Night Without Sleep is a 1952 American film noir mystery film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Gary Merrill, Linda Darnell and Hildegarde Neff.[1] It was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
| Night Without Sleep | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roy Ward Baker |
| Screenplay by | Elick Moll Frank Partos |
| Produced by | Robert Bassler |
| Starring | Linda Darnell Gary Merrill Hildegarde Neff |
| Cinematography | Lucien Ballard |
| Edited by | Nick DeMaggio |
| Music by | Cyril Mockridge |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 77 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editA composer, Richard Morton experiences blackouts and cannot account for his actions. He seems to recall a woman's screams and a conversation with his wife, Emily, but it's all a blur.
Morton goes to see his friend John Harkness and is introduced to a film actress, Julie Bannon, and is attracted to her. He also apparently has made a date with Lisa Muller, who is angry when Morton shows up two hours late. He loses his temper and threatens her.
Julie goes out with Morton and attempts to seduce him, but something in him resists. He returns to Lisa and begins to menace her again, only to suffer another blackout. When he wakes up, Morton is in his own home by himself and isn't sure where he has been or what he has done.
He phones Lisa and learns she is all right. Concerned, he contacts Julie as well, but she also has not been harmed. Morton is glad that his violent temper did not cause him to lose control and that the woman's screams are all in his mind, until he goes to his own bedroom for the night and finds his wife there, dead.
Cast
edit- Gary Merrill as Richard Morton
- Linda Darnell as Julie Bannon
- Hildegarde Neff as Lisa Muller
- June Vincent as Emily Morton
- Hugh Beaumont as John Harkness
- Joyce MacKenzie as Laura Harkness
- Donald Randolph as Dr. Clarke
- Steven Geray as George
- Charles Tannen as Steve Brooks
- Louise Lorimer as Mrs. Carter
- William Forrest as Mr. Carter
- Benny Carter as Benny
- Bill Walker as Henry
- Beverly Tyler as Singer
- Mae Marsh as Maid
Reception
editCritical response
editFilm critic Bosley Crowther was caustic in his review of the film, "As hopeless a bout with insomnia as ever you want to endure is pictured in wearying progression in Twentieth Century-Fox's Night Without Sleep, which landed yesterday at the Palace with the Walcott-Marciano fight pictures and eight acts of vaudeville ... Without spark, without inspiration, without intelligence and without suspense, this bleak exercise in morbid mooning moves slowly and barely, if at all."[2]
References
edit- ^ Night Without Sleep at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, September 27, 1952. Accessed: August 14, 2013.