Between Midnight and Dawn

Between Midnight and Dawn
Between Midnight and Dawn
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gordon Douglas
Screenplay by	Eugene Ling
Story by	Gerald Drayson Adams; Leo Katcher
Produced by	Hunt Stromberg
Starring	Mark Stevens; Edmond O'Brien; Gale Storm
Cinematography	George E. Diskant
Edited by	Gene Havlick
Music by	George Duning
Production; company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	October 1950;
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Between Midnight and Dawn is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien and Gale Storm.^[1] It is notable as one of the earliest Hollywood policiers to focus on beat cops rather than detectives and other high-ranking officers.

Plot

Childhood friends Rocky Barnes and Dan Purvis are Los Angeles prowl car cops on night duty. Barnes is easygoing while Purvis is a cynic who views all lawbreakers as scum. Both men are attracted to radio communicator Kate Mallory but she is reluctant to get involved with policemen, her cop father having been killed in the line of duty. After several pushes from her mother, she eventually falls for Barnes.

While Barnes and Purvis are shown patrolling the streets and responding to crime small and organized, it is their arrest of murderous racketeer Ritchie Garris that is most consequential. After his arrest Garris swears vengeance on the duo, and quickly carries out his threat by escaping from prison, and shooting Barnes in the face several times.

After months of hiding from the police, Garris finally believes it is safe to collect to his girlfriend Terry Romaine and then flee to Mexico. The police, however, have been surveilling Romaine's apartment and quickly close in on Garris. In a desperate attempt for his freedom, he takes a neighbor girl hostage, forcing a daring one-man raid from Purvis. While his smoke bomb separates the child from the killer, it also disorients Purvis allowing Garris to get the jump on him. At the last minute Romaine jumps in front of Garris' bullet, saving Purvis' life and forcing the officer to rethink his cynicism.

Cast

Mark Stevens as Rocky Barnes
Edmond O'Brien as Daniel Purvis
Gale Storm as Katherine Mallory
Donald Buka as Ritchie Garris
Gale Robbins as Terry Romaine
Anthony Ross as Lt. Masterson
Roland Winters as Leo Cusick
Tito Vuolo as Romano
Grazia Narciso as Mrs. Romano
Madge Blake as Mrs. Mallory
Lora Lee Michel as Kathy

References

^ Between Midnight and Dawn at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.

External links

Between Midnight and Dawn at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Between Midnight and Dawn at IMDb
Between Midnight and Dawn at the TCM Movie Database

This 1950s crime film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to an American film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Between Midnight and Dawn at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.

[1]