A Maleta Fatídica

Although it is far from a masterpiece, "Nightfall", a low-budget film noir (stunningly photographed by Burnett Guffey), is one of Jacques Tourneur's finest films. What amazed me about "Nightfall" was the way it resembles Tourneur's previous films in its depiction of chance and coincidence. The similarity to "Out of the Past" (the duality between past and present, city and country, the use of flashbacks) is somewhat obvious. But consider the opening chance encounter between Vanning (Aldo Ray) and Marie (Anne Bancroft). It recalls the similar (though different) chance meetings between Irena and Oliver at the zoo in Tourneur's "Cat People"(1942), and Dr. Bailey and Cissie on the train at the beginning of "Experiment Perilous"(1944). If you watch it closely at the opening scenes, Marie's seat beside Vanning at the bar is empty BEFORE she appears. So, we expect the seat to be filled. I didn't notice it when I first saw the film, but critic Chris Fujiwara's observations in his splendid book, JACQUES TOURNEUR:THE CINEMA OF NIGHTFALL, were immensely helpful. Fujiwara adroitly notes, "Throughout Nightfall, chance and unconscious processes determine key events. Tourneur's standard procedure of showing the effect before the cause underlies the inexplicability of these events, their fantastic nature".

Jacques Tourneur's Nightfall follows the classic Film-Noir pattern: a man hunted by someone for something he did in the past, a beautiful woman, expressionist black and white photography etc..

The action of the film takes place in Chicago where James Vanning (Aldo Ray), meets in a bar a beautiful young fashion model Marie Gardner (Anne Bancroft). There is instant liking between them. Everything seems fine till James is picked up by two strange individuals whom as we understand he knew before and who begin to interrogate him, threatening his life, about a big amount of money that he supposedly possess and that actually belongs to them. James manages to escape and takes refuge at Marie's home. He's obliged to tell her the story about his past that led those to men to hunt him. The story which is shown to us in flash back sequences.

Though Nightfall doesn't stand comparison to Jacques Tourneur Film-Noir masterpiece Out of the Past, it's still quite an interesting film generally well acted with some very good dialogs in it and the most remarkable end sequence that probably served as an inspiration for the ending of brothers' Coen Fargo. 7/10

There were a few reasons for wanting to see 'Nightfall'. The premise did intrigue, and film noir-type films are right up my street. That it was directed by Jacques Tourneur was also a plus, being one of many people who loves 'Out of the Past'. Have always loved Anne Bancroft ever since 'The Miracle Worker', the film and her performance in that are still powerful. Was really hoping that it would live up to its potential rather than being another potential waste.

Seeing it, 'Nightfall' doesn't live up to full potential and could have been better. It though is not a waste, despite the story being wanting and the lead performance being uneven 'Nightfall' is compensated hugely by the production values, atmosphere and the rest of the cast. It is fun and atmospheric, though falls short of greatness. So another one of those recommended films, while not raving about it or rating it an absolute essential.

'Nightfall' has a lot of good things. It looks great for one thing, it is really amazing that it is low budget when it looks better than a lot of films made on a higher budget. Especially striking is the photography, which is at its best pretty exquisite and creates a truly haunting atmosphere. The locations are beautifully used too, especially the snow-covered Wyoming. Tourneur's direction impresses in a lot of areas, he always had a keen eye for creating atmosphere that was evident throughout 'Out of the Past' and evident here too. He succeeds too in allowing the film to move quickly in general. The score is suitably ominous.

Enough of the script is thought provoking and taut and the story engrosses more often than not and has some nice suspense. The climax is very memorable and tensely staged, while the murder scene absolutely chills. Most of the cast are strong, especially alluring Bancroft as the film's most interesting character and Brian Keith is a good unsettling presence too. She and Aldo Ray have a good sensual yet uneasy chemistry together that really worked with the film.

Did think however that 'Nightfall' could have been better. While there is definitely atmosphere and while it didn't bore me, the story (as well as not being a particularly unique one on the whole) is on the implausible side at points and is too unlikely coincidence heavy. It is especially not too easy to swallow towards the end. The script generally could have been tighter, early on is a little talky.

Opinions on Ray's performance here are rather mixed, my feelings on him personally are pretty mixed too. He is effective enough later on but he starts wooden and it takes a while for him to get properly comfortable in a role that could have been better fleshed out.

Concluding, not great but worth watching. 7/10.

Jacques Tourneur used his vast reserves of creativity to turn small-budget films into fascinating movie-going experiences. If "Out of the Past" is one of the best films noir to be released in the 1940s, then "Nightfall" must be one of the best from the succeeding decade.

Aldo Ray plays James Vanning, who, with his doctor friend Edward Gurston (Frank Albertson), finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up knowing the whereabouts of a bag of stolen money, wanted mightily by two bank robbers (one played with droll relish by Brian Keith). Fate, always a principal character in any film noir, brings James together with Marie Gardner (an impossibly young Anne Bancroft), a fashion model who becomes his girl Friday. Meanwhile, an insurance investigator (James Gregory) working on behalf of the robbed bank has James's number and comes calling. All of these characters finally collide in a memorable and rather grisly ending.

"Nightfall" is tremendously stylish and playful. It very much resembles Tourneur's earlier noir, "Out of the Past," in its thesis that a man can run but never hide from his past. But it also reminded me of "On Dangerous Ground," Nicholas Ray's strange offering from 1952, in its juxtaposition of a shadow-filled urban environment filled with anonymous (and perhaps dangerous) strangers with the wide open (and no less frightening) spaces of the country, where anything can happen and no one will know. I don't know if Aldo Ray was considered a good actor at the time, but he does a terrific job here -- who better to play an American everyman caught up in a sticky web than this all-American jock of an actor? He and Bancroft sizzle in their scenes together, and one of the movie's highlights comes when they are racing away from one of Bancroft's fashion shows with the bad guys in hot pursuit, and Ray, frustrated by the fact that Bancroft can't run in the impractical gown she was just modeling, picks her up and runs with her into the safety of a cab, after which she leans against him and says, "You're the most wanted man I know." This scene and line got laughs and applause at the screening I attended, but you could tell that people were laughing with the film and not at it.

This film is one of the highlights of the noir genre, and I highly recommend catching it if you get a chance.

Grade: A

A terrific B-movie with A-list credentials, (Jacques Tourneur directed, Stirling Silliphant did the screenplay from a David Goodis novel, Burnett Guffey was the cinematographer and the cast included Aldo Ray, Anne Bancroft, Brian Keith, James Gregory and Jocelyn Brando though it is Rudy Bond's psycho-killer who steals the movie). It's a tale of robbery and murder and of an innocent dupe, (Ray), who gets caught up in both. It's economical almost to a fault; there certainly isn't a wasted moment in all of its 78 minutes and you can see how it might have influenced the Coen Brothers yet for some reason it's almost totally unknown. Seek it out immediately.