Posted by G.George (Apologies to all in advance, I don't have my reference books at hand, I'm at work and heavily bogged down, so this is strictly off the cuff).
NOTW...THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES (1948)
Starring Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, John Lund, Virginia Bruce, and William Demerest
Directed by John Farrow (whose other noir films include His Kind of Woman AND The Big Clock).
Screenplay by Jonathan Latimer and are Barre Lyndon. Novel by Cornell Woolrich
DP: John F.Setz (Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd, This Gun for Hire, and many more).
Thanks to fellow Backboarder CHIBOB for this one...I've been waiting to see it for years, primarily because there is a great write-up and sill photo from the film in the Silver and Ward book. I'm pretty sure the film hasn't played anywhere on a TV station in over a decade.
I can see how there may be two schools of thought on this film...one faction could deem this a pretty fair "locked room" mystery, while the other "noir" faction could list it as premium cut, first rate film noir. There's not question in my mind...prime cut noir!
If you haven't seen the film, I won't spoil it...the general synopsis revolves around Eddie G. Robinson working a 
carnival seer/mind reading act...and then he really begins to see things! (only from the mind of Woolrich!). It's not as hokey as it sounds, primarily because Robinson carries things off with his usual aplomb and style. The majority of noirish elements in the film center around how trapped Eddie's character is with this curse of future sight...everything he sees is tragic.
The great John F. Seitz is behind the camera on this one, and while perhaps not his best work (his resume includes work on some seminal and outstanding film noirs), NIGHT has a great look to it, imo, dark and creepy (helped out enormously by Victor Young's score)...and, the opening scenes to the film are as good as any noir I can think of (except for maybe Kiss Me Deadly). The print I watched for the most part looked as though it was shot and processed yesterday...the scenes with Robinson on stage doing his act were tack-sharp (not bad for a 60 year old film!).
Imo, the cast here (except Robinson) really really worthy of a lot of ink...all are competent, but it's really Eddie's show. I didn't find the normally lovely Gail Russell to be at her best here, but that could be a personal thing. Her very large, expressive eyes are certainly used to good advantage in several shots. I've come to think of William Demerest in something of a comedic/campy way, and imo, when he shows up in NIGHT (he doesn't show up until the last reel) the entire atmosphere of the film changes for the worst.
David posted last week about writers of screenplays, and I mentioned W.R. Burnett, 
Recommended? You bet flaws and all!
Again, apologies if this is a bit disjointed...and it is perfectly fine (perhaps preferable) with me if we make this EDWARD G. ROBINSON'S NOIR WEEK, discussing all/any of his noir films...this would certainly give us a week's worth of material.
Best,
Gar
Have you ever heard that bass-heavy and vampish noir rendition of "The Night has a Thousand Eyes" in the recent sci-fi noir Dark City? Great stuff...
ReplyDeleteThe film? Never seen it. Want to. Edward G. Robinson is a favorite actor.
Wes Clark
I recently read Woolrich's novel - through an interlibrary loan copy - and then watched Farrow's film (from a nice VHS tape of an old AMC -sans commercials - presentation).
ReplyDeleteThe film stands alone on its own - more on that below – but, without being too spoilerish, there are some major differences from the novel. For one, in the novel, the Edward G. Robinson character is a recluse who isolates himself in his apartment and doesn't make money off of his "gifts." In fact, he feels completely cursed by them. Also, in the novel, the life of the character portrayed by Gail Russell is never in danger, it's another character - who plays a much smaller part in the film version - whose life is at risk.
I've seen the film twice; once about ten years ago and just recently. The second time, the film didn't hold up as well because, I had just read Woolrich's novel, which is excellent. Though I'm usually completely against remakes of old classics - especially Noirs - there are enough major differences between Woolrich's novel and Farrow's film, that a remake would be welcome.
That said, I'd still love to see a DVD of Farrow’s film available. The novel was supposed to be reissued in trade size paper back by Pegasus Books on January 1, 2007. Then the release date was pushed back to March 15, 2007. I pre-ordered a copy of the book From Deep Discount DVD -which is now also selling books, CDs and posters - but it has yet to arrive. It’s also available for pre-order at Amazon, and I’m sure your local mystery book retailer will stock a copy as soon as it’s available.
Has the movie, Night Has A Thousand Eyes, ever become available for purchase on DVD or VHS? I am trying to purchase for an older friend. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteKonny