The Long Night (1947)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Jacques Viot (earlier script)
John Wexley (writer)

Release Date:

28 May 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

COMING AT YOU ... in a blast of terrific drama!

Plot:

Police surround the apartment of apparent murderer Joe Adams, who refuses to surrender although escape appears impossible. During the siege, Joe reflects on the circumstances that led him to this situation.

Plot Keywords:

Siege | Police | Magician | Flashback Within Flashback | Murder

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Joe Adams
Barbara Bel Geddes	...	Jo Ann
Vincent Price	...	Maximilian the Great
Ann Dvorak	...	Charlene
Howard Freeman	...	Sheriff Ned Meade
Moroni Olsen	...	Chief of Police Bob McManus
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Frank Dunlap
Queenie Smith	...	Mrs. Tully
David Clarke	...	Bill Pulanski
Charles McGraw	...	Policeman Stevens
Patty King	...	Peggy
Davis Roberts	...	Freddie (as Robert A. Davis)

Runtime:

101 min | Germany:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #11958, General Audience)

Company:

Select Productions

Trivia:

Barbara Bel Geddes' film debut.

Quotes:

Maximilian: [when called on an elaborate lie] Good heavens, do I have to apologize for superior imagination?

Movie Connections:

Remake of Le jour se lève (1939)

sentimental film-noir with a superb cast

I wouldn't say The Long Night is a great film, and if anything it only peaks my interest more to see how much more classic the film it's based on is- Marcel Carne's La Jour se Leve. But for the time it ran, I was mostly glued to the screen, and got wrapped up in the plight of Henry Fonda's character Joe, and his predicament of his downfall from normalcy. It probably isn't very original, taking aside its connection with the French source; it's about a factory worker, very nice guy, who falls in love with a woman whom, he finds out, was an orphan just like him. But one night he follows her to a bar, sees her cavorting sort of with a sleazy magician (Vincent Price), and his perfect image of her is shattered, and grows only darker after he meets him (he first tells Joe he's her father, which is a truly great scene between two huge stars of classic film), and when she tells him about her history with him.

While I could never take my eyes off the screen, it should be said that for all of the strong craftsmanship with the picture (it's one of the finest photographed 'noirs' of the late 40s, especially for those stark scenes of Joe alone in his room with the whole town on the street calling for him) and for all of the tremendous talent in front of the camera- besides Fonda and Price, who the former it's a splendid and rewarding if not best-ever performance and for the latter a triumph of playing sneaky and villainous, the girl playing Jo Ann (Barbara Bel Geddes) is very good- it only works up to a point. I was engrossed the most in the last twenty minutes or so, as the film revved up its pace and tempo to the "will Joe or won't Joe" beat. Before that, it's many scenes that mostly rely on the presence of the actors to uplift the material past the breezy and conventional air of the dialog. There's nothing especially "wrong" with the material, but it doesn't go anywhere aside from hitting its main points.

The Long Night is something of a minor lost marvel- only recently did it come out on DVD in an OK print- and for Fonda and Price fans its a can't-miss kind of picture. Just don't go expecting anything that will change your perception of what film-noirs can go that don't go for the easy routes.