Fear (1954 film)

Fear (Italian: La Paura) is a 1954 drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring his wife Ingrid Bergman. It has also been released as Angst in the English-speaking world. It is loosely based on the Stefan Zweig novel Fear. It was filmed in Munich and was shot simultaneously in German and English. Rossellini created it because he wanted to explore the reconstruction of Germany from both a material and moral standpoint ten years after making his previous German film Germany Year Zero. The film is noirish with aspects reminiscent of Hitchcock and German Expressionism.

Plot

Irene Wagner (Bergman), the wife of prominent German scientist Professor Albert Wagner (Wieman), had been having an affair with Erich Baumann (Kreuger). She does not disclose this to her husband, hoping to preserve his innocence and their "perfect marriage". This fills her with anxiety and guilt. However, Johann Schultze (Mannhardt), Erich's jealous ex-girlfriend, learns about the affair and begins to blackmail Irene, turning Irene's psychological torture into a harsh reality. When Irene finds out that the extortion plot is truly an experiment in fear, she is driven into a homicidal/suicidal rage. But she is saved from suicide by her husband at the last minute, both sorry for what they did.