Der Tod war schneller

Just saw this in a double bill with Six Bridges To Cross (another Tony Curtis noir from the same era, also directed by Joseph Pevney) as part of the American Cinematheque Film Noir Festival. What a buried treasure! Pevney was wonderful at rich characterization and the portrayal of the Italian family in this story is nothing less than one of the most heartwarming and charming in cinematic history! Argentina is priceless as the matriarch, outdoing Olympia Dukakis' similar role in Moonstruck. Well-defined roles, clever psychological dynamics and a downright pithy script lift this far above the average crime melodrama, which you might otherwise suspect this would be based on its seemingly standard "cop goes against system to avenge death of his friend" plotline. However, there is a lot more going on in this picture and the performances are uniformly excellent. More importantly, while there is mucho complexity inviting lots of analytical "academic flapdoodle," this is at the heart a highly entertaining piece which lays out a challenging conflict and finds a way to nimbly avoid the cliches and build to an ultimately satisfying solution. If you are a fan of noir or the versatile Tony Curtis, don't miss the chance to see Curtis shine in the straight man cop role for once... If you just like a good crime drama, you'll also want to check this neglected diamond in the rough!

When young, I saw this movie three or four times, and from then I have not seen more: not TV exhibits, not video edition (at least in my country) and no DVD edition (as I know). Instead, I keep a formidable memory of it: a crime story where the humanity of the characters reveals to be the most important thing: Tony Curtis searches a murderer, and takes friendship with Gilbert Roland, and fall in love with Roland's sister, Marisa Pavan. But Roland is the murderer that he has searched, and when he discovers that, explodes the human conflict --the friendship, the treason, the love-- and that gives the force of the film. Perhaps it is the masterpiece of Pevney, a modest director with some interesting movies, today forgotten in favour of others directors and movies not always betters than theirs. I wished that more people could see this film, and appreciate its valors and quality. A modest story of friendship and crime.

This is really a great early role for Tony Curtis. Curtis plays Joe Martini, a San Francisco cop who got his job on the force through the recommendation of Father Thomasino, and who was in an orphanage from age six after the death of his parents, with Thomasino taking him under his wing and being a father figure to him. So naturally Joe takes it personally when Thomasino is murdered in an alley by an unknown assailant. The priest is beloved in the neighborhood, had no enemies, so the police are stumped. However, they get tired of rookie Joe butting in during the investigation and he turns in his badge so he can investigate on his own.

He has one hunch. He was a pallbearer at Thomasino's funeral, and on the way out of the church he sees a man in great distress, his hands clutching a rosary so tightly his fists are bleeding. The man is Sylvio Malatesta (Gilbert Roland), who owns a local fish market. So Joe goes undercover, posing as a guy looking for a job saying that Father Thomasino was going to recommend him to Malatesta, but that he died before he could. Well, it works. Not only does Malatesta give him a job, he invites him to bunk with his family for awhile. So Joe quickly becomes friends with Sylvio, he actually likes him, and in the Malatestas he finds the family he never had.

There are a few weird things about Malatesta. Apparently he has walked the floor of his bedroom for years - he still does. And he was once engaged to a girl in Italy during WWII, but then she died and he has shown no real interest in marriage since. So Malatesta is indeed a troubled soul, but his troubles predate Thomasino's death by years, and he has an apparent alibi for the night of Thomasino's murder. Can Joe punch holes in that alibi? Does he even want to now that Sylvio's family has become like his family? Watch and find out.

Roland and Curtis are great in this. They have a real brotherly chemistry that makes this film worth watching every bit as much as the murder mystery itself. The only bad thing I can say about the film are the Italian stereotypes. Marisa Pavan plays Sylvio's cousin Anna who plays it over the top with her Italian shrew routine who is either bubbling with anger that comes out of nowhere, slamming doors and throwing things, and then suddenly she is all sweet and doe eyed. It did get tiresome. Then there is Mama Malatesta who acts like a calmed down version of Anna. But besides that, I'd highly recommend this one.

Tony Curtis stars in "The Midnight Story" from 1957. The film also featured Gilbert Roland, Marisa Pavan, Argentina Brunetti, J. C. Flippen, and Herb Vigran.

When a beloved priest is killed in San Francisco, Joe Martini (Curtis) takes it very hard, as the priest was in charge of an orphanage where Martini once lived. At the funeral, he spots a man, Sylvio (Roland) who seems extremely agitated over the priest's death. He decides to investigate.

When he can't get permission from his superiors, Joe resigns and infiltrates himself into Sylvio's life, even to the point of staying at his house. He falls in love with Anna (Pavan) who is Sylvio's cousin and lives in the house.

However, in trying to check Sylvio's alibi for the night the priest was killed, he's not able to verify it. When he finally is, he proposes to Anna. At their engagement party, his old boss has some bad news for him.

I wasn't as enthusiastic about this film as others on IMDb. I found it very overwrought, even taking into account that the acting style back then was more overt.

Curtis, however, was wonderful as a determined young man, one of warmth and charm, as his emotions get in the way while attempting to learn the truth about his newfound friend.

Curtis was one of four hot Hollywood hunks in the '50s along with fellow Universal star Rock Hudson, 20th Century Fox's Robert Wagner, and Warner's Tab Hunter. Of the four, I feel Tony was the best actor - certainly the only one with stage experience - and exhibited more range than the others.

This is a pretty good movie that will keep you interested.

While "The Midnight Story" is not among Tony Curtis' more famous films, it is among his better films. The fact that it's a story told without spectacle (such as in "The Vikings") might just account for it being lesser-known...but it deserves to be seen and appreciated.

Joe Martini (Curtis) is a cop who is incredibly upset following the brutal murder of a local priest. This kindly man had helped Joe when he lost his family and Joe is determined to investigate the murder on his own when the detectives can find no leads. So he takes a leave of absence and follows up his one very tenuous lead...a man he saw at the funeral who seemed more affected by the priest's death than anyone else. So, Joe befriends Sylvio (Gilbert Roland) and tries to slowly and casually investigate Sylvio's actions the night of the murder. However, something unexpected happens...Sylvio is so taken with his new 'friend' that he invites Joe to live with him and his family. Now, Joe's in a bind...as he's practically family with the man who MIGHT have killed the priest!

The acting is very good in this one and Gilbert Roland and Tony Curtis put in really nice performances. Additionally, the story is well written--with a dandy finale. Well worth your time.