Nocturne (1946)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Rowland Brown (story)
Frank Fenton (story)

Release Date:

11 November 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Drama

Plot:

Police detective Joe Warner investigates the shooting of womanizing composer Keith Vincent. Evidence...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Police | Based On Story | Piano | Songwriter

Cast

George Raft	...	Joe Warne
Lynn Bari	...	Frances Ransom
Virginia Huston	...	Carol Page
Joseph Pevney	...	Ned 'Fingers' Ford
Myrna Dell	...	Susan Flanders
Edward Ashley	...	Keith Vincent
Walter Sande	...	Police Lt. Halberson
Mabel Paige	...	Mrs. Warne
Bern Hoffman	...	Erik Torp (as Bernard Hoffman)
Queenie Smith	...	Queenie, Nora's Roommate
Mack Gray	...	Gratz (as Mack Grey)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lilian Bond	...	Mrs. Billings (scenes deleted)
Martha Mears	...	Carol Page (voice)
Broderick O'Farrell	...	Billings' Butler (scenes deleted)
William Wright	...	Mr. Billings (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #11680, General Audience)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Fingers is playing a spinet piano, but the sound is that of a grand piano.

Quotes:

Susan: He was a ladykiller. But don't get any ideas. I ain't no lady.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

Why Pretend

If Only George Raft Could Act...

This would have been a better film. It opens with that stunning shot of L.A. then slowly zooms in on the composer in his hilltop home for a mesmerizing beginning, but spends the rest of its running time spinning its wheels. Part of the problem is the confused script which lacks urgency and never brings the story into any kind of focus. There's the occasional flash of excitement or an injection of atmosphere, but then it drifts. It's a film with a very short attention span; it doesn't seem to care much about its own story and seems to be in search of anything it can find to distract it.

And then there's Raft. He was adequate in the similarly well-shot 1945 noir Johnny Angel, also directed by Marin, because in that film he's motivated by a thirst for revenge against the man who killed his father, a simple and rather easy emotion to play. But here he's a detective who's supposed to be obsessed with finding the murderer of the playboy composer, who is killed in the middle of writing one of his songs (a nifty little premise) though the police believe it's a suicide. This is a trickier set of emotions to play and Raft can't pull it off. Why does he care so much? Is he a frustrated musician? It's never explained. There are no layers to Raft, no sense of vulnerability, no dimension or mystery - he's about as wooden as they come. He's only effective when he's acting tough - pushing a guy into a pool or taking on some thug twice his size. When he's asked to do more than that he's not so much lost as he is simply unwilling or constitutionally incapable. He just doesn't have it in him.

One of the pleasures of noir is watching a tough guy getting in over his head and discovering to his horror that there are some foes he can't lick, or allowing his commitment and dedication turn into obsession. A Bogart or a Dick Powell or a Ralph Meeker or a John Payne or a Dan Duryea or even a Mark Stevens could've supplied the necessary psychological complexity to make the detective in Nocturne a memorable and tragic figure. Raft, unfortunately, isn't in their league.

One last thing: the most interesting presence in the film is piano player Joseph Pevney, who later went on to become a very busy TV and movie director. He's only in two or three scenes, but he makes the most of them.