The Big Night (1951)
Wow, the dark scenes and the dark mood of this movie are gripping stuff. Even the ever-struggling Barrymore in the lead role--Drew's dad, John Drew Barrymore--is edgy and tough enough to carry it through some very intense emotional stuff. Ultimately the movie is about redemption, but it is mostly an exploration of nihilism--a kind of self-defeating despair that was probably in the air for many in post-war America.
The plot is pure Hitchcock--a murder takes place at the wrong time for the wrong reason. The difference is that the focus here isn't on the innocent man accused (there is one of those, and we don't sympathize with him) but on the guilty man unaccused. And so there is a psychological thread as we see his decline, and the pressure around him build. Other layers to the plot include his mother dying, and an overall desperation to survive in the most basic ways, paying the rent and eating.
Don't expect to be cheered up on this one. But do expect to be deeply embroiled. If it lacks the depth and drama of, say, "On the Waterfront" or some other movie set in the New York area around the same time, it makes up for it at least partially in gritty realism. This is small time stuff without the gloss and hype. But with director Joseph Losey's famous use of photography (brilliant, by Hal Mohr) and ambiance (the art director went on to do a lot of classic "Gunsmoke" episodes). A great one for what works best here.
Wow, the dark scenes and the dark mood of this movie are gripping stuff. Even the ever-struggling Barrymore in the lead role--Drew's dad, John Drew Barrymore--is edgy and tough enough to carry it through some very intense emotional stuff. Ultimately the movie is about redemption, but it is mostly an exploration of nihilism--a kind of self-defeating despair that was probably in the air for many in post-war America.
The plot is pure Hitchcock--a murder takes place at the wrong time for the wrong reason. The difference is that the focus here isn't on the innocent man accused (there is one of those, and we don't sympathize with him) but on the guilty man unaccused. And so there is a psychological thread as we see his decline, and the pressure around him build. Other layers to the plot include his mother dying, and an overall desperation to survive in the most basic ways, paying the rent and eating.
Don't expect to be cheered up on this one. But do expect to be deeply embroiled. If it lacks the depth and drama of, say, "On the Waterfront" or some other movie set in the New York area around the same time, it makes up for it at least partially in gritty realism. This is small time stuff without the gloss and hype. But with director Joseph Losey's famous use of photography (brilliant, by Hal Mohr) and ambiance (the art director went on to do a lot of classic "Gunsmoke" episodes). A great one for what works best here.