn this Americanized retelling of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, a medical student--broke, hungry and desperate for money--murders a loan shark to whom he owes money. After the killing, he's tormented by guilt over what he's done. A police captain, who's convinced the student committed the crime but can't prove it for lack of evidence, plays on the young man's gui... Read all

  • Director
    • Alfred Zeisler
  • Writers
    • Dennis J. Cooper
    • Alfred Zeisler
    • Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • Stars
    • Peter Cookson
    • Warren William
    • Anne Gwynne
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.7/10
    703
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alfred Zeisler
    • Writers
      • Dennis J. Cooper
      • Alfred Zeisler
      • Fyodor Dostoevsky
    • Stars
      • Peter Cookson
      • Warren William
      • Anne Gwynne
    • 23User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast29

    Edit
    Peter Cookson
    Peter Cookson
    • Larry Crain
    Warren William
    Warren William
    • Police Capt. Burke
    Anne Gwynne
    Anne Gwynne
    • Eileen Stevens…
    Francis Pierlot
    Francis Pierlot
    • Prof. Stanley
    Nestor Paiva
    Nestor Paiva
    • Detective Shaefer
    James Cardwell
    James Cardwell
    • Ben
    Almira Sessions
    Almira Sessions
    • Mrs. Williams
    William Moss
    • Al
    Harry Clay
    • Student
    Johnny Strong
    • Student
    Ernie Adams
    Ernie Adams
    • House Painter
    Charles Calvert
    • Doc
    Phyllis Ayres
    • Pedestrian
    • (uncredited)
    Tony Barrett
    Tony Barrett
    • Narrator of Edited Version
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Ken Broeker
    Ken Broeker
    • Uniformed Officer
    • (uncredited)
    Fairfax Burger
    • Magician
    • (uncredited)
    James Conaty
    • Man in Police Station
    • (uncredited)
    Chester Conklin
    Chester Conklin
    • Railroad Switchman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Zeisler
    • Writers
      • Dennis J. Cooper
      • Alfred Zeisler
      • Fyodor Dostoevsky
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    5.7703
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    Featured reviews

    7Honus

    Better than average Monogram "B", with Langian touches

    Maltin's summary, and his star-and-a-half rating, for this quickie film noir fails to put it in the context of other, far more dismal Monogram productions. "Fear" has lots of interesting camera-pushes, nice use of close-ups, relatively interesting lighting, and a great nightmare montage. Plus, an expressive touch at the moment the key murder takes place (which I won't reveal) is just brilliant. Three things link this film to Fritz Lang's work--the marked coat (from "M") the dream-frame ("The Woman in the Window"), and perhaps most explicitly the palmreading of Larry's hand, revealing an "M", which stands for. . . . [supply your own dramatic music here]. Noir fans should seek this one one out for sure. Others may not be so impressed.
    4bkoganbing

    Still it's a murder

    Poverty row Monogram Pictures produced Fear based on Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment. We've seen better adaptions.

    Medical student Peter Cookson is really up against it financially. Rent is overdue, he owes the college money. He goes to a professor who doubles on the side as a shylock. In a moment of anger he kills the professor.

    The plot follows fairly closely the Dostoevsky story, but it has one big cop out of an ending. In addition leading man Peter Cookson gives a rather bland performance.

    Police captain Warren William and dpgged detective Nestor Paiva do a lot better.

    For a Monogram feature and Sam Katzman this is fine art.
    6AAdaSC

    Fear of having no money

    Peter Cookson (Larry) is a student who needs money – his college fees and rent need paying and he can't do it. He goes to College Professor Francis Pierlot (Prof Stanley) who moonlights as a loan shark to help him out. Pierlot keeps all his money in his apartment in a safe and he's also a pretty unpleasant character. Is he unpleasant enough to be murdered? Yeah, probably…….but will his attacker get away with things…

    This film zips along and keeps us watching as to whether a crime will go unpunished and things are done in a suspenseful manner. Unfortunately, the ending doesn't quite live up to expectations so view this film as a bit of fun. You'll see what I mean.
    6blanche-2

    Crime & Punishment

    Well, in this one we have actress Beatrice Straight's husband (Peter Cookson) and Chris Pine's mother (Anne Gwynne) along with Warren William starring in Fear from 1946, directed by Alfred Zeisler.

    This is an American retelling of Crime & Punishment until the final moments of the film.

    Cookson is a broke medical student who kills a professor (Francis Pierlot) who doubles as a pawnbroker. However, he leaves the man's apartment in a panic, without taking any money. His guilt consumes him, and it doesn't help that two police detectives (William and Nestor Paiva) are on his case.

    What is interesting about this film is that the director was from the German expressionist school and gives us a wonderful dream sequence involving railroad tracks and makes use of angles and shadows effectively.

    As for the end of the film - it's a device used in so many films during that time. It's really a cop out, even if I did get a kick out of it.
    6MartinTeller

    Fear (1946)

    A desperate student murders a pawnbroker, but is hounded by an odd but persistent detective... and his own conscience. Sound familiar? No attempt is made to credit Dostoyevsky, but the film is quite clearly a modern adaptation of "Crime and Punishment". And for a quickie (just over an hour) B-movie production with a cast of no-name actors, it's not too shabby. The performances aren't great, but I liked Anne Gwynne as the love interest and Warren William as the crafty police chief. Zeisler pulls off a few nice flourishes and delivers a tight little package. The story makes for prime noir material, and is hard to mess up. However, they blew it with a cheap ending. Not just cheap, but woefully predictable. I should research C&P adaptations.... Kaurismaki's is okay, but there ought to be a better one out there.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Re-titled and edited to less than thirty minutes, after having been previously telecast as a feature film, this was re-sold to television in the early 1950s as part of a syndicated half-hour mystery show.
    • Goofs
      After Larry Crain kills the professor, he goes to the door when he hears the two students outside, and the chain latch is closed. He then returns to the desk to retrieve the ash tray, and, when he goes back to the door to go out, the chain latch is now open.
    • Connections
      Featured in Movies at Midnight: Fear (1954)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 2, 1946 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Suspense
    • Production company
      • Lindsley Parsons Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 8 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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