Un privé dans la nuit

An odd collection of stars.. brent spiner from star trek. Jean simmons, star of a thousand old movies. James coburn, who has made films in every genre. Jason miller, who was father karras in excorcist. This started as a miniseries, shown over several nights, but is currently on tubi streaming channel, and clocks in at three hours. When ham nash, private eye, is hired to recover stolen diamonds, we go on a grand adventure. With some dead bodies. And addiction. And cults. Bombings. A little of everything! It rambles here and there, similar to the big sleep, but even the rambling is fun to watch. It's a murder mystery, broken into three parts. And no, it really didn't need to be this long; it easily could have been two, maybe two and a half hours. Lots of jazz, in between the action. Long pauses. There seemed to be some slow motion here and there. And if you're wondering why dain is spelled that way, it's someone's name. I'm a huge hammett fan, so i found it entertaining. Some might find the story too slow, but it all gets wrapped up neatly by the end.

In Dashiell Hammett's world, nothing was ever what it seemed and people were mysteries to be unwrapped layer by layer. The characters in the "Maltese Falcon" and "The Thin Man" were enigmas to Sam Spade and Nick Charles and so it is in "The Dain Curse." If you are looking for a simple plot, go elsewhere. The hero of the novel was a nameless detective known as "The Continental Op." In the movie, the hero is Hamilton Nash (a nod to Hammett who once was a Pinkerton detective). The film captures the flavor of Hammett's writing and is well cast (look for Jean Simmons in a supporting role, Hector Elizondo as a local sheriff, Brent Spiner as a baddie and Sidney Tolar (the last film Charlie Chan) in a minor role. James Coburn is well suited to the part of Nash. The show captures the flavor of the roaring '20s very well and is a must see for Hammett fans.

This confusing story begins like a movie you came into after it began.The charactors all knew each other before, and make reference to things we don't see that appear to have something to do with all the strange goings on.

It involves a weird cult, a girl who is a drug addict and who may have killed her husband, and the detectives efforts to get the girl off drugs.

Mostly it's forgettable and sometimes laughable.

The stupidest mistake here is that the cast includes Jean Simmons and they made very poor use of her talents. She only had four scenes and only spoke in two of them (in one scene she is tied up on an altar and is in danger of becoming a human sacrifice).The film could have been better if they had made the female lead older and used Simmons in the part instead of in the supporting role. Even that however, could not have made this less confusing...just more watchable!

Although Hammett's Continental Op is written as short and squatty, Coburn manages to fit the role perfectly. The novel never gives him a name, but in a four-and-a-half hour film, he of course has to have one. This is the main change from Hammett's masterful novel, which the filmmakers have wisely chosen to stick to like glue. Beware the shortened version. If you can catch the complete version, it's worth it. Excellent cast, and terrific score. Coburn has never been better, and it's always great to see Jean Simmons. Hector Olonzdo is worth watching as the sheriff. This is a terrific tale of redemption, corruption, and unrequited love. This is one of Hammett's forgotten tales, and it's amazing that it was never filmed until 1978.

I was somewhat disappointed by this movie. I love Dashiell Hammett but the video I say, just over two hours, looks like it was edited by Picasso. There were some scenes that just didn't make sense. I would really like to see the entire movie if there is one available because I found the atmosphere and acting first rate though Coburn is as far from the Continental Op as a man could be. Frank Cannon would have been more appropriate. I understand why people are confused by this movie. At its present length it makes as much sense as a Richard Simmons workout video.

ITS THE CURSE MAN - THE CURSE OF BAD EDITING