Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Fear in the Night

This 1947 low budget film noir is adapted from a short story by William Irish better known as Cornell Woolrich. It stars Paul Kelly and DeForest Kelley (making his film debut and later to become the much more famous "Bones" on Star Trek). For its limited production values, Fear in the Night is a fairly entertaining movie. All of the Woolrich trademarks are on display: confusing paranoia, hypnosis, nightmares, cramped hotel rooms, and sweaty fear. DeForest is a young bank teller who has a crippling nightmare about he has committed a murder somewhere. He seeks his brother-in-law's (a homicide cop) assistance. As with Woolrich's fiction, coincidence helps to glue together the somewhat outlandish plot. The run time is a short 70 minutes, so I could fit it in between my last writing session of the day and the start of the ballgame. IMDb.com gives Fear in the Night a 6.4/10 rating, and I'd say that's pretty spot on. Still of interest if just to see "Bones" in his younger acting days.