Tonight's Movie: Night Unto Night (1949) - A Warner Archive DVD Review
NIGHT UNTO NIGHT was the second feature film directed by Don Siegel, whose work I've gradually been catching up with over the last handful of years. Siegel would go on to direct Reagan's last feature film, THE KILLERS (1964), which I enjoyed seeing at the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival.
While most of the Siegel films I've seen have been entertaining or excellent, NIGHT UNTO NIGHT was, unfortunately, a murky, hard-to-follow mess. The movie sat on the Warner Bros. shelf for over two years before being released and, having seen it, I can understand why.
Reagan's character, John Galen, is a scientist who arrives in Florida and rents a house from Ann Gracey (Viveca Lindfors, THIS SIDE OF THE LAW).
Ann's flashy sister Lisa (Osa Massen) makes a romantic play for John, but -- when he's not brooding -- he falls for Ann instead.
John also spends time with Dr. Poole (Art Baker), a specialist, and with an artist (Broderick Crawford) and his wife (Rosemary DeCamp) who are friends of Ann's. Everyone gathers under the same roof during a hurricane, and decisions are made about the future.
I was enthused to see this film, with the names Siegel and Reagan attached, but I really had some issues following it closely. The key elements outlined above are painted in broad brush strokes, but it's extremely difficult to connect with the lead characters and the story; the script sort of lurches around abruptly from scene to scene, lacking coherence and depth. As a viewer I was at a remove from the characters, on the outside looking in, trying to figure out where they and the movie were going, until finally it was simply...over, with an unconvincing optimistic ending.
A decade ago Lou Lumenick wrote a New York Post column on Reagan's films available on DVD. He quoted Reagan as saying of this film, "If you are thinking this was a hard story to bring to life on the screen, you are right." At least I know it's not "just me"!
The Warner Archive DVD includes the trailer. The film print is for the most part pretty good, although there are some speckles during the opening credits. However, I felt that the soundtrack was on the soft side, lacking in crisp clarity; that issue, combined with Lindfors' and Massen's accents, didn't add to my ability to follow the story.
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The film was shot in black and white by Peverell Marley. Kathryn Scola's script was based on a novel by Philip Wylie. The supporting cast includes Craig Stevens and Lillian Yarbo.
I'm glad to have checked the title off my Reagan and Siegel movie lists but, all in all, this was an unusually odd, detached viewing experience.
Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this DVD. Warner Archive releases are MOD (manufactured on demand) and may be ordered from Amazon or from any online retailers where DVDs and Blu-rays are sold.
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posted by Laura @ 11:00 PM
4 Comments:
I found it quite atmospheric, but that is all it had going for it. When something falls so flat it makes you wonder where it went wrong or if you can even pinpoint it at all.
Caftan Woman has made a great point -- my guess, this thing went wrong in post-production, and obviously, the creative team was not totally onside pre-production, because there is enough to intrigue and let us all guess at how good it might have been.
Caftan Woman, your description of it as atmospheric is apt...it had nice spooky cinematography and that was the best thing going for it along with Crawford and DeCamp.
Barrylane, this had so many talented people on it, it does make you wonder. The studios were sometimes able to "fix" problem films with reshoots, re-edits, etc., and it does feel like the pieces were here if only they had somehow been assembled differently. And with it on the shelf for two years, at what point did the studio just give up and decide to release it without attempting improvements which might have also improved their profit?
Best wishes,
Laura
Night Unto Night - Europe Coma America (much better than some realise)
This fascinating title 'Night Unto Night' was perhaps an American film ahead of its time. In the late 40s, you might expect Europe and Britain would be more prone to produce works with the themes found in 'Night'. Maybe this explains why the film was better received outside the USA.
It's a serious story written by Philip Wylie, also known for 'Island of Lost Souls', 'When Worlds Collide', etc.
Here we have a story that reaches into the darkness of the human condition, uncovering the vulnerable surfaces that either hold us together or tear us apart. Obviously, after producing this uncommercial-type film Warner Brothers did not quite know what to do with it, so shelved it for over a year. It's more along the lines of the socially conscious stories that First National Pictures were unafraid to make in the 30's IE; 'Heroes For Sale' etc. The screenplay adaptation by Kathryn Scola, who had earlier worked on 'The Glass Key', 'A Modern Hero', etc, has a sharp edge to it, bringing to life Wylies' troubled characters quite nicely.
The two European female imports do very well in vastly different character turns. Swedish Viveca Lindfors is near perfect as the haunted feminine lead, while Danish Osa Massen plays her superficial, vampish sister to the hilt. American Producer Owen Crump, while not generally well known, was himself not unfamiliar with making films in Europe. He is also known to Write: "Zeppelin" 71, ~ and to Direct: "The Couch" 62. The weakest link in this production lies with his allocated Director, Don Siegel. This was only Siegel's 2nd feature and perhaps he was not up to the material. Siegel tended to be more suited to the simple crowd-pleasing 'shoot em up' Eastwood type films.
Visually the film is absolutely stunning. Cinematographer John Peveral Marley who's known for all time classics such as the original 'Count of Monte Cristo' - 'Suez' - 'Night and Day' etc, crafts a treat for the artistic eye with his eerie floating camera, spiralling along dark stairways and over glistening waters. Marley is ably supported by Art Director Hugh Reticker ('Humoresque' etc) who creates a darkly Gothic look and feel to the interiors of Lindfors' rambling beach front house. Also adding a strong sense of mystic mood is Franz Waxman’s' music, conjuring up the building torment of the two suffering leads.
Acting honours should go to Broderick Crawford for his strong portrayal as Reagan’s newly found Artist friend, he's a man who shuns commercialism and offers sympathetic spiritual support to both leads. If its action you want, you won’t get it here. Thoughtful viewers should find rewards if they approach it as a soul searching character study. If this film was not meant to be 'A grade', then in so many ways it certainly is. Watch for Craig Stevens, TV's Peter Gunn, who two decades latter would again work for Producer Owen Crump in the 1967 theatrical feature version of 'Gunn'.
Recently, at two private film appreciation group screenings of Night Unto Night (with an audience mix of young and older viewers) when the film ended, there was a round of enthusiastic applause, and much discussion followed ~ ninety percent said the film was quality melodrama of the 'superior' kind. Most also said it's one of the best performances they'd seen from Reagan, I have to agree. This unfairly dismissed film is highly recommended for lovers of serious 40's romantic noir. Ken Roche......
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