Friday, July 3, 2020

Zucco & Atwill!



FOG ISLAND-1945-Gail (Sharon Douglas) lives on an isolated island with her step-father Leo (George Zucco), a disgraced financier who blames his former clients for his downfall and the murder of his wife and a jail sentence. To get revenge he invites them to his gloomy old home and also engages the services of his former cellmate Doc Lake (Ian Keith) to help him. The butler Allerton (George Lloyd) spies on them the whole time from behind a suit of armor. Alec Ritchfield (Lionell Atwill), phony psychic Emilline (Jacqueline daWit), John Kavanaugh (Jerome Cowan) and his secretary Sylvia (Veda Ann Borg) are the guest/suspects/victims. 

Also aboard is Jeff Kingsley (John Whitney), the son of a now dead associate who seems to have had a “relationship” with Gail prior to coming to the island. She plays the ice princess (and also an organ) while Jeff tries to break her down. Leo talks very mysteriously and gives each of his guests a small token (a skull, a key, a pen,a  knife) to keep them guessing. Everyone is suspicious of each other and we learn butler Allerton is really an escaped con who Lake kills. Meanwhile a short seance is held and Jeff finds a secret passage. He meets Gail in the fog and once again unsuccessfully tries to woo her. Their scenes together really drag. 

Things pick up a little when Leo accuses Ritchfield of murdering his wife and Ritchfield kills Leo. He disposes of the corpse, putting it in a secret floor space where there's a skeleton. Unknown to Ritchfield, Lake has been watching the whole thing. After Ritchfield kills Emiline, Kavanaugh and Sylvia go looking for him and Jeff and Lake have a fist fight. Lake subdues Jeff and goes after the others who are looking for Leo’s fortune in an underground cave. Gail revives Jeff and they find her mom's jewels hidden in a weird desk. Meanwhile the four greedy survivors meet a watery death in a cave Leo booby trapped. Seems to take place in one night. Everyone talks about going to bed but no one ever takes off their evening clothes! 

Another very low budget but enjoyable mystery from PRC directed by Terry Morse (who was later credited with directing the added US scenes in the original GODZILLA). 

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2016/12/charlie-again.html

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2014/02/pre-super-reeves.html

It's based on a 1937 stage play.

Thanks for reading!


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