- Fritz Lang directed one of the best "Not Quite Hitchcock" films ever with Ministry of Fear, a supremely entertaining story (based on a novel by Graham Greene) of an innocent man hunted by Scotland Yard and Nazi spies alike. The man in question, Stephen Neale (Ray Milland), is newly released from an insane asylum when he wins a cake at a village fair just before all hell breaks loose. After barely surviving a trip to London, Neale enlists the assistance of a besotted detective (Erskine Sanford) and Austrian immigrants Willi and Carla Hilfe (Carl Esmond and Marjorie Reynolds), but the bodies and bombs keep piling up.
- If you like espionage thrillers where multiple people have the same name and a few people have multiple names, then Ministry of Fear is the movie for you. Although Ray Milland was never as charming as Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart, he tamps down his usual condescension to the point of even being sympathetic. Dan Duryea has a terrific supporting role as a crook with more than one death scene, Hillary Brooke is good as a femme fatale, Percy Waram is effective as a gruff inspector, and Alan Napier makes a fine Nazi infiltrator. As always, Lang excels at handling large crowds in carnivals and bomb shelters alike, but this may be the first film to suggest that he has a sense of humor, too.
