The Big Night (1951)

A teenager comes of age while seeking revenge on the man who beat up his father.

Director:

Joseph Losey

Writers:

Stanley Ellin (novel), Joseph Losey (screenplay),

Stars:

John Drew Barrymore, Preston Foster, Joan Lorring

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Drew Barrymore	...	George La Main (as John Barrymore Jr.)
Preston Foster	...	Andy La Main
Joan Lorring	...	Marion Rostina
Howard St. John	...	Al Judge
Dorothy Comingore	...	Julie Rostina
Philip Bourneuf	...	Dr. Lloyd Cooper
Howland Chamberlain	...	Flanagan (as Howland Chamberlin)
Myron Healey	...	Kennealy
Emile Meyer	...	Peckinpaugh (as Emil Meyer)
Mauri Lynn	...	Terry Angelus

Storyline

George La Main, just turned 17, suffers growing pains and is anxious to prove his manhood. That night, George's adored father Andy is savagely beaten by sportswriter Al Judge. Traumatized and unable to learn why it happened, George goes gunning for Judge. His mission becomes an odyssey through the town's seamy side, and his coming of age is more of a trial by fire than he bargained for.

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | revenge | night club | cane | loud machinery | 

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Nacht der Wahrheit

Company Credits

Production Co:

Philip A. Waxman Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to interviews that director Joseph Losey gave, in the mid-seventies, to Michel Ciment, he revealed that FBI wanted to spy on him in Europe where he had to go to work after being black-listed in Hollywood. So they paid John Drew Barrymore (who was a good friend with him after this movie) to furnish informations about Losey's possible anti-American activities in London.

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Goofs

George blows out all but one of his birthday candles. When the view changes from over George's shoulder to a position over his father's shoulder, all the candles are out, but when it changes back, the one candle is again lit.

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Quotes

George La Main: Were you laughing at me? Were you still thinking I was wet behind the ears and smelled of milk? Were ya?

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Soundtracks

"Am I Too Young"
Music by Lyn Murray
Lyrics by Sid Kuller
Sung by Mauri Lynn

User Reviews

THE BIG NIGHT (Joseph Losey, 1951) **1/2

From Losey's American feature films (a period which barely lasted four years, when he fell victim to political persecution) I had only previously watched his eccentric debut, THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR (1948). The same year he made THE BIG NIGHT, a low-budget noir, he directed two other thrillers - THE PROWLER, Losey's own favorite from this early phase of his career and M, an Americanization of Fritz Lang's German masterpiece. Both these films promise to be a good deal more interesting than the ones I watched, and I hope I get the chance to view them someday...

Anyway, back to THE BIG NIGHT: in itself, it wasn't too bad but it didn't feel at all like a Losey film; perhaps that's because I'm not used to watching him dealing with an American setting - but it's still a minor film, not quite knowing where it's going and not even that compelling while it's on. The noir-ish atmosphere (courtesy of cinematographer Hal Mohr), however, is quite interestingly deployed - sometimes with an audacious psychological resonance, as in the nightclub scene where a riotous drum solo brings back to lead John Barrymore Jr. (looking more like Sean Penn than his matinée' idol father!) memories of his father's vicious beating at the hands of a crippled but influential sports columnist (an effectively sinister Howard St. John); the latter episode is actually a key scene, which sets the plot in motion and sends Barrymore - who witnessed father Preston Foster's humiliation and whom he idolized - seething with revenge in search of St. John.

The characters are largely stereotypes - caring bartender (Foster owns a bar), philosophical drunk pal, his bitter girlfriend (a rather spent Dorothy Comingore, who 10 years earlier had played Susan Alexander in CITIZEN KANE [1941]!), her good-girl sister who falls for and yearns to 'save' Barrymore, shady promoter Emil Meyer (a dry run for his memorable turn as a crooked cop in SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS [1957]), etc.

• but the last act provides a couple of ironic twists involving the

characters of Foster, St. John and the tragic fate of a woman they both loved in their own way.