Ministry Of Fear [DVD] [1944]

Essential Film Noir by Fritz Lang, 26 Dec 2007

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Phoust (London, England) –

  

  

“The Ministry of Fear” was directed by Fritz Lang in 1944 and was adapted from the Graham Greene novel of the same name. “Ministry” is essentially a spy thriller similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s “Foreign Correspondent” (1940). Hitchcock and Lang’s career developed at pretty much the same time in the silent 20s and through the 30s although Lang’s films suggested a far darker world view. With such classics as “Dr Mabuse: The Gambler”(1922), “Metropolis”(1927), “M”(1931) Lang established himself as a true innovator in German expressionist cinema and its that quality which he would take with him when he moved to Hollywood in the mid 30s. Lang can be credited as a major player in the development of Film Noir where imagery would become a significant part of the story. His first two American films “Fury”(1936) and “You Only Live Once”(1937) are often credited as two of the earliest examples of Film Noir before the 1940s. In 1944 and 1945 he made three classics of Film Noir: “Ministry of Fear”, “The Woman in the Window”(1944) and “Scarlett Street”(1945). It can be difficult for younger audiences to appreciate what makes Lang so important because many of his cinematic innovations seem commonplace today but Lang’s dark vision of modern metropoli and a deep sense of paranoia and fear was truly original at the time. “Ministry of Fear” has all the popular themes of Film Noir such as labyrinthine plots, femme fatales and the innocent man being sucked into the whirlpool of the Noir world that makes it a brilliantly entertaining genre to watch. Film Noir buffs will not want to miss this.

The Optimum Home Entertainment DVD is of a good standard.

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Fun entertainment, 28 Dec 2008

Steve Neale (Ray Milland) is let out of a psychiatric hospital after finishing his sentence for murdering his wife. However, he is immediately unwittingly dragged into a spy ring’s activities when he wins a cake at a fair. The film follows his attempts to understand what is going on around him and why his life is in danger.

The cast all do well and there are some good scenes, eg, the blind man on the train; the seance at Mrs Bellane’s (Hillary Brooke) apartment; and the scene at the tailor’s shop near the end where Travers (Dan Duryea) casually makes a phone call with an enormous pair of scissors. Carl Esmond is good as Willi Hilfe who befriends Milland, but it’s a shame that Marjorie Reynolds chose to affect a German accent as Carla. It’s not very good.

There are some rather far-fetched parts to the story – eg, Carla trusting Steve so wholeheartedly from the beginning (no way!), finding a cake that has been blown up (no way!) and someone rushing through a door to make a getaway yet somehow being shot dead through it (no way!) – yet although the film may be confusing at times due to the number of characters involved, it is still fun entertainment.

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