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	...	Character
Betty Field	...	Kay Grant
Richard Whorf	...	Jigger Pine
Lloyd Nolan	...	Del Davis
Jack Carson	...	Leo Powell
Wallace Ford	...	Brad Ames (as Wally Ford)
Elia Kazan	...	Nickie Haroyen
Peter Whitney	...	Pete Bossett
Billy Halop	...	Peppi
Howard Da Silva	...	Sam Paryas
Joyce Compton	...	Blonde
Herbert Heywood	...	Brakeman
George Lloyd	...	Joe
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:

band | boxcar | singer | roadhouse | new jersey | 

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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

Film debut (uncredited, as a jitterbug dancer) of Faith Domergue.

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Goofs

When Brad and Kay crash their car toward the end of the movie, The car looks like a '40 or '41 Buick. The car in the crash is an much older car.

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Quotes

Kay Grant: [to Jigger] Next time you see me, will you do me a favor and smile?

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Connections

Referenced in Sucker Punch (2011)

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Soundtracks

This Time the Dream's on Me
(1941)
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Played by the band and Sung by Priscilla Lane (uncredited)
Reprised by Betty Field (uncredited)
Played during the end credits

User Reviews

Fast Moving Film

This film took me by surprise because it is a musical black and white film with fast movement of the camera and goes from Jazz and Blues music smack into a drama and murder. The film starts out with a piano player named Jugger, (Richard Whorf) who wants to organize a band and he has as his female singer, Ginger Powell, (Priscilla Lane) and her husband, Leo Powell, (Jack Carson) his trumpet player. Kay Grant, (Betty Field) plays the role of a gal who meets men and leaves them as quick as she meets them. Del Davis, (Lloyd Nolan) is an escaped convict who runs into this jazz band in a box car and decides to hold them up for all their money. There are many old time actors in this film and it really is a gem of a 1941 Classic. You could also call this film, riding the railroad through out the United States.