Escape in the Fog Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Escape in the Fog Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 28, 2020

Budd Boetticher's "Escape in the Fog" (1945) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film; new audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson; and two short films. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

They were after the man

I won’t be surprised if it was revealed that Escape in the Fog was part of a package of quickies that were commissioned by Columbia only because the price was right. Budd Boetticher shot Escape in the Fog while working with an original screenplay by Aubrey Wisberg, whose name is attached to a long list of B-films like The Man from Planet X and The Neanderthal Man, so such a scenario makes perfect sense to me.

In a hostel somewhere on the outskirts of San Francisco, army nurse Eileen Carr (Nina Foch) has an intense nightmare where she witnesses the attempted murder of a stranger. She wakes up and meets Barry Malcolm (William Wright), who is also staying in the hostel and has heard her screaming, and later on he invites her to accompany him while he is on business in the city.

Soon after, Barry, who is a government agent, arrives at the home of his boss, Paul Devon (Otto Kruger), where he is informed that he has been chosen to transport a package with top-secret documents to Hong Kong. Unaware that his boss' home has been bugged by the enemy, Barry leaves with the package and immediately becomes a target. He is picked up by impostors pretending to be working for his boss and then taken to a secret location for interrogation. When Eileen accidentally discovers what has happened to Barry, she realizes that he is the man from her nightmare and vows to save his life.

The limitations of the production are instantly recognizable. After Eileen’s nightmare ends the film rushes to do the best of a couple of predictable situations and in the process builds as much ambience as it can. Of course, time is not on its side -- it is only about an hour long -- so the drama that is supposed to keep it coherent remains disappointingly transparent.

But extra time is unlikely to have made a difference because Wisberg’s screenplay simply isn’t good enough. Indeed, it attempts to use a tiny story to blend film noir and political espionage while operating with characters that do not have much to work with. A few conversations and confrontations essentially force everyone to repeatedly acknowledge what the viewer already knows, so even though there are a few good looking sequences the dark ambience that is promised in Eileen's nightmare never materializes.

There are entirely avoidable plot holes as well. The procedural ones are particularly annoying because they exacerbate other weaknesses, like the predictable role playing that is done only to extended completely meaningless exchanges.

It feels a bit odd that Boetticher was involved with this film. It is true that it came early in his career, but it is strikingly unengaging and flat, looking a lot like a quick experiment where the director simply took on a couple of ideas that he knew in advance would not allow him to produce anything special. Needless to say, it is instantly forgettable.

*This release of Escape in the Fog is sourced from a 2K restoration that was completed on behalf of Sony Pictures.

Escape in the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Escape in the Fog arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from a 2K master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is not brand new, but its overall appearance is very nice. I noticed a few tiny white specks popping up here and there, so obviously manual work could have been done to remove them. Also, the blacks could have been balanced slightly better to reveal more finer details, but I don't think that there is any seriously distracting crushing. Depth is usually very nice, though you should keep in mind that whenever the main characters enter the 'fog' there are noticeable fluctuations (see an example in screencapture #12). There are no traces of sharpening or other similar digital enhancements. Image stability is very good. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Escape in the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio has been properly remastered. The dialog is very clean, sharp, and stable, as it should be. If there were any serious age-related anomalies prior to the remastering work, it is absolutely impossible to tell now. The film does not have a prominent music score.

Escape in the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Image Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for Escape in the Fog.

• Commentary - critic Pamela Hutchinson shares interesting information about the careers and work of Budd Boetticher and the principal actors, the stylistic identity of Escape in the Fog, the nature of its suspense, etc.

• The Fleet That Came to Stay - a short film directed by Budd Boetticher in 1945. The film focuses on the Battle of Okinawa and uses combat photography by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard. In English, with optional English subtitles. (22 min).

• You Nazty Spy! - a short film featuring the the three stooges. Directed by Jules White in 1940. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. (18 min).

• Book - a limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Iris Veysey, Paul Duane, Jill Blake, Wheeler Winston Dixon, Nathalie Morris, and Sergio Angelini;archival interview extracts with Budd Boetticher, Joseph H Lewis, Phil Karlson, and Robert Aldrich; extracts from the autobiographies of Don Siegel and Vincent Sherman; and film credits.

Escape in the Fog Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

All of the troubles in Escape in the Fog can be traced back to Aubrey Wisberg's screenplay. The quality of the material simply isn't good enough for an engaging noirish thriller of the kind that Eileen's premonition promises, which is unfortunate because with Budd Boetticher behind the camera and the strong cast in front of it, it is easy to conclude that an opportunity was missed to deliver something special. This release is sourced from a nice organic master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is included in Indicator/Powerhouse Films' upcoming Columbia Noir #1 box set.