Fog Island (1945)

Wow, Atwill and Zucco together at last. I was expecting crackling transformers, electrical arcs, and monsters galore. No such luck. They do have one minor face-off, but I don't think the producers knew what sinister potential they had in these two veteran madmen.It's a typical PRC cheap budget— a big drawing room, some secret passages, and an underground room that becomes a swimming pool at inconvenient times. And that's about it. The plot's supposed to be about an island host (Zucco) using a ruse to get people who wronged him onto his island as guests so he can get revenge. Maybe the premise is not very original, but it does have potential. Trouble is there's very little development producing either suspense or mystery. Mostly, it's scattered dialog and playing hide and seek in semi-darkness. In short, the narrative's a series of individual occurrences that fail to build beyond themselves. Thus, we're left with a few interesting set-ups but little more. Too bad. Oh yes, mustn't forget not just one spider woman, but two—Borg and DeWit. Both are tall, forceful, and attractive. Like Zucco & Atwill, they do have one minor face-off, but I guess I was hoping for an all-out catfight, or more aptly a lioness fight. Now that would have been memorable. Anyway, the film does have its moments, but fails to cohere into anything more.

This is supposed to be an atmospheric creepy house, murder mystery.It begins as such with the usual group of unsavory suspects, and a hero and heroine.It just completely deteriorates from there.The clichés are worse than tired. They are absolutely dull. Instead of giving us mystery, the constant shifts and creeps in the shadows just give you a headache.It's hard to care about anything here. The hero and heroine are okay. The others aren't motivated in the least. They just bore us. They sound like they had to write the lines as they went along, and didn't care what they wrote.It's the dullness that drags this down. The atmosphere should have been there, but it isn't. It is horribly written and directed, and this from someone who likes old atmospheric movies. This is an ordeal, and not to be seen without aspirin.May cure your Insomnia, but that's it.

This movie was released by PRC--clearly a so-called 'poverty row studio'. This nickname was given to the low-end studios--that were really studios in name only and were more like the minor leagues of the film industry. Instead of owning their own production space, most of these production companies rented space on the lots of major studios and shot their pictures at night! That's why most films by PRC and other smaller outfits are shot entirely on sound stages where you have no idea if it's day or night. As for PRC specifically, most of their films had abysmally small budgets and poor writing--though a few decent actors like George Zucco or Lionel Atwill worked for them as well as the big studios. Fortunately, both of these actors who specialized in suspense and horror films were here together in "Fog Island"--a film about revenge.Zucco had been ruined financially many years before and even went to prison for this. However, he blames his 'friends' for this predicament, as many of them testified against him or abandoned their friendship with him when his legal troubles began. Inexplicably, years later they actually agree to see him again...here on isolated Fog Island. Frankly, I just can't see why they would come--especially since it seems pretty obvious their lives might be endangered. However, from where the danger came took my by surprise, as it turns out Zucco is NOT the only madman--but he WILL have his revenge. What exactly happens next actually had a few surprises and made the most of the tiny PRC budget. While not a great film, it was very enjoyable and worth seeing--especially if you are a fan of this sort of thing...which I sure am.

Nothing like an old, low-budget mystery. Leo Granger(George Zucco)has been released from prison after being framed for embezzlement by his once trusted associates. He decides to invite them to his hideaway haven on Fog Island intimating it is a chance to even the score for his stay in prison as well as the murder of his wife. In the name of justice due, he hopes his guests will accept the invitation in hopes of sharing in the embezzled funds. But instead he has devised a death-trap for those that ill advised and urged some of his past bad behavior. The fog lends to an atmosphere of mystery. Plus the fact that the guests don't exactly trust each other let alone their host causes a degree of suspense. The abrupt climax serves justice. Veteran villain Lionel Atwill leads the supporting cast of Jerome Cowan, Sharon Douglas, Veda Ann Borg and John Whitney.