Tonight's Movie: Nightmare (1956) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review
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Tonight I wrapped up watching Kino Lorber's Dark Side of Cinema XVII collection with NIGHTMARE (1956).
NIGHTMARE, like the set's other films VICE SQUAD (1953) and BLACK TUESDAY (1954), stars Edward G. Robinson. And like those films, I found it interesting and enjoyable.
To be sure, NIGHTMARE has flaws, starting with a sometimes-draggy script by director-screenwriter Maxwell Shane, but it also has several "plus" factors, including the great Mr. Robinson himself. Overall, I enjoyed the movie despite its problems.
NIGHTMARE is a remake of FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1946), which was also written and directed by Shane. In each case the script was based on a story by the prolific Cornell Woolrich.
Just last weekend, as it happens, I saw two other films based on Woolrich stories, the Argentinian movies NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR (1952) and IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE (1952). This year I've seen at least two other films inspired by Woolrich's writing. He had incredible influence on the film noir and crime film genres.NIGHTMARE has one of the wilder Woolrich stories I've seen filmed -- probably even crazier than one of my favorite Woolrich tales, NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES (1948), which also starred Robinson.
New Orleans musician Stan Grayson (Kevin McCarthy) wakes up from a terrible nightmare in which he killed someone. As Stan calms down, he's taken aback when he notices things like blood on his hand and a mark on his neck which hadn't been present before he went to bed.
Stan can't shake the feeling that his dream was real...especially when a key he'd only seen in his dream appears in his room.
The disturbed Stan confides in his brother-in-law Rene (Robinson), a police detective, but Rene brushes off Stan's fears as overwork or stress. Rene warns Stan not to upset his pregnant wife Sue (Virginia Christine), Stan's sister, with his wild story.As Stan struggles on the verge of an emotional breakdown, circumstances lead to Rene and Stan learning about a murder outside New Orleans which seems to have details which match Stan's nightmare. Rene is initially upset and believes his brother-in-law may be a murderer, but as more facts reveal themselves, Rene realizes something quite different may have happened...
Shane's script is a somewhat draggy 89 minutes; not that Stan doesn't have the right to be worried, but his whining and sullen behavior aren't fun to watch, and the script gets a bit repetitive as Stan tries to convince his disbelieving brother-in-law something sinister has happened.
The film takes off and becomes more engrossing about midway through, when the true story begins to reveal itself and Rene goes into detective mode, offering Stan support and hope instead of snapping at him.Despite the imperfect script, NIGHTMARE has a number of plus factors going for it, starting with location work in New Orleans. The film seems to use a mix of back projections and actual shooting in Louisiana; I hope to learn more on that topic from the commentary track by Jason A. Ney.
2 Comments:
Shane filmed the same story a handful of years earlier, title Fear in the Night, starring a young DeForrest Kelley and Paul Kelly. It would be interesting to see a review that compares the two.
Yes, in case you skimmed past it I mentioned FEAR IN THE NIGHT above in my review, though I didn't mention the stars. I always enjoy Paul Kelly. I also really like Ann Doran, who has a leading role.
I have a copy of FEAR IN THE NIGHT and look forward to watching it at some point. It will definitely be interesting to compare the two films.
Best wishes,
Laura
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