Joseph H. Lewis’ 1946 effort So Dark The Night.is another of the post-Second World War noir offerings that graced cinema screens from a director who had a reputation in B-movie works and helmed one of the all-time noir classics in Gun Crazy (1950).
A renowned Paris detective, Inspector Henri Cassin (Geray) takes a much-needed holiday from his law work in the French capital and arrives in a country village, where he falls in love with an innkeeper’s daughter, Nanette Michaud (Cheirai).
However, her long-term fiancé, Leon Achard (Paul Marion), is determined not to give up his prize when Henri and Nanette announce their engagement. Leon storms off into the surrounding countryside, followed by Nanette, but when the two of them don’t come home and are found strangled at a farmhouse and river, Cassin has to put aside his rest and recreation to pursue the case.
The film might suffer a little a bit in comparison to other works of the time and it isn’t one that will remain in the memory many of the genre, but this release will give it new found exposure. Characters are stock noir and stereotypical French and some of the dialogue is a little on the nose when trying to solve the mystery but there is a fairly neat pay-off twist at the end that elevates it to proper noir.
The cinematographer Burnett Guffney (Bonnie and Clyde) frames the story well and it’s atmospheric enough to hold the attention and will certainly appeal to fans of some of noir genre.
This Blu-ray edition also comes with an audio commentary and if you can get hold of one of the limited editions includes an illustrated Collector’s Booklet on the film by critic David Cairns.
One for true aficionados and noir fans.
SO DARK THE NIGHT (1946) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: JOSEPH H. LEWIS / SCREENPLAY: MARTIN BERKELEY, DWIGHT V. BABCOCK / STARRING: STEVEN GERAY, MICHELINE CHEIREL, EUGENE BORDEN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
