| Before I Wake | |
| Director: | Albert S. Rogell |
| Producer: | Charles Leeds Steven Pallos |
| Based On: | novel Before I Wake by Hal Debrett[1] |
| Starring: | Mona Freeman Jean Kent Maxwell Reed Hugh Miller |
| Music: | Leonard Salzedo |
| Cinematography: | Jack Asher |
| Editing: | Jim Connock |
| Studio: | Gilbraltar Films Roxbury Productions |
| Distributor: | Grand National Films (UK) United Artists (US) |
| Runtime: | 76 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
Before I Wake (U.S. title: Shadow of Fear ; also known as Decoy be Damned) is a 1955 British mystery film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Mona Freeman, Jean Kent and Maxwell Reed.[2] [3] It was shot at Walton Studios in Surrey, with sets designed by the art director Scott MacGregor. This was director Rogell's final film.[4]
Returning home to England from the United States following news of her father's sudden death in a boating accident, April Haddon meets her stepmother Florence for the first time. The former nurse of her mother, she had married April's father after her death. April finds that in the few years she has been away her stepmother has completely changed the house, the old furnishings replaced with modernist art and the old family housekeepers replaced by a maid with loyalty to her new mistress. When her father's will is read, it becomes clear that the redrawn will Florence had been expecting had never been completed and the old will still stands, leaving most of his inheritance to April in three weeks when she turns twenty one. Convinced that Florence intends to murder her first, April turns to an old friend the local doctor to help her.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Wholehearted melodrama, complete with wicked stepmother, glass of poisoned milk, sinister side-glance and hypodermic syringe. As the malevolent Florence, Jean Kent gives a somewhat over-obvious performance, relying for effect on a limited range of meaningful grimaces. The editing is untidy and the pace generally slow, and although there are some moments of suspense they are scarcely enough to carry the film."[5]
TV Guide gave the film 2/4 stars for a "Decent suspense mystery," concluding that "The strong point of the film is the credibility Kent gives the story."[6]