Blues in the Night (1941)

"Jigger' Lane forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powell, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit ... See full summary »

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Edwin Gilbert (from a play by), Robert Rossen (screen play)

Stars:

Priscilla Lane, Betty Field, Richard Whorf

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Priscilla Lane	...	Ginger 'Character' Powell
Betty Field	...	Kay Grant
Richard Whorf	...	Jigger Pine
Lloyd Nolan	...	Del Davis
Jack Carson	...	Leo Powell
Wallace Ford	...	Brad Ames
Elia Kazan	...	Nickie Haroyen
Peter Whitney	...	Pete Bossett
Billy Halop	...	Peppi
Howard Da Silva	...	Sam Paryas
Joyce Compton	...	Blonde
Herbert Heywood	...	Train Brakeman
George Lloyd	...	Joe - St Louis Cafe Owner
Charles C. Wilson	...	Barney (as Charles Wilson)
Matt McHugh	...	Drunk

Storyline

"Jigger' Lane forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powell, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit and to play 'blues' music. The dedication isn't paying off in money and, while riding the rails in a boxcar, they meet and befriend a gangster named Del Davis. He offers them a job at a New Jersey roadhouse, where Powell falls in love with Kay Grant, a former 'real-good friend' of Davis. But when Powell learns that 'Character' is about to have a baby, he returns to her. "Jigger" tries to make Kay the band's singer and, when this fails, runs off with her. She leaves him with nothing to show for him except a nervous breakdown.Back at the roadhouse, after his recovery, Kay shows up, has a quarrel with Davis, shoots and kills him and plans to take back up with "Jigger", who knows better but just can't help himself. While she is waiting in a car for him, along comes cripple Brad Ames, who she put in that...

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Plot Keywords:

strained husband wife relationship | hobo jungle | song | singing | song in title | 

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Taglines:

They make music by day! They live it by night! (Poster).

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Music

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot Nocturne

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack L. Warner 's first choice for Jigger Pine was George Raft. He was sent a script, but was uninterested.

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Goofs

When Jigger and his pals are in St. Louis at the beginning of the film, a fight breaks out in the bar they are playing at the bartender calls the cops. The police car shown responding is clearly marked from the New York Police Deptartment, 18th Precinct.

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Quotes

Del Davis: You're just like me, Kay. You want what you can't have.

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Connections

Featured in TCM Guest Programmer: Matt Groening (2007)

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Soundtracks

I Got Rhythm
(1930) (uncredited)
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Played in the St. Louis Cafe

User Reviews

'T ain't What You Do, it's The Way ThatYou Do It

The above tune, one of Jimmie Lunceford's first, has nothing to do with BLUES IN THE NIGHT, but I think it fits perfectly the film. I am a jazz and movie buff, and maybe the first whom managed to write an essay on both, in 1957. My preference was that Michael Curtiz's YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN was the best example of how to make a film about jazz.Recently, I grasped a conversation between two French critics on TV, describing Anatole Litvak's 1941 film as the one who shows how these typical American arts may cooperate. I also discovered David Meeker's JAZZ IN THE MOVIES, listing more than 2000 titles. Then I ordered BLUES IN THE NIGHT from Amazon, and I received a real gem. The previous 19 comments were fully positive, and Jimmie Lunceford appeared almost immediately with Jack Carson blowing a trumpet with his band. Followed a very good combination of film noir and swing. T'AIN'T WHAT...etc., is EXACTLY what I feel about the job done by the Warner Brothers, Tolya Litvak, Betty Field, Lloyd Nolan and all the film celebrities who made long and fruitful careers after WWII. The only thing I wish to stress is that the Amazon DVD contains also the actual trailer of the movie and last but not least, a full rendition of the famous JAMMIN'THE BLUES, certainly the best jazz movie of all times. Now that you have read my divagations, hurry up and grab a copy of BLUES IN THE NIGHT, while they last.harry carasso, Paris