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Released by: Kino Studio Classics
Released on: June 21st, 2016.
Director: Andre de Toth
Cast: John Payne, Alexander Knox, Conrad Nagel, Natalie Norwick, Anne Neyland
Year: 1957
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The Movie:
Tough as nails cop Mike Brent (John Payne) is sent from his American homeland across the pond to Denmark to work on a case - it seems that his sister, Susan (Natalie Norwick), is being held in a murder trial as the prime suspect. She's accused of killing the other half of the night club act she's been performing in for a while. But Mike, he figures his sister has got to be innocent and so he heads off to see what he can do. When he gets there he figures out pretty quickly that something is… off. Yeah, there's a lot of evidence that doesn't make things look good for pretty Susan, but it's almost like too much a good thing for those trying to put her away.
With no other choice, Mike takes up his own investigation, trying to keep away from the Danish cops who clearly just want to get this over and done with. And of course, being the ace investigator that he is, Mike soon uncovers some evidence that puts his sister's guilt in question. The Danish cops come around to his way of thinking and soon enough, he's working with them to bust up a counterfeiting operation and chatting up the murder victim's foxy girlfriend, Virginia (Anne Neyland), in hopes of getting the info he needs. She in turn sets him on a man she's involved with named Arthur Miller (Conrad Nagel) who just might be able to help Mike settle this once and for all… which winds up putting pretty much everyone's life in danger!
Hidden Fear doesn't reinvent the film noir wheel but it does a decent job with its fish out of water concept. Shot mostly on location in Copenhagen and the surrounding areas, it has a nice European feel to it that sets it apart from many of its ilk. Like most Andre de Toth films, it's also very nicely shot with the cinematography doing a fine job of capturing the high life and the low life of the Danish capital in fairly equal measure. At the same time, the concept of an American cop coming to Denmark, launching his own investigation into one of their cases that takes place off their radar and then having those same Danish cops warm up to him and basically hand him the reins? It seems a little unlikely. Particularly because Mike is more than a little rough around the edges. This makes him an interesting character to watch, as he bitch slaps his own sister and roughs up whoever he feels he needs to rough up, but interesting is not always believable.
So it this isn't maybe the most realistic film you're ever going to see, at least it's got a solid cast. Payne is pretty fun in the lead role, even if this is far from his best or most memorable turn in front of the camera (he seems a little dazed in one or two scenes!). He throws his weight around a lot and even if he is more than a little bit of a bastard, there's something likeable about him. Conrad Nagel as Mike's main ally is amusing enough to watch, if a little hammy at times, but hey, when you've got blonde bombshell Anne Neyland vamping it up as she does here, you probably won't notice. Alexander Knox is pretty fun as the heavy, but we're not going to talk about him too much as it would only lead to spoilersville.
The movie takes a little while to get going and even when it does, the story leans towards the predictable and pedestrian side of things. But it's entertaining enough, and the final chase sequence is pretty solid. Not an essential noir entry, but good entertainment.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Hidden Fear arrives on a 25GB Blu-ray disc in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition picture framed at 1.85.1 and it looks good, with proper framing. We also get a nice upgrade in terms of detail and texture and improved black levels over what DVD would have been able to provide, even if this stops short of shining the way a reference quality transfer can. There's a bit more print damage than some might want but it's minor stuff rather than really glaring or distracting scratches or splice marks. Compression artifacts are never a problem though some darker scenes look a little noisy. The image appears to be free of any heavy noise reduction or edge enhancement but there are moments where contrast gets a bit dicey. The good most certainly outweighs the bad, however, and this is a solid picture if not a perfect one.
The only audio option on the disc is an English language DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track, there are no alternate language tracks or subtitles provided. The clarity is generally fine, though there are bits that sound a little flat, which likely stems back to the source. Minor hiss is present once or twice but if you're not listening for it you probably won't be bothered by it though some of the sound effects demonstrate some noticeable reverb.
Extras are slim, limited to a trailer for the feature, bonus trailers for 99 River Street, Shield For Murder and He Ran All The Way, static menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Hidden Fear isn't maybe essential film noir, but it's a decent thriller with a fun cast. The Danish settings give it a unique look that helps to set it apart a bit, and if the story is a little pedestrian it is at least well-paced. Kino's Blu-ray is light on extra but it offers up the film in reasonably nice shape. More like a release for the noir completists out there, but not a bad way to kill eighty-three minutes.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
