Between Midnight and Dawn

Notable for its unusual shifts in nuance, tone and timbre, 'Between Midnight and Dawn' opens as a fly on the wall docu-noir, detailing the experiences of prowl car cops Stevens and O' Brien, during the hours of the title. Stevens' increased interest in Gale Storm results in a gawky, screwball rom-com sequence in which O'Brien finds himself cast as the disgruntled, gauche, threes-a-crowd outsider. Latterly, the movie returns to base as a ruthless hood vs dedicated cops drama. Impressively scripted, acted and executed, including a prolonged, compelling, must see car chase, 'Between Midnight and Dawn' is one of the more laudable second division noirs. With the odd curve ball thrown in for good measure, it's worth an extensive prowl to seek out.

With World War 2 behind them and Korea in the future, film makers turned to crime dramas, which ultimately bled over into the nascent TV industry. Some of the more memorable police dramas from the 50s include "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" (1950), "Where the Sidewalk Ends" (1950), "Detective Story" (1951), "The Big Heat" (1953), "The Big Combo" (1955), "The Phenix City Story" (1955), and "Touch of Evil" (1958). Many of these films had film noir elements, but the current film has neither film noir nor anything particularly special to recommend it. The acting is good, especially from Edmond O'Brien ("The Killers", "The Wild Bunch", "The Barefoot Contessa", "Seven Days in May", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance") The film's director Gordon Douglas ("Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", "I was a Communist for the FBI", "The Detective", "The Great Missouri Raid", "The Iron Mistress", "Them") keeps the action moving along. But with so many better police dramas from this era, it's hard to recommend this one.

An American Cinematheque presentation at The Egyptian. B-movie, second-feature that plays as a cross between classic noir and serial melodrama. As such, it's easy to see how it's often credited with being a predecessor of the police procedural. Stevens and O'Brian play two likable LAPD patrol cops. Gale Storm the wholesome new dispatch girl who keeps their attention at night. Most of the movie deals with the growing and affectionately written romance between Stevens and Storm, making the whole thing seem at times like a vintage episode of 'Payton Place'. But make no mistake, we're in noir territory, and it's only a matter of time before we're dealing with gangsters, their molls, heartbreaking tragedy and small children being held from eighth floor windows. The leads are so charismatic, and the writing so sharp, that it's almost impossible not to like this film. Another little post-war gem of a movie.

Dan (Edmond O'Brien) and Rocky (Mark Stevens) are cops who are working the night shift. They are partners and darned good policemen. Their personalities are a bit different--Dan is very intense and Rocky is more laid back and a ladies' man. When they meet up with a pretty new policewoman (Gale Storm), Rocky soon falls for her and vice-versa. In fact, they plan on marrying. However, a nasty racketeer, Ritchie Garris, ends up spelling doom for the young couple's plans--and Dan is determined to capture this thug once and for all. There's really nothing that spectacular about this cop film. Instead, it excels at focusing on seemingly normal cops and showing them in a somewhat non-Hollywood manner. While Dan is a bit stereotypical as the tough cop, Rocky and the rest of the film violate the usual expectations for police films. It's very watchable, well made and very well acted. not exactly film noir, though, as it's a cop film and the crooks are secondary.