Journey into Fear (1943 film)

Journey into Fear is a 1943 American spy film based on the Eric Ambler novel of the same name. The film broadly follows the plot of the book, but the protagonist was changed to an American engineer.

In an opening scene before the credits an assassin, Banat, is seen preparing a gun while a gramophone skips as it plays. The story that follows is the narrative of a letter from Howard Graham, an American armaments engineer, to his wife Stephanie. While journeying to the Soviet port of Batumi to return to the United States to complete his business with the Turkish Navy, Graham and his wife stop in Istanbul and are met by Kopeikin, a Turkish employee of Grahams company, who under the pretense of discussing business, takes Graham to a nightclub to introduce him to dancer Josette Maretl and her partner Gogo. When Banat tries to kill Graham during a magic act, he shoots the magician instead, and Graham is brought to the headquarters of the Turkish secret police for questioning. Colonel Haki of the secret police warns Graham that German agents are trying to kill him to delay the rearming of Turkish ships. He shows Graham a photograph of Banat, whom he says was hired by a Nazi agent named Muller, and orders Graham to travel secretly to Batumi aboard a tramp steamer instead of by train. Haki assures him that he will personally see that Stephanie gets to their hotel in Batumi ahead of him.Grahams fellow passengers include Josette and Gogo Kuvetli, an ingratiating Turkish tobacco salesman Professor Haller, an apolitical German archeologist and the henpecked Matthews and his French wife. Josette sees that Graham is frightened, and not knowing that he is married, tries to become close to him. At an interim port call, Graham is made aware of the arrival of a new passenger by the annoying clamor of a gramophone, while Haller warns him that Kuvetli is not who he claims to be. At dinner Graham recognizes Banat and tries to persuade the ships captain and purser to put him ashore, but they believe that he is crazy. Graham turns to Josette for help and she has Gogo engage Banat in a poker game while Graham unsuccessfully searches Banats cabin for the assassins gun. ........

Source: Wikipedia