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Fog Island | Year: 1945 Classification: Mystery / Suspense Directed: - Terry O. Morse Thumbs up on this one, Alpha Video! This overlooked gem arrived courtesy of PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation) in February of 1945. The film stars The Maddest Doctor of Them All (Lionel Atwill) coupled with the formidable talent of The Man with Neon Eyes (George Zucco). At the very beginning of this film we also spot actor Ian Keith who was under strong consideration to portray the evil Count in Universal Pictures' landmark DRACULA of 1931; additionally the same studio was considering Keith to portray Count Dracula in their 1948 monsterfest ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN! Along with this actor appears Jerome Cohen, who had previously worked as Bogart's partner in THE MALTESE FALCON (1941). Veda Ann Borg and Jacqueline DeWit fill out the rest of the cast, looking fetching and keep the action going. Alpha Video has surprised this reviewer with a DVD of some better quality, the only problem being the extremely contrasty shots and scenes here and there. When the film goes dark, the picture is nearly midnight, which is unfortunate in that this product looks superior in every way to the VHS tape version issued by Liberty Home Video back in 1997. Certainly the folks at Alpha Video have access to an enormous amount of product and need the assurance that most of us would welcome better quality at a few dollars more. Once again their cover art is unsurpassed yet at the retail price of $7.95 most of us would rather go for quality over quantity. FOG ISLAND is an enjoyable retelling of "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie with a dash of Universal Pictures' HORROR ISLAND as a vehicle for the talents of Atwill and Zucco. These two appeared in two other pictures together: HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) and another entitled THREE COMRADES (1938). An old dark house tale transposed to an island, the film is somewhat stage bound yet conveys a charm and innocence all its own. Of course the manor on the edge of the sea is equipped with sliding panels, secret passageways, skulls, suits of armor, an imposing organ and the requisite phony psychic dispensing astrological advice, actress DeWitt in a turban! This actress had specialized playing hard-boiled floozies and the like and she's very amusing here! Zucco stars as Leo Grainger who has summoned a group of shady characters who had framed him years before. Of course he has arranged for the timely demise of each of the half-dozen or so victims-to-be in the appropriately spooky seaside manor. Atwill portrays Alec Ritchfield with his usual villainous style. A year after this film, the great Lionel passed away; no other actor in film history has come along to dethrone him nor does this reviewer believe one ever shall. Hollywood lost one of its great originals of all time. The musical score by Karl Hajos is atmospheric and punctuates perfectly the nefarious activities throughout. The composer's output was phenomenally prolific but one should note and give credit to Hajos as he scored the immortal WEREWOLF OF LONDON for Un Slow start. Wild finish. Leering butlers. Eyes in the window. Secret passageways. And yes...fog all around...A group of people are invited to a remote Florida island by the owner, Leo Grainger. He wants to punish the person responsible for murdering his wife. At the spooky mansion, with it's booby traps and hidden skeletons, the visitors are killed off one-by-one....A direct remake of 1941's "Horror Island", "Fog Island" is PRCs low-budget version of "10 Little Indians". Fans of horror-film stars George Zucco and Lionel Atwill will relish the over-the-top performances. Zucco and Atwill appeared together in only three films. Lionel Atwill was a Broadway star in the 1920's. Entering movies, he co-starred in Warners' 1935 "Captain Blood". But a messy personal scandal in 1942 left him employable by only Universal Pictures and lowly PRC. Lionel Atwill's climactic scenes in "Fog Island"'s watery finale are almost grisly. Just one year later, Atwill died of cancer and pneumonia while shooting the serial "Lost City of the Jungle". 1945's "Fog Island" also features Hollywood veteran Jerome Cowan. IMDB lists "Fog Island" at 1.37:1 aspect ratio 35mm. But this brand new DVD is closer to a 1.33:1 16mm source. Digital filtering has produced a generally crisp, clean transfer. But the source print contains blotches, clips, and a sub-par soundtrack. ("What did he say?") The DVD has 6 skimpy chapters and a catalog. Movie fans of Zucco and Atwill will take the boat-ride to murky "Fog Island". But for the rest, an enticing title brings very few shocks and frankly, litte interest. Atmpspheric standout Ultra-low budget production company PRC managed to create real atmosphere thanks to decent sets and a uniformly excellent cast, toplined by Zucco and Atwill. Even the romantic leads are not wooden, as is so often the case. The storyline, although a bit over the top, none the less zips right along, holding one's interest until the darkly happy ending. Buy Fog Island at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Fog Island Search with the Priority Search Engine on Fog Island This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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