So Dark the Night

So Dark the Night is directed by Joseph H. Lewis and written by Dwight V. Babcock, Martin Berkeley and Aubrey Wisberg. It stars Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, Eugene Borden, Ann Codee and Egon Brecher. Music is by Hugo Friedhofer and cinematography by Burnett Guffey.

Henri Cassin (Geray) is a well regarded Parisian detective who while on a much earned vacation falls in love with innkeeper's daughter Nanette Michaud. However, with Nanette already having a boyfriend, and a tempestuous one at that, true love does not run smooth, especially when murder enters the fray and Cassin has to start investigating the tricky case.

It all begins so perky, with jolly music, smiling faces and brightly lighted compositions, so much so I had actually thought I had loaded the wrong film to watch! Once Henri Cassin arrives at Le Cheval Noir (The Black Horse) in the rural town of St. Margot, however, the whole tone of the film shifts into darker territory. The apple cart is well and truly turned upside down and various character traits start to come into play - with the various main players suddenly becoming an interesting bunch. Enter hunchbacked man, jealous guy, love sick chamber maid, weak parents et al...

Joseph Lewis (My Name Is Julia Ross - Gun Crazy - The Big Combo) does a top job in recreating a French town with what no doubt was a small budget, yet his greatest strengths here are his visual ticks, in how he manages to fill the picture with the requisite psychological discord that craftily haunts the edges of the frames until they be ready for maximum impact. In partnership with ace photographer Guffey, Lewis brings tilted angles and black shadowy shadings to this French hot- bed of lust and character disintegration. He also has a nifty bent for filming scenes through windows and bars, while his filming of a rippled water reflection cast onto a character's face is as significant a metaphor as can be. Also note scenes involving a rocking chair, a dripping tap and a deft window splice sequence that signifies that the psychological walls are tumbling down.

Something of a rare picture given that who the director is, this definitely is of interest to the film noir loving crowd. The finale will not surprise too many, but it doesn't cop out by soft soaping the topic to hand. It also serves to show that the great Joseph H. Lewis could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 7/10

Now available as part of the Columbia Film Noir Classics IV Collection.

The famous French detective Henri Cassin takes his first vacation in 11 years in St. Margot where he meets Nanette, the daughter of the vacation spot proprietors. Despite Nanette being promised to childhood sweetheart Leon, Henri and Nanette fall in love and decide to marry, despite Nanette's father objecting due to Henri's age. On the day of their wedding, Leon returns and Nanette runs after him. Nothing is heard of the two until both are found dead, and Henri swears he won't rest until he can find the killer. The only clue Henri has to work with is a footprint found by Leon, but he is also getting written warnings that others will die soon. Soon Nanette's mother is found dead and Henri has no idea as to the identity of the killer. Thinking himself a failure he returns to Paris, then he realizes (and fears) that the killer can be only one person, even though none of his colleagues can believe his explanation. Out of the ordinary murder mystery that doesn't really follow the formula in other of the genre by Columbia or other B studios. Credit to that certainly goes to director Lewis who does manage to turn this into a noirish film despite the setting of the film, also aided by the use of good camera-work and lighting. Geray turns in a very good performance in probably his only lead and the rest of the cast is able to carry their performance. Rating, 8.

STEVEN GERAY never got to play the leads in most of his films at Columbia, but he gets his chance here as a detective badly in need of a vacation in the French countryside. As in all such stories, he has no time to relax because he's soon involved in a double murder.

The trouble with the film, for the most part directed stylishly by Joseph H. Lewis, is that it takes too long to become absorbed in the plot involving a double murder. The bucolic country scenes never develop the characters fully and they don't really come alive until we're midway through the story. And then, as the detective begins to study the case, the plot takes a twist in another direction entirely.

It's a minor entry in the films that were taking on more psychological tones in the early '40s, but I can't say there's anything memorable about the characters or the script. But for a film produced on a shoestring budget, it's a lot better than you might expect.

Without a vacation in eleven years, eminent police detective Henri Cassin (Steven Geray) welcomes the opportunity for a well earned rest in the village of St. Margot, staying at Le Cherval Noir guest house. He quickly draws the attention of the owner's attractive daughter, Nanette (Micheline Cheirel). Apart from a significant difference in their ages, another slight problem exists.....she is engaged to imposingly handsome agricultural worker, Leon (Paul Marion). Having been childhood sweethearts their relationship is well entrenched, to the extent that the small community is eagerly anticipating the big day.

As Cheiriel and Geray grow ever more passionate and Marion is pushed to the margins of her life, he makes no secret of his jealousy, anger and an explosive temper, like a cork off a champagne bottle....not that he could afford a bottle of champagne. Aah, there's the rub, he is poor in stark contrast to the wealthy, dapper detective. Quizzically, Cheiriel and Marion promptly disappear for several days, amidst rumours that they have eloped. When a local yokel has a hunch that Cheiriel's corpse is floating in the river, a horrified Geray confirms that she has been murdered prior to her body being dumped in the water. The volatile Marion immediately becomes the main suspect, but on arrival at his farm, he is found dead too. An apparent suicide, the perceptive detective concludes that this is another murder. Soon, disconcerting, anonymous notes begin appearing, penned in unidentifiable handwriting, threatening further murders.

At length, with no more insight into the mystifying case than any of the hicks from the sticks, the defeated, deflated detective decides to return to Paris by train, (via Bristol apparently), compelled to question both his ability and state of mind.

Not a mega, must see movie, but a curiously off beat entry in an unusual setting. Seldom seen and worthy of further investigation for noir junkies. Bonne chance !

"So Dark the Night" is a frustrating film to watch. That's because it's such a high quality film and yet the finale is amazingly unsatisfying. In fact, up until near the end of the movie I might have give the film an 8 (a great score for a low-budget B-movie)--but because of the ridiculously improbable ending, I think it earns a 6.

As I mentioned above, this film is a low-budget B-movie. None of the stars of the film have household names, though if you adore old films, you will at least recognize the face of the leading man, Steven Geray. Geray has a very rare chance to star here--usually he's a supporting actor and is hardly the leading man type. However, he's wonderful in this role and shows he really was a fine actor. The other star of the film is the director--Joseph H. Lewis. He was able to make the movie look great--a lot better than a normal B-movie. And, you'd swear the project took more than just 16 to complete.

The story is about a famous French detective. He's highly respected but also a workaholic who desperately needs a vacation. So, he goes to a quite rural town where he is warmly welcomed. However, soon there are a pair of murders--and the detective's vacation is brought to an end. However, this killer is no ordinary murderer--this one has the detective totally stumped. At this point in the film, I was pretty impressed. What did NOT impress me was the weird psychological twist at the end of the film--it seemed a bit silly and just didn't work for me. It's a shame, as up until then it really was a pretty good film. Still, despite this silly twist, it's not a bad movie. See it yourself and let me know what you think about the ending.