THE PRICE OF FEAR

Merle Oberon and Lex Barker

THE PRICE OF FEAR (1956). Director: Abner Biberman.

Jessica Warren (Merle Oberon) is driving carefree and a little drunk when she runs over an elderly man. Does she call for an ambulance? No, she keeps driving. Her temporary crisis of conscience fades when she sees dog track owner Dave Barrett (Lex Barker) "borrow" her car and figures if she reports the vehicle as stolen he will be accused of the hit and run, not she. Complicating matters for Dave -- who took Jessica's car because he was being followed by hoods who want a piece of his track -- is the fact that the same time the elderly man was run over, an enemy of Dave's was shot to death. Barrett is going to be convicted of one crime or the other, but he gets close to Jessica to find out what he can. But is she really falling in love with him or does she have her own agenda?

Warren Stevens and Merle Oberon

The Price of Fear has more than one interesting situation and the relationship between Jessica and Dave with their conflicting goals but obvious attraction to one another adds to the film's compelling quality. This was one of Oberon's last starring roles -- it's a bit surprising to see her in this kind of film noir -- and she gives an excellent performance that keeps the audience guessing as to exactly what's on Jessica's mind and what she is ultimately planning to do. Barker gives it the old college try, and his line readings are certainly not terrible, but next to Oberon he's a bit of a wooden Indian. Warren Stevens gives one of his all-time best performances as the shady character Frankie Edare, who's responsible for a lot of Dave's problems; he and Oberon play especially well together.

Lex Barker

There are also good performances from Gia Scala [The Garment Jungle] as the heartbroken daughter of the elderly man; Charles Drake [It Came from Outer Space] as the police sergeant assigned to the case; and Stafford Repp [Batman: The Black Widow Strikes Again] and Mary Field as a tippling cab driver and his unloving wife. With a little added depth and characterization, The Price of Fear would have made an even more memorable picture, but it's quite absorbing as it is. It has a tense climax and an uncompromising wind-up. Abner Biberman was primarily a television director.

Verdict: Another one of those movies that is so good you wish it were just a bit better. ***. 

SHADOWS ON THE STAIRS

Frieda Inescort and Mary Field have a heated confrontation

SHADOWS ON THE STAIRS (1941). Director: D. Ross Lederman.

In a boarding house run by a retired actress, Stella Armitage (Frieda Inescort) and her husband, Tom (Miles Mander), odd things are going on which seem to concern the Indian student Ram Singh (Turban Bey) and import-exporter Joseph Reynolds (Paul Cavanagh). Joseph is beloved by Stella, even as he is fooling around with the maid, Lucy (Phyllis Barry of Cynara). When a dead body turns up, the suspects are numerous, including all of the above-named, as well as spinster Miss Snell (Mary Field of Sea Raiders), writer Hugh Bromilow (Bruce Lester), and Stella's daughter, Sylvia (Heather Angel), who is involved with Hugh. Then a second dead body is discovered in a closet, and things really get heated, with accusations flying ... This is a suspenseful and intriguing mystery, although the "twist" at the end may either seem clever to viewers or make them groan. In any case, it's a good, well-acted mystery, with Inescort [Foxfire] really turning in an excellent performance as an understandably emotional woman. Another cast stand-out is Lumsden Hare as the inspector on the case, but everyone is really quite good.

Verdict: Short and snappy little "B" mystery. ***.

SEA RAIDERS

SEA RAIDERS (12 chapter Universal serial/1941). Directors: Ford Beebe; John Rawlins.

The Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys join forces in this serial to take on a group called the Sea Raiders, who destroy Allied ships. Billy Adams (Billy Halop) and his buddies, including Toby (Huntz Hall) and Bilge (Gabriel Dell), are shanghaied by crooks, encounter the Raiders, and are eventually taken to their island headquarters. Billy has an older brother, square-jawed Tom (John McGuire), who's invented a new kind of torpedo, the plans for which are coveted by Tonjes (Reed Hadley), the leader of the Raiders. There are two women running around, the pretty Leah (Marcia Ralston, who resembles Merle Oberon), and the homely Aggie (Mary Field). One decent cliffhanger has one of the boys caught on a rope that is attached to a whale that's about to dive deep into the ocean, although another sequence features an octopus that doesn't appear to be in the same movie. [The same stock footage of a fight between a shark and an octopus later turned up in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.] The serial is hampered by the unfunny and irritating antics of the "kids," and the classical music on the soundtrack, such as The Barber of Seville, is always inappropriate. John McGuire had the lead in Stranger on the Third Floor.

Verdict: One of your lesser cliffhanger serials. **.