Night Must Fall | |
---|---|
Directed by | Richard Thorpe |
Screenplay by | John Van Druten |
Based on | Night Must Fall 1935 play by Emlyn Williams |
Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ray June |
Edited by | Robert Kern |
Music by | Edward Ward |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's Inc. [1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $589,000 (est.) |
Box office | $1,015,000 (worldwide est.) |
Night Must Fall is a 1937 American film adaptation of the 1935 play by Emlyn Williams, adapted by John Van Druten and directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell and Dame May Whitty in her Hollywood film debut at age 72, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised her role in the stage drama in London and New York City. A critical success, Night Must Fall was named the best film of the year by the National Board of Review. Robert Montgomery also received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. A 1964 remake starred Albert Finney, although the remake did not do as well as the original.
Police drag the river and search the surrounding countryside in a small English village for the body of Mrs. Shellbrook, who was a guest at the local hotel and has been missing for days. The authorities question the town folk, including those living in the home of Mrs. Bramson, an elderly woman who holds court in the village. She pretends to need a wheelchair, and threatens to fire her maid, Dora, for allegedly stealing a chicken and breaking china. Dora distracts Mrs. Bramson by mentioning her Irish boyfriend, Danny, who works at the hotel. Danny comes by to visit Dora, who asks Mrs. Bramson to speak with him. Perceiving that Mrs. Bramson is a hypochondriac who only affects her need for a wheelchair, Danny is charming toward her and says that she reminds him of his mother. He tells Mrs. Bramson that he loves Dora and would marry her if he had a better job. Mrs. Bramson offers him one, and he becomes her servant.
Mrs. Bramson's niece and companion, Olivia Grayne, is suspicious of Danny, but Mrs. Bramson dismisses her concerns. When Mrs. Bramson's attorney, Justin Laurie, arrives to give his client money, he warns her not to keep so much cash in her possession, but she ignores him, too. Arriving with his belongings, Danny sees Mrs. Bramson putting cash into her safe, but pretends not to notice. Meanwhile, Justin asks Olivia to marry him, but she refuses because their relationship lacks any true romance. Justin leaves, feeling dejected. Olivia later catches Danny lying to Mrs. Bramson about a shawl that allegedly belonged to his mother, as Olivia notices the price tag still attached to it. Even so, she removes the tag so Mrs. Bramson does not become aware of it. Olivia, annoyed by Danny at first, comes to feel attracted to him as he occasionally both challenges and compliments her.
Dora discovers Mrs. Shellbrook's decapitated body in the forest; her head is still missing. Olivia accuses Danny of the murder, but he denies it. Again, Mrs. Bramson dismisses her niece's concerns as she has grown fond of Danny. Olivia visits Justin and tells him she is afraid, so he invites her to stay with him and his mother. Olivia first accepts his offer, but later declines, saying that she is silly for being so fearful.
During the week, locals take tours of the crime scene. Since her house is in the vicinity, Mrs. Bramson becomes a local celebrity, and basks in the attention to Olivia's disgust. A detective questions Danny and searches his room, making him fearful. Feeling sympathetic towards Danny, Olivia helps him deceive the detective. Meanwhile, the rest of the household does not feel comfortable being in the house while a killer is at large, but Mrs. Bramson feels because of Danny.
The following night, Olivia leaves, being afraid of Danny. She warns Mrs. Bramson not to spend another night there. Mrs. Bramson dismisses Olivia as silly, declaring Danny will protect her. Two other servant girls leave for the evening as well. Realizing she is alone, Mrs. Bramson hears noises and becomes frightened. She screams for Danny, who comes in and calms her down by giving her something to drink, and tries to lull her to sleep. To her horror, Danny then suffocates her and empties the safe.
Olivia returns, just as Danny is about to pour kerosene all over the house and set it ablaze. She tells Danny she returned to prove she was right about him, realizing he has murdered her aunt. Danny tells her about his childhood, and resenting being looked down upon for being a servant, and states that this is his chance and he is taking it. He says that he must kill her too, so no one can incriminate him in Mrs. Bramson's murder. Olivia replies she understands he will kill her, but wants him to know she is no longer attracted to him and now sees him for who he really is, a cold-blooded killer. As Danny closes in on Olivia, Justin arrives with the police. He called them when he could not reach her by phone. They arrest Danny for murder while Justin and Olivia embrace.
Dame May Whitty, Kathleen Harrison, Merle Tuttenham and Matthew Boulton reprised the roles they originated in the London production. Whitty and Boulton also appeared in the Broadway production. [2]
In an article on TCM.com, Margarita Landazuri reports that Montgomery saw the play in New York and “badgered” Louis B. Mayer into giving him the role. Apparently, the studio was willing to risk a flop in order to get control over Montgomery and his desire for meatier roles. He recalled: “... they okayed my playing in it because they thought the fan reaction to me, in such a role, would humiliate me." The actor also agreed to pay part of the cost of the film. [3]
The film was a critical but not a financial success. The New York Daily News wrote that Robert Montgomery's performance "lifts the MGM actor out of the lower brackets, where he has slipped because of shoddy material, into an eminent position among the top-notchers of Hollywood players." Variety proclaimed that "the appearance of Montgomery in a part which is the antithesis of his pattern may be art, but it's not box office." Louis B. Mayer personally supervised the making of a trailer that preceded the film, warning filmgoers of its "experimental nature." [4]
Writing for Night and Day in 1937, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review, describing it as a "pretentious little murder play...a long dim film". Greene comments that the main problem with the film is that it is directed "like an early talky...no more than a photographed stage play". [5]
The film grossed a total (domestic and foreign) of $1,015,000: $550,000 from the US and Canada and $465,000 elsewhere. It made a profit of $40,000.[ citation needed ]
Night Must Fall was named the best film of 1937 by the National Board of Review. [6]
Montgomery was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Whitty for Best Supporting Actress. [7]
The Warner Archive Collection released Night Must Fall on DVD (Region 0 NTSC) on December 14, 2010. [8] [9]
A radio adaptation of Night Must Fall was presented on Philip Morris Playhouse October 24, 1941. [10] Starring Burgess Meredith, Maureen O'Sullivan and Flora Robson, the program has not survived in radio collections. [11]
Night Must Fall was adapted for the July 24, 1944, broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater , starring James Cagney, Rosemary DeCamp and May Whitty. [12] [13]
Robert Montgomery produced, hosted and starred in a CBS Radio adaptation of Night Must Fall on Suspense March 27, 1948. May Whitty, Heather Angel, Richard Ney and Matthew Boulton costarred. [14] [15]
A remake, also entitled Night Must Fall , was released in 1964, starring Albert Finney.
Suspicion is a 1941 American romantic psychological thriller film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine as a married couple. It also features Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Isabel Jeans, Heather Angel, and Leo G. Carroll. Suspicion is based on Francis Iles's novel Before the Fact (1932).
Night Must Fall is a play, a psychological thriller, by Emlyn Williams, first performed in 1935. There have been three filmed adaptations: Night Must Fall (1937); a 1954 adaptation on the television anthology series Ponds Theater starring Terry Kilburn, Una O'Connor, and Evelyn Varden; and Night Must Fall (1964).
Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American thriller and film noir directed by Anatole Litvak, from a screenplay by Lucille Fletcher, based on her 1943 radio play of the same name.
Agnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. In a career spanning five decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television. Moorehead was the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards.
Sabotage, released in the United States as The Woman Alone, is a 1936 British espionage thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, and John Loder. It is loosely based on Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel The Secret Agent, about a woman who discovers that her husband is a terrorist agent.
Dame Mary Louise Webster,, known professionally as May Whitty and later, for her charity work, Dame May Whitty, was an English stage and film actress. She was one of the first two women entertainers to become a Dame. The British actors' union Equity was established in her home in 1930.
Robert Montgomery was an American actor, director, and producer. He began his acting career on the stage, but was soon hired by MGM. Initially assigned roles in comedies, he soon proved he was able to handle dramatic ones, as well. He appeared in a wide variety of roles, such as the weak-willed prisoner Kent in The Big House (1930), the psychotic Danny in Night Must Fall (1937), and Joe, the boxer mistakenly sent to Heaven in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). The last two earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Pursued is a 1947 American Western film noir directed by Raoul Walsh with cinematography by James Wong Howe, written by Niven Busch, and starring Teresa Wright and Robert Mitchum. The supporting cast features Judith Anderson, Dean Jagger, Alan Hale Sr., and Harry Carey Jr. The music is by Max Steiner and the picture was shot on location in Gallup, New Mexico.
The Spiral Staircase is a 1946 American psychological horror film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore. Set over the course of one evening, the film follows a mute young woman in an early-20th century Vermont town who is stalked and terrorized in a rural mansion by a serial killer targeting women with disabilities. Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver and Elsa Lanchester appear in supporting roles. It was adapted for the screen by Mel Dinelli from the novel Some Must Watch (1933) by Ethel Lina White.
Throw Momma from the Train is a 1987 American crime black comedy film starring and directed by Danny DeVito in his theatrical directorial debut. It co-stars Billy Crystal, Anne Ramsey, Rob Reiner, Branford Marsalis, Kim Greist and Kate Mulgrew.
Conquest is a 1937 American historical-drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen. It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It tells the story of the Polish Countess Marie Walewska, who becomes the mistress of Napoleon in order to influence his actions towards her homeland. The supporting cast includes Alan Marshal, Henry Stephenson, Leif Erickson, Dame May Whitty, George Zucco, and Maria Ouspenskaya.
The Dark Mirror is a 1946 American film noir psychological thriller film directed by Robert Siodmak starring Olivia de Havilland as twins and Lew Ayres as their psychiatrist. The film marks Ayres' return to motion pictures following his conscientious objection to service in World War II. De Havilland had begun to experiment with method acting at the time and insisted that everyone in the cast meet with a psychiatrist. The film anticipates producer/screenwriter Nunnally Johnson's psycho-docu-drama The Three Faces of Eve (1957). Vladimir Pozner's original story on which the film is based was nominated for an Academy Award.
Street of Chance is a 1942 American film noir mystery film directed by Jack Hively and starring Burgess Meredith as a man who finds he has been suffering from amnesia and Claire Trevor as a woman who protects him from the police, who suspect him of murder. He is suspected of the murder of the wealthy Harry Diedrich. The only eyewitness to the murder was Harry's mute grandmother, and she can only communicate with others through sign language.
My Name Is Julia Ross is a 1945 American film noir thriller directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and starring Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, and George Macready. Its plot follows a young woman in England who is hired as a live-in secretary for an ailing widow, where she awakens one day and is gaslit by those around her, claiming she is someone else. The screenplay is based on the 1941 novel The Woman in Red by Anthony Gilbert. The film received a loose remake called Dead of Winter (1987), starring Mary Steenburgen.
The Notorious Landlady is a 1962 American comedy mystery film starring Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, and Fred Astaire. The film was directed by Richard Quine, with a script by Blake Edwards and Larry Gelbart based on the short story "The Notorious Tenant" by Margery Sharp.
Night Must Fall is a 1964 British film directed by Karel Reisz and starring Albert Finney, Mona Washbourne and Susan Hampshire. It was written by Clive Exton.
All Through the Night is a 1942 American comedy-crime-spy thriller film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt and Kaaren Verne, and featuring many of the Warner Bros. company of character actors. It was released by Warner Brothers. The supporting cast features Peter Lorre, Frank McHugh, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, Barton MacLane, and William Demarest.
Merle Tottenham was a British stage and film actress. Her stage work included the original West End production of Noël Coward's Cavalcade in 1931; and she reprised her role as Annie the servant in the subsequent Hollywood film, in 1933. She also appeared as Dora, the maid in Night Must Fall (1937) with Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell, and the film version of Coward's This Happy Breed (1944), as Edie, the maid.
The Thirteenth Chair is a 1937 American mystery film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Dame May Whitty, Lewis Stone, Madge Evans, and Elissa Landi. It is based on the 1916 stage play of the same title by Bayard Veiller. This was the third film adaptation of the play. There was an earlier version by director Tod Browning in 1929, with Bela Lugosi in a supporting role, and an even earlier 1919 silent film adaptation that starred Creighton Hale.
Uncle John is a 2015 American thriller film directed by Steven Piet, who co-wrote it with producer Erik Crary. It stars John Ashton in the title role as a respected and well-liked townsperson who murders a local bully. John must deal with a spontaneous visit by his nephew, who has brought along his love interest, and the suspicions of the murdered man's brother. The story blends elements of thriller, romantic comedy, and crime drama films. The film premiered at SXSW on March 16, 2015, and received a limited release from Filmbuff on September 18, 2015.