BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

blanche-2 A decent story based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich, good performances, and snappy dialogue by Clifford Odets elevate "Deadline at Dawn" from 1946. A small film, clocking in at 83 minutes, it packs in a lot of drama.The film begins with a blind man (Marvin Miller, Mr. Anthony from "The Millionaire") visiting a young woman and demanding $1400 that he is owed. Next thing you know, she's dead. A young sailor on leave, Alex, (Bill Williams) sobers up after a blackout and sees that he has a lot of money that belonged to one Edna Bartelli (Lola Lane), a girl who invited him to her home to "fix her radio."Alex has the radio, and at a dime a dance place, he asks for help from June Goth (Susan Hayward) to help him return it. When they get to Edna's, she's dead. Alex is afraid that he did it, but he can't remember.His leave ends in four hours, so that's all they have to find out what happened. They team up with a friendly cab driver (Paul Lukas). In their investigation, they meet a bunch of low-lifes and it becomes apparent that Edna had a few enemies. Both Hayward and Williams give delightful performances. Hayward vacillates from the tough girl she is at the dance hall and softness as she gets to know Alex. Williams, who was TV's Kit Carson is the dad of actor William Katt ("Greatest American Hero") and the husband of Perry Mason's Barbara Hale.True to its New York City wee small hours of the morning scenario, the film is peppered with various actors, each with his or her own story: Joseph Calleia, Osa Massen, Stephen Geray, Roman Bohen, and Constance Worth. Harold Clurman, a theater director, directed this with an excellent idea of what it's like to be in New York City in the summer - hot, and the weirdos who come out at night.Very entertaining, though probably too ambitious given the budget and time frame. The ending is a little convoluted.

LeonLouisRicci As Left-Leaning as Hollywood Could get at the Time, it is Clifford Odets' Bouncy, Philosophical Dialog that Peppers this Picture with almost Every Line from Every Character Poetic Street Stuff that Keeps this Interesting among the many Characters and Intricate Plot.From a Novel by Cornell Woolrich (aka William Irish) the Pulpish Writer had much Success in the Middle-Brow World of Heavily Written Murder Mysteries, Hollywood took Notice and made His Novels into many Movies.This Film-Noir has all the Ingredients that make for a Recipe of Off Center Entertainment. It's Screenplay reminds of a Stage Play and is excessively Talky, but always Interesting. Susan Hayward gets most of the Acting Praise, but She is hardly much Better than the Stellar Cast of Paul Lukas and a host of Others.There are Amnesia, Blackmail, Murder, Red Herrings Galore, Deep Cynicism, and Shadowy Photography from Nicholas Muscara. It's a Web of Nighttime doings in the Big Apple. The Ending Reveals are Abrupt, Stunning, and Reflective.Overall, a Must See for Fans of Film-Noir, Susan Hayward, Clifford Odets and General Murder-Mystery Aficionados. A Superb and Dark Display of Regular People Caught Up in the Pain of Life. "Die and there is no trouble. Live and You struggle.", is only One of the Many Quotables.

edwagreen Poor script does this 1946 film in before it even gets the opportunity to start. Of all people, Susan Hayward turns up as a sleuth here. She meets a guy at a dance who shall soon be accused of murder.There are an assortment of characters here including 1943 best actor here-Paul Lukas, in the role of a cab driver who talks as if he is a philosopher. We soon discover that the dead woman was up to her head regarding blackmail of others. Hayward tries to find the sailor innocent. Joseph Calleia plays the dead woman's brother. The latter was always the gangster in films, but is given relatively little to do here.Hayward is totally unconvincing here as a femme fatale. Obviously, the meatier roles were yet to come. Marvin Miller of television's The Millionaire fame, plays the husband of the deceased. You'd think that he killed her for the money she owed him but couldn't pay. Wait until you see who the real killer is. Philosophy isn't life, but it isn't murder as well.

Alex da Silva This film is a disaster and it's a shame. It should be better and Susan Hayward as Hostess girl June stands out a mile as the only cast member who can act. Bill Williams (Alex) is dreadful in the lead role as a sailor who is really very simple. The audience can't possibly engage with such a retard. Paul Lukas (Gus) is very improbable as a cab driver who pokes his nose where it isn't wanted and spends the film delivering crass advice to everyone. Shut up Lukas! The story is hilarious in that more and more impossible things happen that just make no sense at all. It doesn't happen once...or twice...or three times...the whole story is ridiculous. From the moment Williams brings back Hayward to return some money to Lola Lane (Edna) and they find her dead, the film just gets more and more far-fetched. Williams deduces that a man did it and how he would be feeling after it and where he would go and what he would do. At this point, it is already insulting to the audience but it doesn't stop. I can't go on. Hardened escort girl Hayward even falls in love with this backward boy - NO WAY! There is a plot to follow if you want to but the film tries to be clever at the same time as being incredibly stupid.