Night People (1954)

Director:

Nunnally Johnson

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay)
Jed Harris (story) ...

Release Date:

14 May 1954 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

You have never really seen Gregory Peck until you see him in "Night People".

Plot:

Post WWII yarn about a young GI abducted by the Soviets in West Berlin and hauled off to the East. His...

Plot Keywords:

Colonel | Father | Soviet | Berlin Wall | Exchange

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Col. Steve Van Dyke
Broderick Crawford	...	Charles Leatherby
Anita Björk	...	'Hoffy' Hoffmeir aka Stamm
Rita Gam	...	Ricky Cates
Walter Abel	...	Maj. R.A. Foster, MD
Buddy Ebsen	...	Sgt. Eddie McColloch
Max Showalter	...	Frederick S. Hobart (as Casey Adams)
Jill Esmond	...	Frau Schindler aka Rachel Cameron
Peter van Eyck	...	Sergei 'Petey' Petrochine
Marianne Koch	...	Kathy Gerhardt
Ted Avery	...	Cpl. John 'Johnny' Leatherby
Hugh McDermott	...	Maj. Burns
Paul Carpenter	...	Eddie Whitby
John Horsley	...	Lt. Col. Stanways
Lionel Murton	...	Norman Lakeland

Runtime:

93 min | USA:94 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:(Banned) (1954) | USA:Approved (PCA #16696, General Audience) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Their uniforms indicate both Van Dyke and Eddie were combat veterans of World War II. Van Dyke served in Italy with the 5th Army and earned the 2nd highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, plus a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Eddie fought with the 4th Infantry Division in France and won both the Silver Star and Bronze Star for valor.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Corporal Leatherby kisses his girlfriend good night at the beginning of the film, he says, "Good night, Annie." Her name is Kathy.

Movie Connections:

References Niagara (1953)

Soundtrack:

Zum Abschied reich'ich die die Hände

Superior Cold War Espionage Thriller; Very Well-Acted B/W Suspense

Nunnally Johnson has been awarded every prize a screenwriter can be given. This film, with its many strengths, demonstrates why as well as does any of his efforts. The storyline here is both complex and adult; it is a Cold War thriller with very-strongly-developed characters, fine performances and great B/W production values throughout. Johnson wrote the script from a story by Jed Harris and directed. The story revolves around a Colonel played strongly by Gregory Peck who is in charge of US forces in Berlin who are dealing daily with the four powers governing their sectors there. Three challenges weigh on him at once. The Russian counterpart he has been trying to help defect is murdered; a young US serviceman is inexplicably kidnapped after meeting the German girl he loves, and demands are made by the Russians to get into their hands two persons in exchange for the soldier. Then the young man's industrialist father arrives to complicate matters further, making demands, while the Colonel discovers a traitor in his own circle of operatives. There are many fine performances in the well-chosen cast, headed by Peck's very strong military character, aided by Walter Abel and Buddy Ebsen; others noteworthy include Peter Van Eyck, Max Showalter, Jill Esmond, Marianne Koch, Anita Bjork and Broderick Crawford. Lovely Rita Gam plays the Colonel's secretary and steals every scene she is in. I found the military-parade pre-opening too-long; but the dialogue, characters and situations were everywhere absorbing and amazing memorable; had Johnson done nothing bu the scripts for this and "The Dirty Dozen", his place in Hollywood history would be secure. I suggest that with all its fine technical and creative aspects, when viewers talk about films "they used to make but can't or don't make any more", "Night People" is exactly the sort of powerful and adult film they have in mind.