"A Face in the Fog" is a 1930s B-mystery movie from a tiny little so-called 'Poverty Row Studio'--and Hollywood made a ton of these films. What sets this one apart is the bizarre means of killing as well as the god-awful supporting role played by Al St.
A Face in the Fog (1936) ** (out of 4) A masked killer known as The Fiend uses a special bullet that is guaranteed to kill his victim as well as leave his mark. Frank (Lloyd Hughes) and Jean (June Collyer) take an interest in the mystery and decide to track The Fiend down but soon they become a target.
A Face in the Fog is a very derivative 1930's mystery movie. We have many of the staples of the genre – a mysterious black cloaked villain, a bubbly and inquisitive female journalist, a cowardly comedy character, a ridiculous murder method, etc etc.
A reporter claims to have seen the face of "the Fiend", a hunchbacked killer dressed in black that is terrorizing a city and a theater in particular by poisoning people by some unknown means. The Fiend naturally makes her his next target and she has to go on the run.
My copy of this film is very difficult to watch (lots of vertical wavy lines), so it was tough to stick with this film, but it was an interesting 1930s murder mystery. It was fun to see lots of old cars with running boards all over the street scenes.
I've always been a fan of films where the killer is disguised in some way.....usually hunchbacked, a long cloak, a hat pulled down over his face, and a decided limp.
Quickie producer Sam Katzman would be surprised to know that his "C"-budgeted "Face in the Fog" now has a multi-million dollar look. All Bob Hill's economical shooting - even with a few expensive running inserts - in Los Angeles traffic has now paid handsome dividends.
Newspaperman Lloyd Hughes and newspaperwoman June Collyer want to get married, but first they need to track down the Fiend, a hunchback who's been attacking a theatrical company putting on a play by author Lawrence Gray. The fiend poisons people, but takes a break to shoot at Miss Collyer.
A bizarre killer called "The Fiend" is holding the city in a grip of fear. No one has seen his face and lived to describe it.
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