Blues in the Night (1941)

"Jigger' Lane forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powelll, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit... See full summary »

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Edwin Gilbert (play), Robert Rossen,

Stars:

Priscilla Lane, Betty Field, Richard Whorf

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Priscilla Lane	...	Ginger 'Character' Powell
Betty Field	...	Kay Grant
Richard Whorf	...	Jigger Pine
Lloyd Nolan	...	Del Davis
Jack Carson	...	Leo Powell
Wallace Ford	...	Brad Ames (as Wally Ford)
Elia Kazan	...	Nickie Haroyen
Peter Whitney	...	Pete Bossett
Billy Halop	...	Peppi
Howard Da Silva	...	Sam Paryas
Joyce Compton	...	Blonde dancing with drunk
Herbert Heywood	...	Brakeman
George Lloyd	...	Joe (St. Louis cafe owner)
Charles C. Wilson	...	Barney (as Charles Wilson)
Matt McHugh	...	Drunk

Storyline

"Jigger' Lane forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powelll, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit and to play 'blues' music. The dedication isn't paying off in money and, while riding the rails in a boxcar, they meet and befriend a gangster named Del Davis. He offers them a job at a New Jersey roadhouse, where Powell falls in love with Kay Grant, a former 'real-good friend' of Davis. But when Powell learns that 'Character' is about to have a baby, he returns to her. "Jigger" tries to make Kay the band's singer and, when this fails, runs off with her. She leaves him with nothing to show for him except a nervous breakdown.Back at the roadhouse, after his recovery, Kay shows up, has a quarrel with Davis, shoots and kills him and plans to take back up with "Jigger", who knows better but just can't help himself. While she is waiting in a car for him, along comes cripple Brad Ames, who she put in ...

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Plot Keywords:

band | roadhouse | boxcar | singer | trumpeter | 

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Taglines:

2 GRAND BANDS! JIMMY LUNCEFORD'S and WILL OSBORNE'S! MUSIC GALORE! (original print media ad - mostly caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot Nocturne

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Garfield turned down the role of Jigger Pine. In Thank Your Lucky Stars, Mr. Garfield would parody the already classic, Oscar-nominated song for 1941, "Blues in the Night" (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer).

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Goofs

When Brad and Kay crash their car toward the end of the movie, The car looks like a '40 or '41 Buick. The car in the crash is an much older car.

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Soundtracks

"I Got Rhythm"
(uncredited)
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Played in the St. Louis Cafe

User Reviews

Feverish mix of melodrama and music: A worthy effort . . .

This fast-moving film is not at all typical of most musicals of the period. Jazz musicians, gangsters, stool pigeons, and canaries populate Anatole Litvak's interesting -- and little seen -- story of a pianist who tragically attempts to transform an off-key singer (Betty Field, over-the-top and enjoyable as all get-out) to replace the pregnant vocalist (Priscilla Lane). All of the performances are interesting (Lloyd Nolan, especially), and the face-off between Lane and Field is worth a look. Highly recommended -- if you can find it.