Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)

Prowl car cops on night duty romance a reluctant young lady while in danger from a vengeful racketeer.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Eugene Ling (screenplay), Gerald Drayson Adams (story),

Stars:

Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien, Gale Storm

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Stevens	...	Officer Rocky Barnes
Edmond O'Brien	...	Officer Dan Purvis
Gale Storm	...	Katharine 'Kate' Mallory
Donald Buka	...	Ritchie Garris
Gale Robbins	...	Terry Romaine
Anthony Ross	...	Police Lt. Masterson
Roland Winters	...	Leo Cusick
Tito Vuolo	...	Romano
Grazia Narciso	...	Mrs. Romano
Madge Blake	...	Mrs. Mallory
Lora Lee Michel	...	Kathy Blake
Jack Del Rio	...	Louis Franissi
Philip Van Zandt	...	Joe Quist
Cliff Bailey	...	Police Sergeant Bailey
Tony Barr	...	Harry Yost

Storyline

Rocky and Dan, war buddies, are prowl car cops on night duty. Dan is a cynic who views all lawbreakers as scum; Rocky feels more lenient. Both are attracted to the radio voice of communicator Kate Mallory; but in person, Kate proves reluctant to get involved with men who just might stop a bullet. By lucky chance, Rocky and Dan cause big trouble for murderous racketeer Ritchie Garris; but when he swears vengeance, Kate's fears may prove justified.

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Plot Keywords:

police | police officer | secretary | arrest | singer | 

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Taglines:

THE STORY OF PROWL CAR 13...BASED ON THE POLICE FILES OF A GREAT CITY! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prowl Car

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Rocky and Dan leave Romano's in a 1949 Ford squad car, but when they arrive at the night club, they are driving a pre-war junker.

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Quotes

Rocky Barnes: Miss Mallory... Do you mind if I call you Kate?
Katharine Mallory: You might as well. I've a feeling you'll get around to it in a minute anyway.

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Soundtracks

"PLEASE DON'T KISS ME"
Written by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher
Performed by Gale Robbins (shown in part only)

User Reviews

Enjoyable, jocular, witty, exciting, fast-paced, righteous.

I found this movie to be very enjoyable to watch. There was no masterful overriding story, but it moved along at a good pace, was quite genial and had no faults. It might be called an early "procedural" in today's lingo: lots of radio squad car scenes, beaming messages in cop talk back and forth, well photographed auto chase scenes and shootouts. The directing, script, acting and cinema-photography were superior. In the movie the cops were all righteous and the criminals all incorrigibly bad.

Three things stood out for me, favorably: (1) I was always a big Gale Storm fan, stemming from my childhood watching of "My Little Margie" re-runs on TV (Gale was the co-star of the TV show, and part of the romantic triangle in this movie). (2) The repartee was often witty and jocular and never off-putting. For example, on an early date, Officer Rocky Barnes (played by Mark Stevens) is having his first dance with Gale Storm, and, holding her tightly he says, "I've been waiting a long time for this." She replies, "I can believe it. I feel a rib cracking." He responds, "Oh, control yourself, Barnes. This lady's got to last." (3) The relationship between the two police partners (Stevens and Edmond O'Brien) was friendly and jocular. It was nice to observe their respect for each other. Both were quite competent. O'Brien was the more serious, cynical and hard on criminals. Stevens was more relaxed and sensitive to criminals' feelings.