Tonight's Movie: Night Unto Night (1949) - A Warner Archive DVD Review

Ronald Reagan stars in NIGHT UNTO NIGHT (1949), available on DVD from the Warner Archive.  

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).

John and Ann are each dealing with demons of sorts.  Ann is seemingly haunted by the voice of her late husband, who died serving in World War II, while John is coping with epilepsy, a condition which drives him to the brink of suicide.

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.  

I'm not a particular fan of Crawford, but every time he and the wonderful DeCamp came on screen it was a huge jolt of energy waking up a sleeping movie.  A film entirely about that married couple and their back story would have been much more interesting!  But alas, they're not onscreen nearly enough, so it's a pretty long 84 minutes.

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 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. 

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.  

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 the Warner Archive Collection at the WBShop or from any online retailers where DVDs and Blu-rays are sold.

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