My curiosity about Fog Over Frisco was first piqued by Leslie Halliwell’s review, which described it as
Silly whodunnit highly notable for its cinematic style, all dissolves, wipes and quick takes. Probably the fastest moving film ever made, and very entertaining despite its plot inadequacy.
He gave it three stars out of four, pretty damned good by his standards*, and that was enough to earn it a place in the back of my mind that led me to snap it up when I found a copy of the Warner Archive DVD for a couple of dollars. (For a couple of dollars, I’ve done a hell of a lot worse.)
But I didn’t rush to watch it until tonight, when I decided to cap off my day by seeing just how fast the “fastest moving film ever made” actually was—and if this relatively forgotten film was a hidden gem awaiting my discovery.
Arlene Bradford (Bette Davis) is the fast-living stepdaughter of wealthy banker Everett Bradford (Arthur Byron), whose escapades around San Francisco have made her notorious and the target of her stepfather’s constant scorn. But her stepsister Val (Margaret Lindsay) loves her and is convinced her engagement to Everett’s employee Spencer Carlton (Lyle Talbot) has led Arlene to change her ways. But the truth is that Arlene is involved in a securities racket, which she’s manipulated Spencer into helping her with—partly for the money, but mainly for the thrill.
But after Arlene abruptly breaks her engagement to Spencer and has a meeting with another employee of Everett’s, Joshua Mayard (Douglas Dumbrille), with whom she clearly has a past, she turns up missing, and Val frantically searches for her, reaching out both to the police and to her boyfriend Tony Sterling (Donald Woods), a newspaper reporter. And the plot gets thicker from there.
I dare say Halliwell was more accurate in calling Fog “a silly whodunnit” and noting its “plot inadequacy” than in rating it so highly, but for 68 minutes it makes a solid enough entertainment. If it’s not the fastest moving film ever made—I’m not sure what I’d give that designation to, come to think of it—it’s certainly a brisk one, full of wipes, crisp dialogue, and tear-assing around by foot, car, and even boat at one point. I wouldn’t presume to say the style is all that notable, and I could probably find any number of films of comparable pace, but it’s definitely a crackler in its own right.
The plot is mainly an excuse for the fast pace and snappy lines. Enough revelations pile up in the back half of the film that I wouldn’t dare spoil them—it would take longer to type them out than it would to just watch the damn movie. And watching them all unspool is certainly engaging enough, especially if the criminal shenanigans of high-society brats are your cup of tea.
If there’s a problem it’s that, all appearances and billing to the contrary, Arlene isn’t the main character. The real leads are Val and Spencer, but Davis’ star was on the rise thanks to Of Human Bondage the same year, and she was given top billing here. Certainly she’s the best thing about the film, wielding her brazen sexuality like a weapon and overshadowing everyone else when she’s on the screen. That just isn’t enough of the time.
That’s not to come down too hard on Lindsay and Woods, who are both adequate, but they just aren’t a patch on Davis. And Arlene’s various criminal cohorts are a pretty anonymous bunch, not that there’s much time in 68 minutes to flesh out anyone beyond the most important characters. More memorable in their supporting roles are Hugh Herbert as Izzy, the bumbling photographer, and Robert Barrat as Thorne, the butler who knows more than he lets on.
William Dieterle’s direction isn’t incredibly memorable (he doesn’t show anything like the invention he brought to The Devil and Daniel Webster), but he keeps a fire lit under the narrative’s ass throughout. Speaking of which, there’s a really bizarre scene where the newspapermen take turns having their ass slapped and having to guess who did the slapping. It’s a Pre-Code movie, all right. The editing, cinematography, and technical details are all of a perfectly solid standard.
There’s not really all that much to say about Fog Over Frisco. It entertains you for an hour and change, keeps you in suspense for most of that time, has a few surprises, a couple of chuckles, and you’ll probably forget all about it as soon as it’s over. It’s the kind of movie they made when they made them by the dozen, but I’d wager it’s better than at least eight of them.
Score: 70
If You Want the Gravy... 