DEADLINE AT DAWN is a low budget attempt by RKO Pictures to cash in on the popular film noir genre, featuring a 'wronged man' style plot line that Hitchcock himself would be proud of. The tale begins with a wealthy woman murdered; when a sailor wakes from a drunken stupor with her money and no recollection of preceding events, he thinks he's responsible.
He joins up with a pretty dancer and together the pair must solve the murder by dawn. Over the course of a single night they come into contact with many bizarre and off-beat characters, most of whom are fond of spouting some amusing dialogue; the script is definitely the best thing about this.
The performances are also pretty decent, with Susan Hayward particularly excelling as the investigative heroine. Bill Williams is likable as the hard-headed sailor, but the real scene stealer is Paul Lukas as the friendly taxi driver who assists the couple in their investigations. The triple twist ending has to be seen to be believed.
He joins up with a pretty dancer and together the pair must solve the murder by dawn. Over the course of a single night they come into contact with many bizarre and off-beat characters, most of whom are fond of spouting some amusing dialogue; the script is definitely the best thing about this.
The performances are also pretty decent, with Susan Hayward particularly excelling as the investigative heroine. Bill Williams is likable as the hard-headed sailor, but the real scene stealer is Paul Lukas as the friendly taxi driver who assists the couple in their investigations. The triple twist ending has to be seen to be believed.