Journey Into Fear (1943)

An American engineer (Joseph Cotten) and his wife (Ruth Warrick) are traveling through Turkey when they stopover in Istanbul where they are met by the Turkish representative (Everett Sloane) of the engineer's U.S. company. When the Turkish employee takes the American to a nightclub, a murder takes place and suddenly international intrigue has the American on the run trying to save his skin! Based on the novel by Eric Ambler and adapted for the screen by Cotten and directed by Norman Foster. A mess of a movie and quite often incoherent but still entertaining nonetheless. Orson Welles, who plays a Turkish policeman, co-wrote the screenplay with Cotten although he's not credited and reputedly had a hand in the direction of some scenes although the official credit goes to Foster. Karl Struss's (SUNRISE) evocative B&W cinematography goes a long way in creating a topsy turvy world of paranoia. It's the kind of film where practically everyone seems suspicious and not to be trusted, not even its "hero". But something about the film seems unfinished as if scenes were deleted that migh have added some coherency to the movie. Also with Dolores Del Rio, Agnes Moorehead, Richard Bennett, Hans Conreid, Jack Durant and Jack Moss.