On J List of Movie Reviews

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Journey Into Fear (1943)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 6/15

JFear
6/15: Journey Into Fear has an intelligent script, which was written by Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten that's adapted from Eric Ambler's eponymous novel, but it's plaqued with several flaws.

It has lots of strengths such as noir style, moments of tension, taut storyline, Orson Welles' ineffectual appearance, claustrophobic atmosphere, beautiful camera work, and a mix of sinister and interesting characters. I've never been a fan of Joseph Cotten's acting style, but he does a great job of playing the protagonist as his fears are believable, hence the film title.

As Josette, Dolores del Rio, who was Orson's mistress for several years, is pretty and fun to watch. Frank Readick, in the role of Matthews who offered a puny knife to Howard in one scene, is at once funny and pathetic. Other secondary characters throw in their two cents to push the envelope. But it's Jack Moss' appearance who goes the farthest despite having no dialogue.

In many ways, Journey Into Fear looks like it was directed by Orson Welles, but he admitted in his autobiography This Is Orson Welles that he didn't. Otherwise, I think Orson would've made the movie better by giving it a vintage Wellesian style. It's the ending that I don't like which needs rework because the way Jack Moss' and Orson Welles' characters went out is underwhelming. Also, there's a hint of missing scenes at certain points because the transitions feel awkward.

All in all, Journey Into Fear is an intriguing case of style over substance, making me want to revisit it in the future.