The Night Holds Terror (1955)
There is no way to simply watch this film as a straight drama and not see all the holes in it. But there is also no way to miss the remarkable strengths, from a true-crime story with chilling consequences to an early look at several actors who would later have huge careers.
Foremost of these for film fans is John Cassavetes, who made lots of films and t.v. appearances in the 1950s before his first directorial success in 1959 (with "Shadows"). Not to be confused with the son, born that year. Cassavetes later made the intense "Woman under the Influence" and appeared in "Rosemary's Baby," and here he is in his youth playing a common thug in a common movie. And perhaps stealing the show even though his part is intermittent.
Vince Edwards of course later became the one and only Ben Casey, televisions premier doctor for years. He's creepy here and not a great talent. The main "good" guy and victim here is a small time actor, Jack Kelly, and he's less than convincing though he's supposed to play a regular guy caught up in a criminal nightmare. Even more unconvincing, I suppose, is his wife, though her hysteria and overacting is probably not so far off the mark. The rest of the cast is reasonable, and functional.
So the story rules. It's a cruel, detailed, and apparently accurate tale of innocently picking up a hitchhiker and having it all go wrong. Some police procedures are detailed, especially phone tapping and tracing calls the old way, wire by wire. Fascinating side stuff.
The director and writer and producer and etc is Andrew Stone, who made a number of very low budget films like this, typically filmed on location and using little known actors. His wife Virginia teamed up with him on these, and they are one of the many small level results of the breakup of Hollywood and the rise of television in the 1950s, creating crisis and opportunity equally. His second to last film is probably his biggest, "Song of Norway" in 1970.
"The Night Holds Terror" is what it is, straight shooting and fairly horrifying, but held back by some common issues of acting and directing.
There is no way to simply watch this film as a straight drama and not see all the holes in it. But there is also no way to miss the remarkable strengths, from a true-crime story with chilling consequences to an early look at several actors who would later have huge careers.
Foremost of these for film fans is John Cassavetes, who made lots of films and t.v. appearances in the 1950s before his first directorial success in 1959 (with "Shadows"). Not to be confused with the son, born that year. Cassavetes later made the intense "Woman under the Influence" and appeared in "Rosemary's Baby," and here he is in his youth playing a common thug in a common movie. And perhaps stealing the show even though his part is intermittent.
Vince Edwards of course later became the one and only Ben Casey, televisions premier doctor for years. He's creepy here and not a great talent. The main "good" guy and victim here is a small time actor, Jack Kelly, and he's less than convincing though he's supposed to play a regular guy caught up in a criminal nightmare. Even more unconvincing, I suppose, is his wife, though her hysteria and overacting is probably not so far off the mark. The rest of the cast is reasonable, and functional.
So the story rules. It's a cruel, detailed, and apparently accurate tale of innocently picking up a hitchhiker and having it all go wrong. Some police procedures are detailed, especially phone tapping and tracing calls the old way, wire by wire. Fascinating side stuff.
The director and writer and producer and etc is Andrew Stone, who made a number of very low budget films like this, typically filmed on location and using little known actors. His wife Virginia teamed up with him on these, and they are one of the many small level results of the breakup of Hollywood and the rise of television in the 1950s, creating crisis and opportunity equally. His second to last film is probably his biggest, "Song of Norway" in 1970.
"The Night Holds Terror" is what it is, straight shooting and fairly horrifying, but held back by some common issues of acting and directing.