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IMDbPro

Nocturne

  • 1946
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston, and George Raft in Nocturne (1946)
Film NoirCrimeDramaMysteryThriller

In 1940s Los Angeles, when womanizing composer Keith Vincent is found dead, the inquest concludes it was a suicide but police detective Joe Warne isn't so sure.In 1940s Los Angeles, when womanizing composer Keith Vincent is found dead, the inquest concludes it was a suicide but police detective Joe Warne isn't so sure.In 1940s Los Angeles, when womanizing composer Keith Vincent is found dead, the inquest concludes it was a suicide but police detective Joe Warne isn't so sure.

  • Director
    • Edwin L. Marin
  • Writers
    • Jonathan Latimer
    • Frank Fenton
    • Rowland Brown
  • Stars
    • George Raft
    • Lynn Bari
    • Virginia Huston
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    1.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Edwin L. Marin
    • Writers
      • Jonathan Latimer
      • Frank Fenton
      • Rowland Brown
    • Stars
      • George Raft
      • Lynn Bari
      • Virginia Huston
    • 54User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos27

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    Top cast67

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    George Raft
    George Raft
    • Police Lt. Joe Warne
    Lynn Bari
    Lynn Bari
    • Frances Ransom
    Virginia Huston
    Virginia Huston
    • Carol Page
    Joseph Pevney
    Joseph Pevney
    • Ned 'Fingers' Ford
    Myrna Dell
    Myrna Dell
    • Susan Flanders
    Edward Ashley
    Edward Ashley
    • Keith Vincent
    Walter Sande
    Walter Sande
    • Detective Halberson
    Mabel Paige
    Mabel Paige
    • Mrs. Warne
    Bern Hoffman
    • Eric Torp
    • (as Bernard Hoffman)
    Queenie Smith
    Queenie Smith
    • Queenie
    Mack Gray
    Mack Gray
    • Gratz
    • (as Mack Grey)
    Lilian Bond
    Lilian Bond
    • Mrs. Billings
    • (scenes deleted)
    Broderick O'Farrell
    Broderick O'Farrell
    • Billings' Butler
    • (scenes deleted)
    William Wright
    William Wright
    • Mr. Billings
    • (scenes deleted)
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • Angry Apartment House Tenant
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Andersen
    Robert Andersen
    • Pat
    • (uncredited)
    Monya Andre
    • Woman
    • (uncredited)
    John Banner
    John Banner
    • Charles Shawn
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Edwin L. Marin
    • Writers
      • Jonathan Latimer
      • Frank Fenton
      • Rowland Brown
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews54

    6.51.8K
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    Featured reviews

    7hitchcockthelegend

    The Dolores Mystery.

    Nocturne is directed by Edwin L. Marin and adapted to screenplay by Jonathan Latimer from a story written by Roland Brown and Frank Fenton. It stars George Raft, Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston, Joseph Pevney, Myrna Dell and Edward Ashley. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Harry J. Wild.

    When Hollywood composer Keith Vincent (Ashley) is found dead in his swanky abode, the police feel it is a clear case of suicide. But there is one exception, Joe Warne (Raft), who feels it just doesn't add up. When it becomes apparent that any number of lady friends of the composer could have killed him, Joe drives himself onwards in pursuit of the truth.

    Comfort food noir. Nocturne is a Los Angeles based detective story that doffs its cap towards Otto Preminger's far superior "Laura". Raft is in suitably understated hard-bitten mode as Joe Warne risks more than just the wrath of his bosses when he becomes obsessed with finding a woman called Dolores. He is convinced she has committed a murder and the gap on the wall where a row of ladies photographs hang only fuels his obsession still further.

    As director Marin ("Johnny Angel") balances the opposing lifestyles of the principal players, taking us for a trip through the varying haunts of Los Angeles, the dialogue is pungent enough to overcome the failings of the script. A script evidently tampered with by Raft and leading to a rushed and not entirely satisfying finale. But as a mystery it works well enough as the acid tongued dames are dangled in the narrative to keep the viewer as interested as our intrepid detective is.

    Marin does a grand job of mixing suspense with action, even opening the picture with a doozy of a plot set-up that is born out by some lovely fluid camera work, and while Wild's ("Murder, My Sweet") photography and Harline's music barely break the boundaries of mood accentuation, the tech credits are admirably unfurled to ensure the picture remains in credit. It helps that the support cast is a roll call of strong "B" movie players, and Raft fans get good value from an actor who was desperately trying to get away from the thuggish characters he was by then becoming known for. 7/10
    7charlieshoemake

    Lynn Bari Was A Beauty

    Nocturne is certainly not in the 1st rank of 40's film noir movies but nevertheless has a few things going for it.....the photography, some funny lines ("one more crack like that and I'll wrap the piano around your neck"), and for me, Lynn Bari. I always thought she was ( like Hillary Brooke, Lenore Aubert, Brenda Joyce, and a few others of the 40's) an underrated, very beautiful and sophisticated actress ( of a type that no longer exists in films). Of course no-one is going to confuse George Raft with Lawrence Olivier but the rest of the cast, particularly Joe Pevney (also good in "Body and Soul") does a professional job.and makes the film worthwhile.
    cm-4

    Another quality Joan Harrison film

    A piano composer is killed in an apparent suicide, and George Raft is a detective who searches for the truth among the composer's many past girlfriends. Lynn Bari plays opposite as a dark haired, beautiful prime suspect.

    The plot needed a bit of work. Even after seeing the conclusion of the film, it is difficult understand exactly what happened. Despite this one shortcoming, the film is really watchable and moves well. The dialog is sharp and a lot of nice details are worked into the film. Look for Myrna Dell, who plays the "Tehachapi Debutante" in a supporting role.

    Joan Harrison was the producer, and the film bears her unmistakable stamp. This is a noir film, though not as dark as her earlier "Phantom Lady", which was a superior film in terms of acting and overall dynamics.

    The opening shot is technically interesting for a 1946 film as it opens up on the night skyline and continuously glides into the the composer's penthouse living room as he plays piano.
    limsgirl

    little screened melodic noir entertaining and suspenseful

    From the initial scene chronicling the murder central to the plot of Nocturne as seen from the killer's vantage point, this movie has much to sustain the viewer's interest. Whenever a stock line or situation makes you feel this is a typical hardboiled cop flick, another plot twist or cinemotographic trick changes your mind. Portions of the movie shot after hours in a deserted photographic studio remind the viewer of Harrison's Hitchcockian associations with palpable suspense. George Raft shows surprising likeability as the lead, and Lynn Bari lends sparky support as one of the ranks of the victim's past conquests-or was she?-who just might hold a clue to the identity of the deadly Dolores. If you have a chance to see this film, grab it-although it was a successful and high grossing film at the time of its release in 1946, it is extremely difficult to rent, view, or purchase today. And the music, so evocative of the forties' nightclub allure, is great.
    8bmacv

    Vivid L.A. mystery falls just short of being a classic of the noir cycle

    A spectacular aerial nightscape of Los Angeles opens Nocturne, finally gliding down over a cliffside house and zooming right into the living room. There, a playboy songwriter sits at the piano while giving the brush-off to the latest in his string of lady friends. (She's veiled in black, but get a load of her instep.) A shot rings out....

    Nocturne has a great, hard look; coupled with a nice feel for its milieu (piano bars, courtyard apartments, photography and movie studios), it adds up to one of the more vivid L.A. movies, especially when the dry winds rattle the leaves and stir up the rubbish. If in the end Nocturne doesn't quite redeem its promise, it's not for want of trying.

    Part of its problem lies in its star, George Raft, as the police detective assigned the case. A 40ish bachelor who lives with Mom (scene-stealing Mabel Paige), he has a sharp eye for willing women, including his suspects. No one ever mistook Raft for a great actor, but sometimes he fits, sometimes he doesn't. Here he's so-so, a smart-mouthed Dapper Dan who leaks not a clue as to why he's always in hot water for insubordination and excessive force (it would have been a terrific Dick Powell part).

    Raft's sleuthing takes him through the dead man's stable of exes (all of whom, for reasons that stay unexplained, he used to call `Dolores'). Among them Raft meets up with a sister act: hard-boiled brunette Lynn Bari and sweet blonde Virginia Huston, who sings in a night spot where Joseph Pevney (later to direct Shakedown, Meet Danny Wilson and Female On The Beach) entertains from a rolling piano, muscled from table to table by big, dumb Bernard Hoffman. But Raft keeps following false leads and encountering dead ends....

    One of the chief pleasures of film noir must also be counted among its drawbacks: all too often, there's a lot more style than sense. With Nocturne, that's hard to overlook, so it falls just short of being a classic installment in the noir cycle.

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      When Police Lt. Joe Warne says, "I like that alibi. It's round, it's firm, it's fully packed.", he is riffing on a phrase often used in advertising for Lucky Strike cigarettes at the time: "So round, so firm, so fully packed."
    • Goofs
      (at around 13 mins) When Joe took the "Nocturne" song sheet (aka music manuscript paper) from Vincent's home, 16 of the 20 music staffs contained musical notes and the last four staffs are empty. However, when Joe brings the song sheet home to his mother, this time 19 of the 20 music staffs contain music notes, and only the last staff is empty.
    • Quotes

      Susan: He was a ladykiller. But don't get any ideas. I ain't no lady.

    • Crazy credits
      Mack Gray (as Mack Grey) is listed in the opening credits, but not in the end credits cast of characters.
    • Connections
      Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Nocturne
      Music by Leigh Harline

      Lyrics by Mort Greene

      Sung by Virginia Huston (dubbed by Martha Mears) (uncredited)

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    FAQ15

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 21, 1948 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Nocturno
    • Filming locations
      • Brown Derby - 1628 N Vine St, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Exterior)
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 27m(87 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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