Shadows in the Night (1944 film)

Last updated
Shadows in the Night
Directed by Eugene Forde
Written by Eric Taylor
Based on Crime Doctor
radio show 1940-1947
by Max Marcin
Produced by Rudolph C. Flothow
Starring
Cinematography James S. Brown Jr.
Edited by Dwight Caldwell
Production
company
Larry Darmour Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • July 27, 1944 (1944-07-27)
Running time
67 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Shadows in the Night is a 1944 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Baxter, Nina Foch and George Zucco. [1] It is part of the Crime Doctor series of films made by Columbia Pictures. It is also known by the alternative title of Crime Doctor's Rendezvous.

Contents

Plot summary

{Dr. Robert Ordway has a visit from Lois Garland in the middle of the night to get advice on a dream that she’s been having. She doesn’t know whether it’s reality or a dream, but she sees an apparition, feels compelled to follow it, and winds up by the sea. Dr. Ordway wants Lois to stay in a hotel and not go back to the house and visit him later in the day. When Lois leaves, we see a mysterious figure had broken into the doctor’s house and was listening to their conversation from the dining room. Against the doctor’s advice, Lois goes back to the seaside house where she talks to Dr. Ordway in the morning by phone and he agrees to come spend the weekend at the house. When the doctor arrives at the house she introduces him to her sister and her brother-in-law. Feeling uneasy about the room that she’s been staying in she asked Dr. Ordway if they could switch rooms for the night. He agrees. In the middle of the night a mysterious gas fills the room and Dr. Ordway wakes up to see a mysterious figure by the window. He feels compelled to follow this figure, starts to sleepwalk, and awakes by the sea. Another person who is staying at the house, Doc Stacey, find Dr. Ordway laying by the water and rushes over to him. He assures Doc Stacey that he is OK and Dr. Ordway goes back to the house. When the doctor goes back to his room, he stumbles upon a body in the hallway. He rushes into Lois‘ room to wake her to make an identification on the body, but when they go back into the hallway, the body is missing. They both go back to bed. In the morning, Dr. Ordway goes to the sea to walk along the beach when he finds the mysterious body that he saw in the hallway that night. He informed the police of what he saw that night but no one believes him and chalks it up to him sleepwalking. The authorities and the members of the house are deeming the death an accident and no one wants to admit that he was murdered. Before Ordway has to appear in court, he sets out to discover the murderer.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House</span> 2nd episode of the 1st season of Masters of Horror

"H. P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House" is the second episode of the first season of Masters of Horror, directed by Stuart Gordon. It is adapted from the short story "The Dreams in the Witch House" by American horror author H. P. Lovecraft. It originally aired in North America on November 4, 2005. Ezra Godden had previously starred in another Stuart Gordon-directed Lovecraft adaptation, Dagon, based on Lovecraft's novella The Shadow over Innsmouth.

<i>Just Before Dawn</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by William Castle

Just Before Dawn (1946) is the sixth Crime Doctor film produced by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by William Castle and written by Eric Taylor and Aubrey Wisberg. The film stars Warner Baxter, Adele Roberts, Mona Barrie and Martin Kosleck. It is also known as Exposed by the Crime Doctor.

<i>Dr. Renaults Secret</i> 1942 film by Harry Lachman

Dr. Renault's Secret is a 1942 American horror mystery film. The story was written by William Bruckner and Robert Metzler. It is loosely based on the 1911 novel Balaoo by Gaston Leroux. The production was directed by Harry Lachman and is a B movie with both mad scientist and monster themes.

<i>Topper Returns</i> 1941 film by Roy Del Ruth

Topper Returns is a 1941 American supernatural comedy thriller film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Joan Blondell, Roland Young, Carole Landis and Billie Burke. The third and final installment in the initial series of supernatural comedy films inspired by the novels of Thorne Smith, it succeeds Topper (1937) and Topper Takes a Trip (1938).

<i>Destruction, Inc.</i> 1942 film

Destruction Inc. (1942) is the thirteenth of seventeen animated Technicolor short films based upon the DC Comics character of Superman. Produced by Famous Studios, the cartoon was originally released to theaters by Paramount Pictures on December 25, 1942.

<i>Crime Doctor</i> (film) 1943 film by Michael Gordon

Crime Doctor (1943) is a crime film adapted from the radio series of the same name. The film stars Warner Baxter as a man with amnesia determined to remember his past. As with the radio series, the film deals with the complex issues of mental health and moral responsibility in the criminal-justice system. The film was released by Columbia Pictures.

The Crime Doctor is a fictional character created by Max Marcin. Criminal Phil Morgan suffers amnesia and becomes criminal psychologist Dr. Ordway. He uses his expertise to solve crimes as well as to help patients.

<i>Cult of the Cobra</i> 1955 film by Francis D. Lyon

Cult of the Cobra is a 1955 American black-and-white horror film from Universal-International Pictures, produced by Howard Pine, directed by Francis D. Lyon, that stars Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Kathleen Hughes, Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, William Reynolds, and David Janssen. The film was released as a double feature with Revenge of the Creature.

Episode 29 (<i>Twin Peaks</i>) 22nd episode of the 2nd season of Twin Peaks

"Episode 29", also known as "Beyond Life and Death", is the twenty-second and final episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Twin Peaks. Episode 29 served as the final episode of Twin Peaks for over 25 years, until Twin Peaks: The Return was aired in 2017. Upon its original airing in 1991, the episode was paired with episode 28 to form the second hour of what was then billed as a two-part series finale. The episode was written by the series co-creator Mark Frost, producer Harley Peyton and regular writer Robert Engels and was directed by series co-creator David Lynch, who rewrote parts of the script. It features series regulars Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Richard Beymer and Kenneth Welsh; and guest stars Frank Silva as Killer Bob, Michael J. Anderson as The Man from Another Place, Carel Struycken as The Giant, and Heather Graham as Annie Blackburn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Hoffman</span> Soap opera character

Julia Hoffman is a fictional character played by Grayson Hall in the 1966 ABC soap opera Dark Shadows. A self-serving and conniving doctor in the fields of psychology and rare blood disorders, she is also head of the Windcliff Sanitarium, who moved into Collinwood and discovered the vampire Barnabas Collins. Initially, Julia represented a threat to Barnabas' undead existence, but eventually she became one of his most staunch allies. Together, Julia and Barnabas worked to assist the Collins family in the past, present, future, and in Parallel Time.

<i>La morte cammina con i tacchi alti</i> 1971 Italian film

La morte cammina con i tacchi alti is a 1971 giallo film directed and co-produced by Luciano Ercoli. It starred Frank Wolff and Susan Scott, co-written by Ernesto Gastaldi, with music by Stelvio Cipriani. It was also released as Death Stalks in High Heels and Nights of Love and Terror.

<i>Shake, Rattle & Roll III</i> 1991 film by Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes

Shake, Rattle & Roll III is a 1991 Filipino horror anthology film and the third installment of the Shake, Rattle & Roll film series. It was distributed by Regal Films and was directed by Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes. The film is an entry of the 1991 Metro Manila Film Festival.

<i>V/H/S/2</i> 2013 horror anthology film

V/H/S/2 is a 2013 found footage horror anthology film produced by Bloody Disgusting and Roxanne Benjamin. The second installment in the V/H/S franchise, it comprises four found footage segments linked together by a fifth frame narrative. V/H/S/2 features a largely different group of directors: Jason Eisener, Gareth Wuw Evans, Timo Tjahjanto, Eduardo Sánchez, and Gregg Hale, and franchise returnees Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard.

<i>The Millerson Case</i> 1947 film by George Archainbaud

The Millerson Case is a 1947 American mystery drama film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Warner Baxter, Nancy Saunders and Clem Bevans. In the 8th film of Columbia's Crime Doctor series, Dr. Robert Ordway is vacationing in the Blue Ridge Mountains district of West Virginia when a Typhoid fever epidemic breaks out. Three deaths occur, with the first two being typhoid-caused. The death of the third person is from poisoning.

<i>Strangers in the Night</i> (film) 1944 film by Anthony Mann

Strangers in the Night is a 1944 American film noir mystery film directed by Anthony Mann and starring William Terry, Virginia Grey and Helene Thimig.

<i>Banshee Chapter</i> 2013 American film

Banshee Chapter is a 2013 American horror film and the directorial debut of Blair Erickson. The film had its first screening at the Fantasy Filmfest on August 22, 2013, and released on video on demand on December 12 of the same year. Banshee Chapter stars Katia Winter as a journalist who is trying to discover what happened to a missing friend. The film is loosely based on the H. P. Lovecraft short story "From Beyond".

The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case is a 1943 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Baxter, Lynn Merrick and Gloria Dickson. It is the second in a series of Crime Doctor films made by Columbia Pictures.

<i>The Dark Tapes</i> 2016 American found footage horror film by Michael McQuown

The Dark Tapes is a 2016 American found footage anthology horror film written and directed by Michael McQuown with Vincent J. Guastini directing the segment titled To Catch a Demon. The feature film consists of four segments To Catch A Demon, The Hunters & The Hunted, Cam Girls and Amanda's Revenge with a short opening sequence titled Wrap Around.

<i>Sleepwalker</i> (2017 film) 2017 American film

Sleepwalker is a 2017 psychological mystery film directed by Elliott Lester, and starring Ahna O'Reilly.

<i>Come True</i> 2020 horror film

Come True is a Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by Anthony Scott Burns. The film stars Julia Sarah Stone and Landon Liboiron. The film plot follows a teenage runaway who takes part in a sleep study that becomes a nightmarish descent into the depths of her mind and a frightening examination of the power of dreams.

References

  1. Erickson p.203

Bibliography