Escape by Night (1937 film)

Last updated
Escape by Night
Escape By Night lobby card.JPG
Lobby card
Directed by Hamilton MacFadden
Written by Harold Shumate (original screenplay)
Produced byHarold Shumate (associate producer)
Starring William Hall
Anne Nagel
Cinematography Edward Snyder
Edited by W. Donn Hayes
Music by Alberto Colombo
Distributed by Republic Pictures
Release date
  • September 1, 1937 (1937-09-01)(United States)
Running time
64 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Escape by Night (also known as Fool's Paradise [1] ) is a 1937 American film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring William Hall and Anne Nagel. [1] It was written by Harold Shumate.

Contents

Plot

Members of the Capper gang rent a room from a blind man and his daughter and help them restore their farm. Another member of their gang arrives and orders their return, leading to a conflict.

Cast

Reception

Variety wrote: "Romantic meller in low gear. No marquee strength, carbon copy yarn and ordinary performance. ... Production, direction and acting is pretty much what the story deserves. Charles Waldron, however, cashes in on the quiet possibilities of the blind man, while Bill, as the Seeing-Eye pooch, is a fair successor to Rin Tin Tin." [2]

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "A swell little cops and robbers picture, with an out-of-the-ordinary story. It is well acted, moves rapidly, and a tightly written script makes the improbable theme – regeneration of crooks by farm life – seem believable. ... Only for a short time in the middle does the film lag." [3]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This film has a placid tempo after a vigorous beginning; It has moments of excitement and moments of pathos, and the climaxes are well spaced and created. The characterisation and development of the reform of the gangsters are well drawn and well brought out by the direction." [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>They Made Me a Fugitive</i> 1947 British film by Alberto Cavalcanti

They Made Me a Fugitive is a 1947 British black-and-white film noir directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Sally Gray and Trevor Howard. It was written by Noel Langley, based on the 1941 Jackson Budd novel A Convict Has Escaped. Cinematography was by Otto Heller.

<i>The Damned</i> (1962 film) 1962 British film by Joseph Losey

The Damned is a 1962 British science fiction horror film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors and Oliver Reed. The screenplay was by Evan Jones, based on H. L. Lawrence's 1960 novel The Children of Light. It was a Hammer Film production.

<i>Just Williams Luck</i> (film) 1947 film by Val Guest

Just William's Luck is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring William Graham, Garry Marsh and Jane Welsh. It was written by Richmal Crompton and Guest, based on Crompton's Just William series of books. Crompton was impressed with the film and wrote a novel Just William's Luck based on the events of the film. The following year a second film, William Comes to Town, was made.

<i>Escape by Night</i> (1953 film) 1953 British film by John Gilling

Escape by Night is a 1953 British second feature ('B') crime film directed and written by John Gilling and starring Bonar Colleano, Andrew Ray, Sid James and Simone Silva.

<i>Port of Escape</i> 1956 British film by Tony Young

Port of Escape is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Tony Young and starring Googie Withers, John McCallum, Bill Kerr and Joan Hickson. The screenplay was by Barbara S. Harper and Young based on a short story by Harper.

<i>Dangerous Cargo</i> 1954 British film by John Harlow

Dangerous Cargo is a 1954 British black and white second feature ('B') crime film directed by John Harlow starring Jack Watling, Susan Stephen and Karel Stepanek. The film was written by Daily Express crime reporter Percy Hoskins and Stanley Haynes, and produced by Haynes for ACT Films.

<i>A Time to Kill</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film by Charles Saunders

A Time to Kill is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Jack Watling, Rona Anderson, John Horsley, Russell Napier, Kenneth Kent, and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Doreen Montgomery.

<i>Blind Spot</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by Peter Maxwell

Blind Spot is a 1958 British drama film directed by Peter Maxwell and starring Robert MacKenzie, Delphi Lawrence, Gordon Jackson, John Le Mesurier, and Michael Caine.

<i>The Challenge</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by John Gilling

The Challenge, is a 1960 British neo noir crime film directed and written by John Gilling and starring Jayne Mansfield and Anthony Quayle.

<i>Crosstrap</i> 1962 British film by Robert Hartford-Davis

Crosstrap is a 1962 British B-movie crime film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis, starring Laurence Payne, Jill Adams and Gary Cockrell. The screenplay was by Philip Wrestler, adapted from the 1956 novel The Last Seven Hours by John Newton Chance.

Three Steps to the Gallows is a 1953 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Scott Brady, Mary Castle and Gabrielle Brune. It was written by Paul Erickson and Gilling, and released in the US by Lippert Pictures as White Fire.

<i>Ballad in Blue</i> 1964 British film by Paul Henreid

Ballad in Blue is a 1965 British drama music film starring Ray Charles. The film was the last to be directed by Paul Henreid. It was written by Henreid and Burton Wohl.

<i>Clash by Night</i> (1963 film) 1963 British film by Montgomery Tully

For the 1952 Fritz Lang film of the same name see Clash by Night.

<i>Soho Incident</i> 1956 British film by Vernon Sewell

Soho Incident, released in the United States as Spin a Dark Web, is a 1956 British film noir directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Faith Domergue and Lee Patterson. The screenplay by Ian Stuart Black is based on the 1937 novel Wide Boys Never Work by Robert Westerby.

<i>Transatlantic</i> (1960 film) 1960 British film by Ernest Morris

Transatlantic is a 1960 British film directed by Ernest Morris and starring June Thorburn, Robert Ayres and Pete Murray. It was written by Brian Clemens and produced by The Danzigers. It was released on 21 August 1961.

<i>Ball at Savoy</i> (1936 film) 1936 British film by Victor Hanbury

Ball at Savoy is a 1936 British operetta film directed by Victor Hanbury and starring Conrad Nagel, Marta Labarr and Fred Conyngham. It was written by Alfred Grünwald|, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Reginald Long and Ákos Tolnay, based on the 1932 operetta Ball im Savoy by Paul Abraham, which had been turned into an Austrian film in 1935. It was made at Elstree Studios.

<i>Blackout</i> (1950 film) 1950 British film by Robert S. Baker

Blackout is a 1950 British second feature ('B') crime drama film directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Maxwell Reed and Dinah Sheridan. The screenplay was by John Gilling from a story by Carl Nystrom.

<i>Counterspy</i> (film) 1953 British film by Vernon Sewell

Counterspy is a 1953 British second feature comedy thriller film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court and Hermione Baddeley. An accountant comes into possession of secret papers sought by both the government and a spy ring.

Room to Let is a 1950 British second feature ('B') historical thriller film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Jimmy Hanley, Valentine Dyall and Constance Smith. It was adapted by John Gilling and Grayson from the BBC radio play by Margery Allingham, broadcast in 1947.

<i>The Fourth Square</i> 1961 British film by Allan Davis

The Fourth Square is a 1961 British second feature crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Conrad Phillips, Natasha Parry and Delphi Lawrence. The screenplay was by James Eastwood, based on the 1929 Edgar Wallace novel Four Square Jane. It is part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965.

References

  1. 1 2 "Escape by Night". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  2. "Escape by Night" . Variety . 128 (3): 15. September 29, 1937 via ProQuest.
  3. "Escape by Night" . The Hollywood Reporter . 41 (12): 3. August 27, 1937 via ProQuest.
  4. "Escape by Night" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 4 (37): 270. January 1, 1937 via ProQuest.