IMDb > Night Must Fall (1937)

Night Must Fall (1937) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   663 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Emlyn Williams (play)
John Van Druten (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Night Must Fall on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 April 1937 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
AMAZING! DIFFERENT! UNIQUE!
Plot:
Crotchety old Mrs. Bransom hires a charming young man named Danny as a live-in companion. Less charmed by Danny is Mrs... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win more
User Comments:
Brilliantly acted, moody psychological drama more (24 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
116 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Finland:(Banned) (1937) | USA:Approved (PCA #3252)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
"Night Must Fall" was first presented in London at the Duchess Theatre on 31 May 1935, and featured Emlyn Williams as Dan; Dame May Whitty as Mrs. Bramson; Angela Baddeley as Olivia Grayne; Kathleen Harrison as Mrs. Terence; Basil Radford as Hubert Laurie; and 'Matthew Boulton' as Inspector Belsize. The play was produced by Miles Malleson, and directed by Williams. Angela Baddeley, Matthew Boulton, May Whitty, and Emlyn Williams would reprise their roles in the 1936 Broadway production. more
Quotes:
Danny: That's the kind of fella I am. I make my mind up about something and then I do it. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Rock-a-Bye Baby more

FAQ

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15 out of 15 people found the following comment useful.
Brilliantly acted, moody psychological drama, 3 January 2006
8/10
Author: blanche-2 from United States

"Night Must Fall," which was originally a play by Emlyn Williams, contains three fantastic roles for actors, and as a film, it has been beautifully cast, directed (by Richard Thorpe), and photographed. Set in an English cottage in a village that borders a forest, Rosalind Russell lives with her horrid, verbally abusive aunt. Along comes Danny, basically brought into the household to be spoken to about a promised marriage to one of the maids in the house. Danny is a sexual opportunist, a murderer, and a psychopath who can hone in on what each person he meets needs and wants. He soon becomes charmingly indispensable to the aunt. The Russell character senses his black soul but is attracted to him nonetheless, and he knows it. What transpires is an intriguing mystery and psychological drama.

Robert Montgomery was a wonderful actor, adept at many kinds of roles but most often cast in the light comedies so often made in the '30s. Here he is fantastic - a charming, frightening liar with a huge ego who thinks his crafty mind will win in the end. Russell gives a beautiful, underplayed performance as an unhappy young woman, dating a man she's not sure she loves, attracted to this stranger and to the possibility of something interesting happening to her. Dame May Witty is great as an abrasive shrew.

This is one of those gems - and doesn't Hollywood know it, they've remade it enough - but it's a real tour de force for the right actors. A winner.

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