Volo notturno

FLY BY NIGHT was made in 1942, shortly after the USA had joined WWII, and you keep getting messages about buying goods to support the war effort. That said, the action in the movie is as far removed from the war as a mouse from a cat.

Director Siodmak does a good job of keeping the action ticking despite a script that, for the first third, struck me as a clear rip-off of Alfred Hitckcock's THE 39 STEPS (UK 1935), and that includes surprisingly pleasant touches of humor, especially as the couple pretend to be married and see circumstances force them into marriage.

Carlson and Kelly make a handsome and likable leading duo, aided by a good if largely unknown support cast. Photography is of an acceptable standard.

This B pic deserves watching - short, breezy, sweet, no waste of time!

I fell in love with black and white films of the '30s and '40s when I was a young teenager, and I always remembered Fly by Night as one of my favorites. For years I couldn't find it, and I was so happy to discover it this weekend again. I'm a bit more discerning than I was at 10 or 11 (at least of old movies), so I recognize now that it's not Hitchcock-caliber. But I still found it delightful. Richard Carlson and Nancy Kelly are wonderfully matched. There is just the right amount of light tension, lots of action, and throughout, after the first scene, humor and sophistication and unexpected fun. I must say, this is in no way a film noir! It has none of the elements of noir --- no antihero with moral qualms, no "bad girl," and especially because it's much too lighthearted (the music with the ending credits makes that clear, if you aren't sure!). I've seen it referred to as a screwball comedy-mystery, but I wouldn't call it that, either. It's not screwball, just fun with mystery and actors who can pull it off. It's a frothy concoction, a cocktail with a scoop of ice cream and unexpected lingering flavors. (I couldn't otherwise have remembered it for decades!) It's an original.

Saw it when I was in high school and enjoyed the auto driving backwards off the auto-carrier. Am looking for a VHS or DVD copy. Any suggestions. I found out later that this picture was Nancy Kelly's first picture for Paramount. Also believe that Ms Kelly displayed her nice legs at least 2 times ,with Richard Carlson covering them up by pulling down her skirt, as she was lying ,havng fainted, on a couch. I think , if I remember correctly, that Richard Carlson, was a innocent man that got involved and could not help himself. Even though it was ab picture, the director gave it plenty of suspense and action. The best naturally, was the great ending. Naturally , it was a long time ago , but it made quite an impression on me,especially since it was during the War. As I said before , I would be happy to find even a good copy of this film.

Lots of superior, busy, jobbing actors and an excellent screenplay elevate an otherwise silly, farfetched yarn which has been told a thousand times before.

Chap goes on the run to clear his name and initially unenthusiastic girl gets roped in to help and everything works out in the end.

The chemistry between the leads is fun to watch and there are some laugh out loud moments even after eighty years. My favourite is the scene in the shrinks office, when the doctor has a fit when the shrink lights a match! There are other delicious comedic moments, too.

Despite the silliness, it's not a screwball comedy. Despite some deaths, it's not really a mystery thriller, either. It has a light touch of espionage, though.

Well worth a watch.

At this moment it's on YouTube under the heading 'Fly By Night (1942)'.

Doctor Richard Carlson is accosted by an escaped madman, babbling about a respected scientist, a train station check, and G-32. While Carlson is on the telephone, the man is knifed. Carlson tries to tend to him, but the police break in and are about to arrest him, when he goes out a window and winds up in Nancy Kelly's room.

Robert Siodmak's second American feature spends its first half looking like a tired retread of Hitchcock's THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS. I grumpily noted that Nancy Kelly comes to trust Carlson awfully rapidly and the humor is both more forced and mechanical; there's none of Robert Donat's loopy "How could this be happening to me?" humor. It's in the second half, when Carlson and Kelly are actually tracking down the Maguffin's mystery, that it goes off on its own track. At this point, the movie comes into its own, with a shocking denouement that renders it worthwhile.

Within a few years, Siodmak would be directing solid film noir movies. Given the Hitchcock background, one would think this would be an early film noir, but John Seitz' camerawork is far too American and brightly lit and cheery. When it came out, in January, there wasn't much of a noir impetus at Paramount. It wouldn't be until the fall, when Theodore Sparkuhl's camerawork on THE GLASS KEY showed that the company would produce a real noir.