blanche-2 The wonderful Jacques Tourneur directed this 1957 noir, "Nightfall," starring Aldo Ray, Anne Bancroft, Brian Keith, James Gregory, and Frank Albertson.James Vanning (Aldo Ray) is on the run from some vicious criminals who have stolen a fortune from a bank. He and his doctor friend (Frank Albertson) had the misfortune to meet these men, who took the doctor bag instead of the $350 grand they stole! They believe that Ray, an innocent party, knows where in the Wyoming mountains the money is.Back in the city, Vanning meets a model (Bancroft) and this is picked up by two of the crooks. He manages to get away and goes to Bancroft's place; since the thugs know who she is, the two of them have to go on the run.Tourneur's themes here are similar to his other films, such as "Cat People," "Out of the Past," "Experiment Perilous" as three examples: Chance meetings and coincidence dominate a story where Tourneur uses flashbacks expertly. Here, two innocent people are drawn into a situation and being pursued.Very absorbing story -- in her early films, beautiful Anne Bancroft, a powerful actress, was cast in these young leading lady or ingenue roles, like Bette Davis when she first came to Warners. Bancroft brings an interesting, smoky quality to the role of a woman who has an unhappy past with men. Aldo Ray has never been a favorite of mine, but he is effective here. He looks like a character actor, though he played leads, and though he has a husky voice and appearance, there's a gentle quality in his manner. James Gregory has always been good, and he's good here as a detective who wants to get down to the truth.The black and white photography is very striking and really adds to the film. Jacques Tourneur made some excellent films; though he obviously didn't have a huge budget for this one and his star had descended somewhat, he still had what it took to make a strong film.

GManfred Can't tell you how much I enjoyed "Nightfall" (but I'll try). It's another masterpiece from director Maurice Tourneur, who has managed to squeeze a great deal of storyline out of just 78 minutes of film. A guy and his doctor friend are camping out when two bank robbers crash their car near their campsite (don't you hate when that happens?). They terrorize the two, shoot the doctor, wreck the campsite and take the wrong satchel when leaving. Our hero finds the one with the money and thinks he has struck it rich and makes his way to Chicago. From hereon he is hunted for the rest of the picture.Tourneur builds suspenseful scene upon suspenseful scene as the picture careens towards its unpredictable ending, which is not really a Film Noir ending as we know them. He gets the most out of his cast, headed by Aldo Ray, who was a limited actor but manages to be sympathetic and appealing as the hunted hunter. Much of the heavy lifting is done by Brian Keith as a bank robber and James Gregory, who was very good as the insurance investigator. Anne Bancroft is the female lead in a non-taxing role as Ray's girlfriend.Tourneur does an excellent job for an independent production company on a picture which is not in the same class as "Out Of The Past", but comes close. This is a good picture which deserves more exposure and notoriety.

drystyx What makes a good film? Credible characters in incredible circumstances.That's what we get from Tourneur in this year. This is undeniably Tourneur's best year.Two of the most suspenseful films ever, this one and CURSE OF THE DEMON.This one has a lot of flashbacks. It is the sort of film that begins very ordinary, with a "status quo" effect, but the "status quo" is an illusion. There is nothing "status quo" about this, as we learn later.What works so well is the very thing that makes this a film that would be screwed up today. Indeed, it has been screwed up today. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is the same story, only not told as well.Why is that? Both are stories of an "Everyman" who chances upon mob money. Both have an aloof family man investigating the incident, caught up in a case seemingly over his head. Both have a psychotic killer.This one differs in the three dimensional characters. Today, the killers would have to be depicted as "gods" who couldn't be killed except by super humans. By today's standards, this film is the epitome of iconoclastic "blasphemy". It would horrify the beavis and buttheads of today by showing the outlaws to be mere mortals.And that's what makes this special. The two killers are real characters, not some made up one dimensional cutout. Real gangsters are mortals. They have their insecurities. That doesn't go over well today, probably because rich mobsters need to keep the "myth" alive that they are invulnerable.We wind up with five characters in search of....just in search. The five come to a climax, and it's quite credible. It wouldn't go over today, because too many people today have never been outside away from their safe cubicles. In 1957, there were more mature people, people who may not have been better, but certainly had a grasp of reality. Today, movie makers don't have to appeal to this crowd. They only have to appease the brats who have no idea what real danger is like.And that's why this film is a great film. The characters all make mistakes. It's easy to second guess with a rewind button, but real life has no rewind buttons. Real life is insecure.

buff-29 Aside from some of the black-and-white photography and a sexy turn by Jocelyn Brando, there is nothing interesting about this movie. The "plot" is one stupid contrivance after another, all adding up to pretty much nothing. The sappy, dippy happy ending ("and they all went to the seashore") denies it any standing as a "noir" film, never mind a "noir masterwork" like the clunks at Film Forum in New York call it. It is kind of fun to see a really good print of one of these old clunkers, but I can't help wondering why anybody bothered. Now I am wondering why I bothered to write this review; maybe to keep just one person from wasting a trip down to Houston St.