Journey Into Fear on TCM On Demand (Comcast)

[purplepines]

I see on my TCM section of Comcast On-Demand that Journey Into Fear is available for free. (Free Movies->TCM). I forgot how lightweight a film it is (it seems to me) and how heavily edited by others too. Old Richard Bennett steals the show (it seems to me).

[Glenn Anders]

Yes, purplepines, as it stands, JOURNEY INTO FEAR is "lightweight." Welles said as much later about the film. You might remember though that it was suggested by Eric Ambler's novel, one of the best pioneer international spy thrillers, an inspiration to Graham Greene and probably to Welles himself. Welles and Joseph Cotton considered the picture to be what Greene came to call "an entertainment," like Brighton Rock, a piece of candy or scoop of sorbet to clear the palate for more heavy stuff (like THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS or The Power and the Glory). And what Welles liked most about the film, the philosophical arguments and asides concerning democracy and fascism, were mostly cut out by RKO, a process continued in THE STRANGER, and to some extent in his subsequent pictures.

Welles' JOURNEY INTO FEAR remains is a story of intrigue about an innocent American engineer traveling with his wife (originally an English crime novelist, a bachelor) abroad. Ambler's basic premise, established in The Mask of Dimitrios (possibly, the basis of THE STRANGER) -- what counted in the realm of international politics and finance was not the assassin but who paid for his bullets -- was lost.

Glenn

[Terry]

What ever became of the Drossler restoration?

[Glenn Anders]

AH! Droessler is due in Berkeley within the next week or so. No doubt, Todd Baesen will ply him with Ha-Ra Gimlets in an attempt to get the real story of that proposed restoration.

BTW, I have now had a chance to take in the ComCast presentation of JOURNEY INTO FEAR, and I was pleasantly surprised by how complete and flowing it seemed. But despite some references to philosophy and politics, the version was obviously cut for speed.

Glenn

[Dan]

Staten Island Cable (Time Warner) also has Journey Into Fear available on TCM on Demand thorugh 1/17/09.

[Glenn Anders]

Yes, purplepines, as it stands, JOURNEY INTO FEAR is "lightweight." Welles said as much later about the film. You might remember though that it was suggested by Eric Ambler's novel, one of the best pioneer international spy thrillers, an inspiration to Graham Greene and probably to Welles himself. Welles and Joseph Cotton considered the picture to be what Greene came to call "an entertainment," like Brighton Rock, a piece of candy or scoop of sorbet to clear the palate for more heavy stuff (like THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS or The Power and the Glory). And what Welles liked most about the film, the philosophical arguments and asides concerning democracy and fascism, were mostly cut out by RKO, a process continued in THE STRANGER, and to some extent in his subsequent pictures.

What remains of Welles' JOURNEY INTO FEAR is a story of intrigue about an innocent American engineer traveling with his wife (originally an English crime novelist, a bachelor) abroad. But Ambler's basic premise, established in The Mask of Dimitrios (possibly, the basis of MR. ARKADIN) -- that what counted in the realm of international politics and finance was not the assassin but who paid for his bullets -- that was lost.

Glenn