Chinatown at Midnight

Last updated
Chinatown at Midnight
Chinatown at Midnight.jpg
Directed by Seymour Friedman
Screenplay byRobert Libott
Frank Burt
Produced by Sam Katzman
Starring Hurd Hatfield
Jean Willes
Tom Powers
CinematographyHenry Freulich
Edited byEdwin H. Bryant
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • November 17, 1949 (1949-11-17)(New York City)
Running time
67 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Chinatown at Midnight is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by Seymour Friedman and starring Hurd Hatfield, Jean Willes and Tom Powers.

Contents

Plot

After a jade vase is mentioned to him by Lisa Marcel, an interior designer, Clifford Ward steals it from a Chinatown shop. He shoots and kills shopkeeper Joe Wong, who triggered the burglar alarm, and when employee Betty Chang telephones for help, Ward shoots her as well.

Ward, fluent in Chinese, speaks to the police on the phone. Telephone operator Hazel Fong becomes the only hope police have of identifying the voice. Lisa sees a photo of the stolen vase in the newspaper and immediately suspects Ward, who then adds her to his murder victims. When he falls ill and phones a neighborhood pharmacy, the call is once again placed by Hazel, who recognizes his voice. Ward attempts to flee, but the police gun him down.

Cast

Preservation status

In 2014, a pristine 35mm print of the film was struck from the Columbia Pictures archives and subsequently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keye Luke</span> American actor (1904–1991)

Keye Luke was a Chinese-American film and television actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild.

<i>Phone Booth</i> (film) 2002 thriller film

Phone Booth is a 2002 American psychological thriller film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by David Zucker and Gil Netter, written by Larry Cohen and starring Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, Radha Mitchell, and Kiefer Sutherland. In the film, a malevolent hidden sniper calls a phone booth, and when a young publicist inside answers the phone, he quickly finds his life is at risk. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office hit, grossing $97 million worldwide against a production budget of $13 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurd Hatfield</span> American actor

William Rukard Hurd Hatfield was an American actor. He is best known for having played characters of handsome, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945).

Alexander Fu Sheng, also known as Fu Sing, was a Hong Kong martial arts actor. One of Hong Kong's most talented performers, Fu rose to prominence in the 1970s starring in a string of movies with the Shaw Brothers that accrued him international stardom throughout Asia and parts of North America.

<i>Raw Deal</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by Anthony Mann

Raw Deal is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor and Marsha Hunt. It was shot by cinematographer John Alton with sets designed by the art director Edward L. Ilou. An independent production by Edward Small, it was distributed by Eagle-Lion Films.

<i>City That Never Sleeps</i> 1953 film by John H. Auer

City That Never Sleeps is a 1953 American film noir crime film directed by John H. Auer and starring Gig Young, Mala Powers, William Talman, Edward Arnold, Chill Wills, Marie Windsor, and Paula Raymond, with cinematography by John L. Russell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Dragon massacre</span> 1977 shooting in San Francisco, California, USA

The Golden Dragon massacre was a gang-related mass shooting that took place on September 4, 1977, inside the Golden Dragon Restaurant at 822 Washington Street in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, United States. The five perpetrators, members of the Joe Boys, a Chinese youth gang, were attempting to kill leaders of the Wah Ching, a rival Chinatown gang. The attack left five people dead and 11 others injured, none of whom were gang members. Seven perpetrators were later convicted and sentenced in connection with the murders. The massacre led to the establishment of the San Francisco Police Department's Asian Gang Task Force, credited with ending gang-related violence in Chinatown by 1983. The restaurant itself closed in 2006.

<i>The Unsuspected</i> 1947 film by Michael Curtiz

The Unsuspected is a 1947 American mystery film noir directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, Ted North, Constance Bennett, Joan Caulfield, and Hurd Hatfield. The film was based on the 1946 novel of the same title by Charlotte Armstrong. The screenplay was co-written by Bess Meredyth, who was married to director Curtiz.

Shui Fong, also known as the Wo On Lok (WOL), is one of the main Triad groups in Southern China, operating especially in Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese communities abroad.

<i>Le jour se lève</i> 1939 French film directed by Marcel Carné

Le jour se lève is a 1939 French film directed by Marcel Carné and written by Jacques Prévert, based on a story by Jacques Viot. It is considered one of the principal examples of the French film movement known as poetic realism.

Shake, Rattle and Roll 8 is a 2006 Filipino horror anthology film directed by Rahyan Q. Carlos, Topel Lee, and Michael Tuviera, and the eighth installment of the Shake, Rattle & Roll film series. It is produced by Regal Entertainment, and was an entry to the 2006 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Out of the Dark is a 1989 American slasher film starring Karen Witter. The film is notable for being the last acting credit of the drag queen Divine, who died slightly over a year before its release.

<i>The Sleeping Car Murders</i> 1965 French film

The Sleeping Car Murders is a 1965 French mystery film directed by Costa-Gavras from the novel by Sébastien Japrisot. It stars Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Michel Piccoli, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Catherine Allégret, Jacques Perrin, Charles Denner and Pascale Roberts. The film was the directorial debut of Costa-Gavras, to be followed later by other, more politically-oriented work.

Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois !! is a 1985 French comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Vergne.

<i>Destination Murder</i> 1950 film by Edward L. Cahn

Destination Murder is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Edward L. Cahn. The drama features Joyce MacKenzie, Stanley Clements and Hurd Hatfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline deWit</span> American actress (1912–1998)

Jacqueline deWit was an American film and TV character actress from Los Angeles who appeared in over two dozen films, including Spellbound (1945), The Snake Pit, The Damned Don't Cry!, Tea and Sympathy, All That Heaven Allows and Harper. She also appeared in the 1946 Abbott and Costello comedy Little Giant, as Bud Abbott's wife.

<i>Parisian Love</i> 1925 film

Parisian Love is a black and white 1925 American silent romantic crime drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Clara Bow. The film was produced by B.P. Schulberg Productions. A copy of this film still survives.

<i>The Phantom Speaks</i> 1945 film by John English

The Phantom Speaks is a 1945 American supernatural film noir directed by John English and written by John K. Butler. The film stars Richard Arlen, Stanley Ridges, Lynne Roberts, Tom Powers, Charlotte Wynters and Jonathan Hale. The film was released on May 10, 1945, by Republic Pictures.

<i>Cross Channel</i> (film) 1955 film by R. G. Springsteen

Cross Channel is a 1955 drama film, directed by R. G. Springsteen, and written by Rex Rienits. The film stars Wayne Morris, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Allen, June Ashley, Carl Jaffe and Peter Sinclair.

Joe Fong is a Macanese-American former gang leader who founded and led the Chung Ching Yee gang in Chinatown, San Francisco from 1971 until his arrest and incarceration in 1973, when he was eighteen years old. After his release in 1979, Fong attended college and graduate school.