The Night Runner

Last updated

The Night Runner
The Night Runner poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Abner Biberman
Screenplay by Gene Levitt
Based onOwen Cameron
(Based on a adapted story by)
Produced by Albert J. Cohen
Starring Ray Danton
Colleen Miller
Cinematography George Robinson
Edited byAl Joseph
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Universal International
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • April 2, 1957 (1957-04-02)
Running time
79 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Night Runner is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Abner Biberman, produced by Albert J.Cohen, and starring Ray Danton and Colleen Miller. Its screenplay was written by Gene Levitt. The story focuses on a released mental patient who falls in love but cannot control his violent urges. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

Roy Turner, a mental patient with a violent past, is prematurely released from a state mental hospital because of overcrowding. His psychiatrist advises him to avoid stressful situations. Realizing that he cannot handle the pressures of big-city life, he moves into a beach-side motel in a small coastal town in Southern California and falls in love with Susan Mayes, the daughter of the motel's owner, Loren. Things go very well until Loren discovers the truth about Roy's hospitalization. While Susan is out one evening, Loren commands Roy to leave, calling him a "lunatic". Roy snaps, killing the man. At first, no evidence ties Roy to the crime and, for a time, things again look bright for him and his relationship with Susan. They sell the motel and plan to move away together. However, while packing up, Susan comes across a hotel registration card that might implicate Roy, although she does not realize this; she is merely excited that there may finally be a clue to finding her father's killer. Cornered, Roy suggests a walk on the beach. There, he confesses to killing Loren and says he must now kill her. She falls into the raging tide as he advances toward her. Roy comes to his senses and rescues her, taking her back to the motel, where he phones the police to turn himself in.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Niagara</i> (1953 film) 1953 film by Henry Hathaway

Niagara is a 1953 American film-noir thriller film directed by Henry Hathaway, produced by Charles Brackett, and written by Brackett, Richard L. Breen and Walter Reisch. The film stars Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, and Max Showalter. It was one of 20th Century Fox's biggest box-office hits that year.

<i>Novocaine</i> (film) 2001 film by David Atkins

Novocaine is a 2001 American black comedy thriller film written and directed by David Atkins and starring Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, Laura Dern, Lynne Thigpen and Elias Koteas. It was shot in the Chicago, Illinois area. The film premiered at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to screen in limited release in the United States on November 16, 2001.

<i>Flesh and Bone</i> (film) 1993 film by Steve Kloves

Flesh and Bone is a 1993 American neo noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Steve Kloves that stars Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid and James Caan. Gwyneth Paltrow is featured in an early role, for which she received some praise.

<i>The Killer That Stalked New York</i> 1950 film by Earl McEvoy

The Killer That Stalked New York is a 1950 American film noir directed by Earl McEvoy and starring Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin and William Bishop. The film, shot on location and in a semi-documentary style, is about diamond smugglers who unknowingly start a smallpox outbreak in the New York City of 1947. It is based on the real threat of a smallpox epidemic in the city, as described in a story taken from a 1948 Cosmopolitan magazine article.

<i>Looker</i> 1981 film by Michael Crichton

Looker is a 1981 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, and Leigh Taylor-Young. It follows a series of mysterious deaths plaguing female models who have undergone cosmetic surgery from a renowned Los Angeles physician. The film comments upon and satirizes media, advertising, television's effects on the populace, and a ridiculous standard of beauty.

<i>Kill Me Again</i> 1989 film by John Dahl

Kill Me Again is a 1989 American neo-noir thriller film directed by John Dahl, and starring Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley and Michael Madsen.

<i>The Chase</i> (1946 film) 1946 American film noir directed by Arthur Ripley

The Chase is a 1946 American film noir directed by Arthur Ripley. The screenplay by Philip Yordan is based on Cornell Woolrich's 1944 novel The Black Path of Fear. It stars Robert Cummings as Chuck Scott, a veteran who suffers from hallucinations. When he returns a lost wallet to violent mobster Eddie Roman, Eddie offers to hire him as a chauffeur. Chuck becomes mixed up in a plot to help Eddie's wife Lorna run off to Havana to escape her cruel husband.

<i>Mulholland Falls</i> 1996 film by Lee Tamahori

Mulholland Falls is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori, written by Pete Dexter, and starring an ensemble cast featuring Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Melanie Griffith, Andrew McCarthy, Treat Williams, and John Malkovich.

<i>The Prowler</i> (1951 film) 1951 American film noir thriller film by Joseph Losey

The Prowler is a 1951 American film noir thriller film directed by Joseph Losey that stars Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes. The film was produced by Sam Spiegel and was written by Dalton Trumbo. Because Trumbo was blacklisted at the time, the screenplay was credited to his friend, screenwriter Hugo Butler, as a front.

Witness to Murder is a 1954 American film noir crime drama directed by Roy Rowland and starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, and Gary Merrill. While the film received moderately positive reviews, it ended up as an also-ran to Alfred Hitchcock's somewhat similar Rear Window, which opened less than a month later. The latter picture was a box-office hit.

<i>The Postman Always Rings Twice</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Tay Garnett

The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1946 American film noir directed by Tay Garnett and starring Lana Turner, John Garfield, and Cecil Kellaway. It is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by James M. Cain. This adaptation of the novel also features Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames and Audrey Totter. The musical score was written by George Bassman and Erich Zeisl.

<i>The Man I Love</i> (1947 film) 1947 film by Raoul Walsh

The Man I Love is a 1947 American film noir melodrama directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Andrea King and Bruce Bennett. Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers, the film is based on the novel Night Shift by Maritta M. Wolff. The title is taken from the George and Ira Gershwin song "The Man I Love", which is prominently featured.

<i>The Woman on the Beach</i> 1947 film by Jean Renoir

The Woman on the Beach is a 1947 film noir directed by Jean Renoir and starring Joan Bennett, Robert Ryan and Charles Bickford. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is a love triangle drama about Scott, a conflicted U.S. Coast Guard officer (Ryan), and his pursuit of Peggy, a married woman (Bennett). Peggy is married to Tod, a blind former artist (Bickford).

<i>Shadow on the Wall</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Pat Jackson

Shadow on the Wall is a 1950 American psychological thriller film directed by Patrick Jackson and starring Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott and Gigi Perreau and featuring Nancy Davis. It is based on the 1943 story Death in the Doll's House by Hannah Lees and Lawrence P. Bachmann.

<i>So Evil My Love</i> 1948 film by Lewis Allen

So Evil My Love is a 1948 British and American Gothic psychological thriller film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Ray Milland, Ann Todd and Geraldine Fitzgerald.

<i>Frisco Sally Levy</i> 1927 film by William Beaudine

Frisco Sally Levy is a lost 1927 comedy silent film directed by William Beaudine and starring Sally O'Neil and Roy D'Arcy, which was released on April 2, 1927.

<i>Shock Treatment</i> (1964 film) 1964 film by Denis Sanders

Shock Treatment is a 1964 American neo noir drama film directed by Denis Sanders that takes place in a mental institution, starring Stuart Whitman, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, and Lauren Bacall. As one of many films dealing with insane killers in "Psycho's" wake Lauren Bacall disliked the film intensely calling it the worst of her career despite its cult following in later years.

<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>Sweet Virginia</i> (film) 2017 film directed by Jamie M. Dagg

Sweet Virginia is a 2017 neo-noir thriller film directed by Jamie M. Dagg, written by Benjamin China and Paul China, and starring Jon Bernthal, Christopher Abbott, Imogen Poots, Rosemarie DeWitt, Odessa Young and Jared Abrahamson. It was released on November 17, 2017, by IFC Films.

References

  1. The Night Runner at the American Film Institute Catalog .
  2. Reid, John Howard (August 1, 2006). Great Cinema Detectives: Best Movies of Mystery, Suspense & Film Noir. Lulu.com, pages 168-170. ISBN   9781847286857.
  3. " Night Runner Review by Dennis Schwartz". homepages.sover.net. Retrieved February 6, 2016.