Deadline at Dawn (1946)

A sailor on leave appears to have killed a woman. He has until dawn to find the real killer, aided by a weary dance hall girl.

Director:

Harold Clurman

Writers:

Clifford Odets (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich (novel)

Stars:

Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Susan Hayward	...	June Goth
Paul Lukas	...	Gus Hoffman
Bill Williams	...	Alex Winkley
Joseph Calleia	...	Val Bartelli
Osa Massen	...	Helen Robinson
Lola Lane	...	Edna Bartelli
Jerome Cowan	...	Lester Brady
Marvin Miller	...	Sleepy Parsons
Roman Bohnen	...	Frantic Man with Injured Cat
Steven Geray	...	Gloved Man (Edward Hornick)
Joe Sawyer	...	Babe Dooley
Constance Worth	...	Mrs. Nan Raymond
Joseph Crehan	...	Lt. Kane
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sammy Blum	...	Sam - Taxi Driver (scenes deleted)
Jack Daley	...	Snoring Man (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Alex, a sailor on leave, recovers from a drink-induced blackout with a large sum of money belonging to Edna Bartelli, a b-girl who invited him home to "fix her radio." He tries to return it with the reluctant aid of June Goth, a sweet but oh-so-tired dance hall girl; they find Edna murdered. Not quite sure he didn't do it himself, Alex and June have four hours in the dead of night to find the real killer before his leave ends. Their quest brings them into contact with a sleazy kaleidoscope of minor characters; clues get more and more tangled...

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Plot Keywords:

dance | dance hall | sailor | clue | money | 

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Den långa natten

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only film directed by legendary stage director Harold Clurman.

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Goofs

At the end of the film the main characters exit the 8th Police Precinct.It is night time and the streets are deserted.Yet when June and Alex drive away in the police car we can see through the back window of the vehicle the streets bustling with activity,cars and people and it's bright and sunny.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Edna Bartelli: Why, it's Sleepy Parsons! Aren't you dead yet?
[pours a drink]
Edna Bartelli: Here's to nothin'.
[Sleepy takes out cigar]
Edna Bartelli: Still on your 20 cigars a day?
[Sleepy puts cigar away]
Edna Bartelli: Can't your heart take it, Sleepy?
Sleepy Parsons: You drunk again?
Edna Bartelli: Yes.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Dick Tracy (1945)

User Reviews

Blackout

Little know post-WWII Film-Nior gem set in New York City on a hot sweltering summer night with one of the most unusual murder mysteries you'll ever see. The movie starts out with Sleepy Parsons, Marvin Miller, pleading with his estranged wife Edna, Lola Lane, for the $1,400.00 that she owes him. Edna after insulting the poor blind and very sick man Sleepy finds out that the money, Sleepy's $1,400.00, that she had in her purse is gone! what happened to it?

Earlier that evening Edna met this young sailor Alex, Bill Williams,on leave at a restaurant that her gangster brother Val Bartelli, Joseph Calleia, owned. After getting him drunk Val cheated him, playing cards, out of his pay. The story got even weirder when Edna telling Alex that she'll pay him to goes up to her place to fix her radio, Alex is a radio repairman in the navy, and got the poor slob even more drunk where he lost consciousness. waking up at a news stand after being given a cup of strong coffee by the newspaper man to clear his mind Alex staggered up on his feet a wad of $1,400.00 falls out of his pocket, where did it come from?

Going to a dance-hall later that night Alex gets very friendly with a local dance girl June, Susan Hayward. After June finished dancing with the costumers Alex goes with June to her place to have a bite to eat. At June's place Alex gets this bright idea to go back to where Edna lives and return the $1,400.00 ,which he feels is hers, with June coming along for the ride. When both get there they find, to their surprise and shock, that Edna was murdered, who did it? was it Alex? was it Sleepy? was it about a half dozen other suspects who had some connection with Edna? All I can say about the movie is that it will floor you with an ending that you won't see coming and even when it does! It will take you a while to realize what you missed in the clues that were so skillfully dropped leading to it all throughout the film.

"Deadline at Dawn" is one of those films that just sticks with you right from the start. Even though there's a number of flaws in it you easily overlook them when you realize that it's going in a direction that will more then make up for them, with it's almost unbelievable ending. Paul Lukas as NYC Cabbie, Gus Hoffman,is at first just an innocent bystander who picks up the couple, Alex & June.

As the movie goes on he becomes more and more central to the story by being more of a detective then a taxi driver as well as having the knowledge of a Ivy League Collage professor! whats this guy doing driving a cab? As the trio slowly work together time is running out to find out not only who murdered Edna but to also clear Alex of the crime, in which he's the prime suspect, and at the same time make it possible for Alex to catch the 6;00AM bus to Norfolk Virginia to report to his ship.

Powerful and surprising ending that has elements to it that you just rarely see in movies today and never in movies back then, in the 1940's. It really has you thinking about what is really good and bad in the world. Like I said before the ending just floored me not that it was so surprising, it was, but that it shows just how human and imperfect people are in the movie as well as they are in real life.