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Nightfall (1957)

7.1
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Ratings: 7.1/10 from 1,075 users  
Reviews: 37 user | 23 critic

Through a series of bizarre coincidences artist finds himself falsely accused of bank robbery and murder and is pursued by the authorities and the real killers.

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(screen play), (from the novel by)
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Title: Nightfall (1957)

Nightfall (1957) on IMDb 7.1/10

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
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James Vanning
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John
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Marie Gardner
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Laura Fraser
...
Ben Fraser
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Dr. Edward Gurston
Rudy Bond ...
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Storyline

There is money missing from a bank job, an attractive model, an insurance investigator, and two extremely dangerous thugs. James Vanning (Aldo Ray) portrays an innocent man on the run, being pursued by the criminals who stupidly misplaced their take from the crime and think he has it or knows where it is hidden. Add model Marie Gardner (Anne Bancroft) who crossed paths with nice guy Vanning, while he is on the run. This all adds up to a thriller wherein the viewer is drawn into the story and becomes part of the drama. When Marie says "things that really happen are difficult to explain" it captures the theme of this film. A nice girl helps a nice guy, who is innocent and is drawn into the drama. As tension mounts she says: "I am always meeting the wrong man, and it leads to doomed relationships." Marie inadvertently leads Vanning into the hands of the villains. However, she is a pseudo-femme fatale, innocently involved in the intrigue and, like the viewer, is gradually drawn into the ... Written by Noir-Fan-en-Suisse

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

On a night made for lovers... and killers. See more »


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Details

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Language:

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Release Date:

13 May 1957 (Sweden)  »

Also Known As:

A Maleta Fatídica  »

Filming Locations:


Company Credits

Production Co:

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Quotes

Marie Gardner: What time is it?
James Vanning: Early.
Marie Gardner: I have an eight o'clock sitting and a twelve o'clock fashion show.
James Vanning: You're a model?
Marie Gardner: How do you think I pay the rent?
James Vanning: Oh, well, I should have figured your being a model. I mean, believe it or not, I'm an artist.
[He chuckles]
Marie Gardner: Soup cans or sunsets?
James Vanning: Soup cans, toothpaste, automobiles, and girls once in a while.
See more »

Connections

References The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) See more »

Soundtracks

"Nightfall"
Music by Peter De Rose and Charles H. Cuppett (as Charles Harold)
Lyrics by Sam Lewis (as Sam M. Lewis)
Performed by Al Hibbler
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Crisp, no-nonsense late noir from legendary Jacques Tourneur
20 August 2001 | by (Western New York) – See all my reviews

Having established his reputation in the 1940s with The Cat People and Out of the Past (pinnacles among several others), Tourneur returned to the noir cycle as it was winding down to direct Nightfall. The film opens stunningly: we watch the hunted protagonist (the, well, stolid Aldo Ray) as Los Angeles day darkens into dusk, and the pace flows seamlessly to a "chance" meeting with the young Anne Bancroft in a cocktail lounge. Of course, the inevitable menace, here concerning $350 grand from a bank job, falls as swiftly as the night. The narrative weaves back and forth from the present in elegantly placed flashbacks which establish the backstory; present and past converge at the film's climax (foreshadowing a memorable scene in On Her Majesty's Secret Service). Though Ray's curious career never answers the question, Why was he in movies at all?, the supporting cast -- starting with Bancroft -- is superb. Brian Keith is the heavy, while the underused James Gregory (best remembered as the McCarthyite imbecile from The Manchurian Candidate, and from the Barney Miller show) plays an insurance investigator who becomes an ally. On the other side of the law, Rudy Bond portrays one of the most despicable sadists in a cycle lousy with them.


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