Fog Over Frisco
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| Fog Over Frisco | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | William Dieterle |
| Produced by | Henry Blanke (uncredited) Robert Lord (uncredited) |
| Written by | George Dyer (story) Robert N. Lee Eugene Solow |
| Starring | Bette Davis Donald Woods Margaret Lindsay Hugh Herbert Lyle Talbot Irving Pichel Alan Hale William Demarest |
| Music by | Leo F. Forbstein (music supervision) |
| Cinematography | Tony Gaudio |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros.-First National Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 2, 1934 |
| Running time | 68 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Fog Over Frisco is a 1934 American drama film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Robert N. Lee and Eugene Solow was based on the short story The Five Fragments by George Dyer.
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[edit] Plot
Arlene Bradford (Bette Davis) is a spoiled, bored, wealthy socialite who finances her extravagant lifestyle by exploiting her fiancé Spencer Carlton's (Lyle Talbot) access to her stepfather's brokerage firm and using her connection to steal security bonds for crime boss Jake Bello (Irving Pichel). When she disappears, her sister Val (Margaret Lindsay) steps in to discover what happened to her with the help of society reporter Tony Sterling (Donald Woods) and photojournalist Izzy Wright (Hugh Herbert). After discovering Arlene's body, Val is kidnapped by her sister's criminal cohorts, leaving Tony and Izzy to rescue her before she suffers the same fate as Arlene.
[edit] Principal cast
- Bette Davis ..... Arlene Bradford
- Donald Woods ..... Tony Sterling
- Margaret Lindsay ..... Val Bradford
- Hugh Herbert ..... Izzy Wright
- Lyle Talbot ..... Spencer Carlton
- Irving Pichel ..... Jake Bello
- Alan Hale ..... Chief C.B. O'Malley
- William Demarest ..... Spike Smith
[edit] Background
Bette Davis, anxious to portray the slatternly waitress Mildred in the RKO Radio Pictures production Of Human Bondage, accepted the relatively small role of Arlene in the hope her cooperation would convince Jack Warner to lend her to the rival studio for the film. Her ploy worked, and when Warner received word about her dynamic performance in Bondage, he elevated her to top billing in Frisco.[1]
Part of the Warner Brothers release was filmed on location in San Francisco. It was remade as Spy Ship in 1942.
[edit] Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, Mordaunt Hall described the film as a "ruddy thriller" and opined, "What [it] lacks in the matter of credibility, it atones for partly by its breathless pace and its abundance of action. As the story of murder and robbery passes on the screen it scarcely gives the spectator time to think who might be the ring-leader of the band of desperadoes."[2]
Time stated, "Brisk to the point of confession, Fog Over Frisco is not the best of Director William Dieterle's pictures."[3]
Film historian William K. Everson considered the film to be one of the fastest-moving crime melodramas of the 1930s.
[edit] References
- ^ The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, a Personal Biography by Charlotte Chandler, Simon and Schuster (2006), pp. 98-99 ISBN 0743289056
- ^ New York Times review
- ^ Time review
[edit] External links
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