Between Midnight and Dawn

Watch: Between Midnight and Dawn

10/1/19501h 29m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ THE STORY OF PROWL CAR 13...BASED ON THE POLICE FILES OF A GREAT CITY! ~

Overview:

Rocky and Dan, war buddies, are prowl car cops on night duty. Dan is a cynic who views all lawbreakers as scum; Rocky feels more lenient. Both are attracted to the radio voice of communicator Kate Mallory; but in person, Kate proves reluctant to get involved with men who just might stop a bullet. By lucky chance, Rocky and Dan cause big trouble for murderous racketeer Ritchie Garris; but when he swears vengeance, Kate's fears may prove justified.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

police brutality
police
love triangle
woman between two men
escaped convict
film noir
mobster
organized crime
secretary
police officer
police stakeout
good cop bad cop
buddy cop
escaped prisoner
nightclub singer
patrol car
prowl car
police shootout
nightclub performer
racketeer
buddies
escaped killer
murdered cop
war buddies
gangland killing
night patrol
police procedural
police dragnet
patrol officer

Cast

Mark Stevens

~ as ~

Officer Rocky Barnes

Edmond O'Brien

~ as ~

Officer Dan Purvis

Gale Storm

~ as ~

Katharine 'Kate' Mallory

Donald Buka

~ as ~

Ritchie Garris

Gale Robbins

~ as ~

Terry Romaine

Anthony Ross

~ as ~

Police Lt. Masterson

Roland Winters

~ as ~

Leo Cusick

Tito Vuolo

~ as ~

Romano

Grazia Narciso

~ as ~

Mrs. Romano

Madge Blake

~ as ~

Mrs. Mallory

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 9 year(s) ago
7
Here, buy yourself a new head. One with a brain in it!

Between Midnight and Dawn is directed by Gordon Douglas and adapted to screenplay by Eugene Ling from a story by Gerald Drayson Adams and Leo Katcher. It stars Edmond O'Brien, Mark Stevens, Gale Storm, Donald Buka and Gale Robbins. Music is by George Duning and cinematography by George E. Diskant.

Stevens and O'Brien play two prowl car cops, long time friends who fall for the same woman (Storm), but that could never come between them. That's the job of rising crime boss Ritchie Garris (Buka)...

On the page it looked as if it easily could have got bogged down by romantic threads and buddy buddy cop formula. Thankfully that isn't the case. Finding its way into a number of film noir publications, it's a pic that only just qualifies on account of certain narrative thematics and the night time photography of the always excellent Diskant.

On its own terms anyway it's a damn good policer, one that is handled with knowing direction from Douglas and features the reassuring presences of Stevens and O'Brien, both of whom play cops with different attitudes to the job, but both believable and never played as trite good cop bad cop fodder.

In the lady corner are Storm and Robbins, the former in the middle of our twin testosterone fuelled coppers, and the latter the gangster's moll. Both sultry and beautiful - even if Storm is sporting a hairstyle that equally is both distracting for the character and does her obvious sexiness no favours, but both the gals are written with thought and performed as such.

Then there is Buka as scumbag Garris. This character clearly has ideas above his station, something which our coppers gleefully like to remind him of. But Garris is a nasty piece of work, which ultimately leads us to a thrilling and suspenseful finale. Buka (The Street with No Name) really should have had a bigger noir/crime film career.

Sometimes funny and laced with choice dialogue, this still also manages to impact with dramatic, suspenseful and attention grabbing scenes. This a film that's easy to recommend to lovers of 40s/50s policer movies; it's also pretty bloody for the time. There's a great crew behind this and they don't let anyone down. 7/10