The Night Holds Terror (1955)

A group of escaped convicts take over a suburban home to evade the ongoing police manhunt, making the lives of the family living there a nightmare. The longer the men stay there, the more ... See full summary »

Director:

Andrew L. Stone

Writer:

Andrew L. Stone

Stars:

Jack Kelly, Hildy Parks, Vince Edwards

Cast

Cast overview:
Jack Kelly	...	Gene Courtier
Hildy Parks	...	Doris Courtier
Vince Edwards	...	Victor Gosset
John Cassavetes	...	Robert Batsford
David Cross	...	Luther Logan
Eddie Marr	...	Captain Cole (as Edward Marr)
Jack Kruschen	...	Detective Pope
Joyce McCluskey	...	Phyllis Harrison
Jonathan Hale	...	Bob Henderson
Barney Phillips	...	Stranske
Roy Neal	...	TV News Broadcaster
Joel Marston	...	Reporter
Guy Kingsford	...	Police Technician

Storyline

A group of escaped convicts take over a suburban home to evade the ongoing police manhunt, making the lives of the family living there a nightmare. The longer the men stay there, the more the tensions build and the more likely it becomes a tragedy will occur. Based on a real-life hostage-taking.

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Plot Keywords:

hostage | true crime | hostage situation | based on true story

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Taglines:

Three young, empty-eyed killers, without mercy or morals, turn a private home into a house of horror!

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Nacht ist voller Schrecken

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.

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Goofs

The front license plate on the villains' car disappears and reappears between scenes throughout the film. For instance, when Gene and the villains leave the bar and Gene's narration specifically points out the villains made sure he didn't see their license plate (they made him wear taped glasses) as they walk past the front of the car, there is no license plate on the car, but moments later at the railroad crossing, it's there again.

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Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

User Reviews

Desperate Night

These types of films seemed to be quite common in the 1950s. Drivers making the foolish mistake of picking up the worst possible type of hitch-hiker--a criminal. One who might take him hostage or kill him at any moment. A very real fear of the possible.

This film feels like a mix of THE HITCH-HIKER and THE DESPERATE HOURS but isn't quite on par with either. Unlike those, this feels like a Made For TV film. The Narration is very much a negative and will probably make many laugh due to its dire seriousness.

But the characters in this film are well-played and certainly entertaining enough to make this film an enjoyable ride. Especially good are Hildy Parks as the terrorized wife who won't stand for it and Jack Kelly as her husband who is thinking only of his family's welfare. John Cassavetes is also good in his role as the mastermind criminal. There's some terrific cinematography in the film featuring scenes out in the desert and the climatic ending in the rain.