Film Review
Nocturne may not be the
slickest or most original of film noir escapades (the plot similarities
to Otto Preminger's far superior
Laura are hard to overlook) but
it is a moderately entertaining ramble over familiar territory, its
needlessly convoluted crime narrative somehow finding a way to include
some surpising comic interludes. The film was directed by Edwin
Marin, a competent but seldom inspired filmmaker, towards the end of
his busy career, and produced by Joan Harrison, a long-time
collaborator of Alfred Hitchcock.
George Raft does what he does best, playing the hardboiled cop who is
ever ready to deliver a pithy putdown or a punch in the solar plexus,
always looking like a man who has somehow wandered into a film studio
(or acting career) by mistake. Raft may not have been the
greatest actor in the world, but here, in the role of the maverick cop
who is clearly a forerunner of Clint Eastwood's
Dirty Harry, he appears strangely
at home, having to contend not only with a glamorous entourage of
suspected murderesses and a bellicose thug who is badly in need of a
few English lessons, but also an interfering mother who just can't help
taking an active interest in his work and his love life. It would
only have taken a small nudge to turn
Nocturne
into an outright comedy, and it would probably have been a much better
film if it had gone this way.
Every decent film noir deserves at least one luscious femme fatale to
set the pulse racing and this one offers several, beginning with Lynn
Bari at her most alluring and mischievous as Raft's reluctant playmate
(she seems to be the only member of the cast who sees the humorous side
of things). Making a stunning screen debut is the radiant
Virginia Huston, who would become a film noir regular, best known today
for playing alongside Robert Mitchum in
Out of the Past (1947).
The even more glamorous Myrna Dell proves to be a born focus-stealer in
her few put memorable scenes, relishing the film's best line: "He was
a lady killer. But don't get any ideas. I ain't no lady." With so
much high voltage girl power at its disposal,
Nocturne could hardly fail to
entertain, although the muddled plot (which is rendered virtually
incomprehensible by some last minute editing) makes it something of a
mind bender.
© James Travers 2013
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Whilst entertaining a woman in his apartment one evening, a composer
named Keith Vincent is composing a farewell song to his latest amorous
conquest. The next day, he is found dead, and the police have
every reason to believe he shot himself. The only cop who is
unconvinced by the suicide verdict is Joe Warne, who doggedly begins an
investigation to uncover the musician's killer. The only clue he
has is the name 'Dolores' written by the dead man on a sheet of music
paper. Unfortunately, it turns out that Vincent had a string of
former lovers, all of whom he referred to by this name. Convinced
that one of these women is the murderer, Warne sets out to question
them all. The prime suspect is Frances Ransom, a glamorous
brunette who clearly has something to hide...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.