Nightfall (1957)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

David Goodis (story)
Stirling Silliphant (writer)

Release Date:

13 May 1957 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

YOU COULD GO TO THE MOVIES EVERY DAY FOR FIVE YEARS---BEFORE YOU'D SEE ANOTHER PICTURE WITH SO MANY THRILLS AND SO MUCH SUSPENSE! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot Keywords:

Pistol | Newsstand | Night | Murder | Fashion Show

Cast

Aldo Ray	...	James Vanning / Art Rayburn
Brian Keith	...	John
Anne Bancroft	...	Marie Gardner
Jocelyn Brando	...	Laura Fraser
James Gregory	...	Ben Fraser
Frank Albertson	...	Dr. Edward Gurston
Rudy Bond	...	Red

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Copa Productions

Soundtrack:

Red River Valley

Despite some story gaps, a first-rate suspenser...

David Goodis' pulpy novel becomes exciting, well-cast and acted crime-drama, peculiarly titled since most of the action takes place in the snow-covered mountains of Wyoming (perhaps "Snowfall" would've been more apropos). Two innocent campers run violently afoul of two trigger-happy bank-robbers, with 350 G's getting lost in the frost. Hollywood never quite knew what to do with Aldo Ray: polite and beaming (like an overgrown Boy Scout), Ray's ingratiating manner and wobbly, scratchy voice made him difficult to type-cast in the 1950s. He's just right here, playing tough guy up against cold-hearted Brian Keith and buddy/big brother/love-interest to model Anne Bancroft, who gets caught in this crime web and yet doesn't seem to mind. Despite a sluggish start and a few details that don't come together (such as why the crooks' car runs off the road in Wyoming, or why the two bank-robbers don't follow Aldo Ray when he runs through the river with the satchel of loot), director Jacques Tourneur handles the criss-crossing plot with buttery ease. Add in some amusing parallels to the later "Fargo" and you've got the makings of a cult classic, one that Columbia Pictures rarely revives. *** from ****