Footsteps in the Fog

"CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS...OR KILL!"

1955 1h 30m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 47

ThrillerDramaCrime

Synopsis

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A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.

“CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS...OR KILL!”

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Cast

Stewart Granger
Stephen Lowry
Jean Simmons
Lily Watkins
Bill Travers
David Macdonald
Finlay Currie
Inspector Peters
Ronald Squire
Alfred Travers
Belinda Lee
Elizabeth Travers
William Hartnell
Herbert Moresby
Frederick Leister
Dr. Simpson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Arthur Lubin
Writers: Dorothy Davenport, Lenore J. Coffee, W.W. Jacobs
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Arthur Lubin, shot by Christopher Challis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Benjamin Frankel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alan Osbiston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons and Bill Travers carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS...OR KILL!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0048087 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Arthur Lubin directs. Christopher Challis behind the camera. Benjamin Frankel scores. Alan Osbiston cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
271 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Arthur Lubin, shot by Christopher Challis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Benjamin Frankel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Alan Osbiston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons and Bill Travers carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS...OR KILL!".
8IMDB entry: tt0048087 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 47 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Christopher Challis
Original score: Benjamin Frankel
Editing: Alan Osbiston
Makeup / hair: Neville Smallwood
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Footsteps in the Fog (1955)

Also by

Arthur Lubin

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-06-04
★ 8/10
The Interruption. Footsteps in the Fog is directed by Arthur Lubin and collectively written and adapted by Lenore J. Coffee, Dorothy Davenport & Arthur Pierson. It is based on the short story, The Interruption, written by Gothic novelist W. W. Jacobs. It stars Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons, Bill Travers, Belinda Lee and Ronald Squire. Music is by Benjamin Frankel and Technicolor cinematography by Christopher Challis. Stephen Lowry (Granger) is found by the house maid, Lily Watkins (Simmons), to have poisoned his wife. She promptly uses the information to blackmail Lowry. But with an attraction there they begin to have a relationship, however, motives and means are far from clear... A darn cracker of an Edwardian thriller that's redolent with Gothic atmosphere and film noir tints, Footsteps in the Fog also features nifty story telling that's acted considerably well by the then husband and wife team of Granger & Simmons. The plot features murder, betrayal and dangerous love, with warped psychology the order of the day, all done up splendidly in Technicolor by Powell & Pressburger's favourite cinematographer, Challis. Characterisations are deliberately perverse, Lily knows Stephen is a murderer, but is not afraid of him, she loves him on the terms of love that only she understands. Stephen is a dastard, dangerously so, but he's not beyond remorse either, and shows it. Both homme and femme are connivers, a recipe for disaster. These facts mark this particular coupling out as one of the most skew whiff in 50s thrillers. And thankfully when the denouement comes, it's a kicker, a real throat grabber that perfectly crowns this deliciously crafty picture. Support comes from a number of established British thespians like William Hartnel, Finlay Currie and Ronald Squire, while the art department have come up trumps for the period design. All told it's a film deserving of a bigger audience and easily recommended to classic melodrama/thriller fans. 8/10
CinemaSerf2022-11-14
★ 7/10
I have always really enjoyed watching this film. It pairs Stewart Granger, at the top of his game, and his real life wife Jean Simmons and their chemistry is wonderfully effective in this aptly named dollop of Victorian melodrama. We start out on a rainy day in a London cemetery with Granger ("Lowry") burying his wife. He returns home, all doom and gloom, shuts his living room door, pours himself a glass of something then a huge smile beams across his face - nope, I don't think he is too upset to be shot of her. Twists and turns ensue as housemaid "Lily" (Simmons) discovers that perhaps her death from gastroenteritis might not have been quite as the coroner was led to believe and she begins to impose herself - at some considerable peril - on her master. Thing is, her attempts at manipulation fall foul of one thing she hadn't quite bargained on - she falls in love and... It's a super watch, this - the costumes and sets are superb, as is the swirling score from Benjamin Frankel, and the direction from Arthur Lubin allows the two to play off one another like a couple of naturals. Occasionally we get to come up for air - in the form of distractions from Bill Travers and Belinda Lee, but essentially this is a cleverly crafted, suspenseful, two-hander that I still really enjoy.