Tonight's Movie: All Through the Night (1942) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

It's hard to believe it's been seven years since I first saw ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (1942) thanks to the recommendation of the late Michael Schlesinger.

Schlesinger hosted the movie at the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival, and while it didn't fit my schedule then, I heard good "buzz" about it and watched it at home a couple months later.

I enjoyed returning to this unusual film thanks to the brand-new Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT tells the tale of a collection of genial Runyonesque gangsters, headed by "Gloves" Donahue (Humphrey Bogart), attempting to solve a murder when the baker (Ludwig Stossel) who makes Gloves' favorite cheesecake is bumped off.

A young woman named Leda (Kaaren Verne) acts suspiciously when she visits the bakery, and she's ultimately tracked to a nightclub owned by Marty (Barton MacLane) and Joe (Edward Brophy).

Leda sings at the nightclub, and when her pianist, Pepi (Peter Lorre), shoots Joe, Gloves is framed for the murder.

Gloves ends up at an auction house run by Nazi sympathizers (Conrad Veidt and Judith Anderson). Gloves and his pals Sunshine (William Demarest) and Barney (Frank McHugh) then end up chasing Nazis -- or being chased by them -- "all through the night."

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT was written by Leonard Spigelgass and Edwin Gilbert from a story by Spigelgass and Leonard Q. Ross. It was filmed in the summer and fall of 1941, before Pearl Harbor, and released early in January 1942.

One wonders if it would have been quite so lighthearted if it had been made just a bit later, but along with the goofiness, the movie is always very clear about Nazi evil.

It's generally quite an enjoyable film, though as I noted at the time of my first watch, the plot could have been condensed a bit to erase a few minutes from the film's 107-minute running time. Things get a wee bit repetitive, but that's really my only complaint.

The premise, with a bunch of shady characters taking on crime and the Nazis, is inspired; indeed, the ending, with Gloves' mother (Jane Darwell) telling him about the disappearance of the milkman, almost seems to set up a potential series. That said, if that scene wasn't simply a joke, a series was not to be.

Bogart is quite fun striking a lighthearted-yet-determined note as Gloves. Don't get between that man and his favorite cheesecake! And when he learns Nazis are infiltrating the U.S.A., he's not having it.

As with so many Warner Bros. films of this era, one of the very best things about the movie is simply the cast. You just won't find great "faces" like this in a modern movie!

In addition to the actors named above, the cast includes Phil Silvers, Jackie Gleason, Wallace Ford, Sam McDaniel, George Meeker, Emory Parnell, Martin Kosleck, and Frank Sully. William Hopper (PERRY MASON) can even be spotted as a reporter.

The Warner Archive print is from a new 1080p HD master from 4K scans of the original nitrate camera negative. The movie's sleek black and white, photographed by Sid Hickox, is absolutely beautiful. Sound quality is also excellent.

Disc extras consist of an archival commentary track by Eric Lax and director Vincent Sherman; the Joe McDoakes short SO YOU WANT TO QUIT SMOKING (1942); the cartoon LIGHTS FANTASTIC (1942); a newsreel; the trailer; and the 23-minute featurette CALL THE USUAL SUSPECTS: THE CRAFT OF THE CHARACTER ACTOR (2006).

For more on this film, please visit my 2019 review.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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