Fear in the Night 1947

Bank teller Vince Grayson, DeForest Kelley, dreams that he stabs a man in an octagonal room of mirrors and locks the body in a closet. When he wakes, he finds throat marks, a strange key, a button in his pocket, and blood on his cuff. Cliff Herlihy, Paul Kelly, his police-officer brother-in-law, tries to convince him it was just a dream.

A few days later, while seeking shelter from the rain, the pair stumble upon a house that feels haunted by Vince’s vision. The property is the Belknap residence, owned by Lewis Belknap, Robert Emmett Keane, and his wife, Mrs. Dorothy Belknap, Janet Warren. The police have found two bodies at the house—one in the mirrored room and another run over in the driveway. Mrs. Belknap, who was killed in the accident, had described Vince before she died, matching the dream’s details.

At first, Vince clings to hope that he is innocent—after all, he does not know how to drive. But he recognizes the victims from his dream, and guilt drives him toward despair. He attempts suicide, only to be rescued by Cliff. The investigation is led by Deputy Torrence, Jeff York, who follows a trail of clues that points to a sinister hypnotist manipulating Vince. The team grows convinced that the mastermind is Mr. Belknap in disguise, and they set a trap by pretending that Vince is willing to take hush money.

Belknap accelerates his plot by placing Vince under hypnosis and urging him to drown himself. Cliff acts quickly, pulling Vince from the lake, and Belknap is killed in a car accident while trying to flee. In the aftermath, the evidence suggests that Vince acted in self-defense, and the film leaves the impression that he will be acquitted of all charges.