Night Editor (1946) User Reviews

Wicked woman Janis Carter supplies oomph for gritty little noir

[bmacv · 7/10 · 25 October 2001]

Night Editor was the proposed "pilot" for a series of B-movie programmers introduced by a bunch of graveyard-shift reporters working the police beat. The series came to naught, but this maiden effort bears watching. William Gargan is a basically decent married detective on the force who has been getting a little action on the side with rich dame Janis Carter, a haut-40s glamourpuss in the Claire Trevor/Helen Walker/Audrey Totter mold whose few performances leave us wondering why her career wasn't a lot bigger. Parked in a lover's lane one night, they witness a man bludgeoning his girlfriend to death with a tire iron. In the movie's most notorious scene, Carter reaches a pitch of erotic frenzy from this random act of sadistic voyeurism. Gargan then has to investigate the crime while keeping mum about the fact that he saw it happen. Of course it turns out that the murderer was not a stranger, but a well-to-do banker friend of Carter's.... Night Editor is a splendid example of why, in the early postwar years, audiences took to these dimly lit, zero-budget, quick-and-dirty crime dramas: They were unapologetically sleazy, they had no time for the sentimental gloss that Hollywood had confected, and they were shocking fun.

A femme fatale discovery

[meyermihm · 7/10 · 16 March 2010]

I just found my newest femme fatal favorite. Janis Carter, who plays an incredibly sexy but psychopathic society woman having a deranged affair with a police detective in the 1946 C-level noir Night Editor. Never saw her before. When she and the detective witness a woman being clubbed to death while they're sitting in a lover's lane, the Carter character suddenly starts yelling, "I want to see the body." Man, when this lady asks for a "date" with her cop lover, you know she's not fooling around. This actress was far more convincing as a dangerous seductress than most of the other actresses playing those roles in the 40s and 50s, with the exceptions of Barbara Stanwick and Gloria Grahame. What a waste that she didn't appear in more and better noirs.

You are worse than blood poisoning!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 5 August 2016]

Night Editor is directed by Henry Levin and adapted to screenplay by Hal Smith from the radio program of the same name - by Hal Burdick - and the short story, Inside Story, written by Scott Littleton. It stars William Gargan, Janis Carter, Jeff Donnell, Coulter Irwin and Charles D. Brown. Cinematography is by Burnett Guffey and Philip Tannura, and music is credited to Mischa Bakaleinikoff, though it's believed that Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco did the work.

"You are just no good for me. We both add up to zero"

A raging "B" pic out of Columbia? Absolutely! This is something of a film noir lovers delight. There is no getting away from the fact it has one of those endings that has proved to be divisive, so how it stacks up for first time viewers now may make or break your opinion of it...

Story finds copper Tony Cochrane (Gargan) having a love affair with viper like Jill Merrill (Carter), this in spite of the fact he has a gorgeous loving wife and a son who worships him. During one of the illicit couple's love trysts they witness a violent murder, and fearing scandal Cochrane fails to uphold the law. From such decisions does life often spiral out of control...

Okies. So we got hot and sweaty scenes, flashbacks, wet streets lit by lamps, alleyways, barely lighted rooms - particularly the station offices - symbolic and metaphorical sequences (oh my those crashing waves), but it's the barbed dialogue, the blend of sex and violence, and a femme fatale of considerable greatness, that ultimately makes this soar.

Personally I hate the ending, but as stated before, I do know noir lovers who find it cheeky and enjoyable. Yet even with my irritation at the finale - and of Carter's hair style (which pushes Phyllis Dietrichson for most unflattering look), there's just so much good here for noir lovers not to enjoy greatly. 7.5/10

The Ice lady cometh

[david-546 · 7/10 · 14 September 2013]

The nifty little B Noir is part of the Bad Girls of Film Noir series. The picture is really worth seeing just to see Janis Carter in action. Her frenetic desire to see the body after this guy had just bludgeoned this girl to death was a scene to remember. But she was really the ice lady that giveth and Janis Carter just kept on giving with her icy grip on the the cop and her ability to out maneuver just about everyone.

I had never seen Janis Carter in a B Noir movie but if this is what she is capable of then some of her others might be worth looking for. The words just one more kiss really take on true meaning with Janis Carter. But watch out for that ice pick.

Fairly Good Film Noir

[arfdawg-1 · 7/10 · 13 September 2019]

Synopsis Crane Stewart (Charles D. Brown), the editor of the New York Star, while playing poker with his friends, tells a story about a cop involved in a murder investigation.

In flashback, the editor tells the tale of police lieutenant Tony Cochrane (William Gargan), a family man who cheats on his wife with socialite femme fatale Jill Merrill (Janis Carter). Cochrane and the woman, who is also cheating on her husband, witness a man bludgeoning his girlfriend to death with a tire iron while the couple is parked at "lovers lane" by the beach.

The two can't report the crime without revealing their cheating, a dilemma which eventually leads to bigger troubles. Meanwhile, Cochrane must investigate the killing but is not able to tell anyone he witnessed the crime.

This movie was supposed to be the first in a series of Night Editor movies, but it's the only one that was ever made.

It's definitely Film Noir (I've been watching quite a few so called Film Noir movies and many just aren't. This is a fairy good example of the genre, although it sure is "talkie." I would have preferred some more action.

A lot more action. On the plus side, it's a really short film. I guess it was part of a two feature showing.

Pushing the '40's Envelope

[dougdoepke · 11 February 2015]

Catch that big crashing wave as spider woman Jill (Carter) reaches her own kind of climax. There's nothing like viewing a mangled dead body to get some spider women off, and Jill's some kind of cold-hearted 40's temptress. Too bad cop Cochrane (Gargan) doesn't run for the hills or maybe even his loving wife after viewing this little perverse episode. Instead, he covers up the murder he and Jill just eye-balled. After all, neither wives nor city fathers reward philandering husbands. So how is Cochrane going to clear his conscience once an innocent man is about to get fried for a murder the two illicit lovers know he didn't commit.

My guess is Night Editor was hoping to repeat the success of the noirish Whistler series, also adapted from radio. It didn't happen, but not because of a failure in this 60-minutes. Sure, it wraps up in conventional fashion, even if imaginatively done. After all, there was a stultifying Production Code in effect. Still, the other 55-minutes amounts to a nail-biting trip down black shadow lane. Actor Gargan may not show much emotion as the conflicted cop. But then he's got to keep his real feelings inside. Otherwise he might give it all away, which includes not just his job but wife and family, as well. So, how did he get mixed up with the blonde man-eater in the first place. Apparently it was from working on a prior case that involved Jill and her ritzy clueless husband. It appears she sets a mean trap for about every guy crossing her predatory path, including bank presidents.

No doubt about it, Jill's on the very edge of 40's perversity. Carter really looks the part of blonde ice-queen, even if nuance is not her strong point. I was hoping for some big-eye close-ups that made her similar role in Framed (1947) so memorable, but director Levin's camera stays mainly at a neutral distance. On the whole, it's the script and dark material that carry events.

Anyway, this early noir is a neglected must-see. I'm not going to say gem, since it doesn't quite rise to that level. Still, for sheer 1940's daring, Harold Smith's crafty little screenplay remains an eye-opener.

When the Beauty is the Beast

[The_Dying_Flutchman · 6/10 · 22 July 2011]

Columbia Pictures, the home of the Three Stooges shorts,"Batman" serials,"Crime Doctor", "Boston Blackie" and many other programmers, was also the place where many B movies were hatched including this very low budget crime yarn based on the radio program "Night Editor" by Hal Burdick and the short story "Inside Story" by Scott Littleton.

This film version, very tightly directed by Henry Levin, and starring the then aging and rumpled William Gargan, is a definite Noir artifact of the late 1940's.

There's little pity in this compact story of sex and brutality. Unusual for a film of this time period, the femme fatale is depicted as a woman who feeds on cruelty and takes gleeful joy in looking at the battered corpse of one of her previous friends. Murder and perversion seem to function as the only things she truly loves. They are what she demands others give her so she may feed the bottomless emptiness within.

Originally fashioned as a pilot episode for a new continuing series like its radio show progenitor, the film was a failure upon release, but succeeds as a stand alone example of the close ties between sex and sadism in the continuing Noir cycle.

nice noir

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 23 December 2015]

William Gargan and Janis Carter star in "Night Editor," a 1946 B noir.

On a newspaper night shift, the people in the newsroom are told the story of Tony Cochrane, a police officer. This was the first in a planned series of night editor stories, which never happened.

Tony was a married man cheating on his wife (Jeff Donnell) with a married socialite, Jill Merrill (Janis Carter). One night, they're parking down by the beach, and they see a man beat a woman and run away. They both see his face clearly. Tony could have apprehended the man, and perhaps even stopped the murder (though it seemed to have happened very quickly) but he was afraid of being found out and losing his wife, son, and his job.

When the murder is reported, Tony has to investigate, not letting on that he was a witness. By now he's broken things off with Jill. He's surprised to see her name on a list of the dead woman's friends. He confronts her, because he suspects she recognized the man, but she won't tell him the man's identity. Things go from bad to worse.

This was pretty good and effective, with a nice ending. Gargan by then wasn't anyone's idea of a leading man, but was a good playing a cop. Gargan had a laryngectomy in 1960, after which he devoted his time to the American Cancer Society and used a voice box.

Janis Carter is a glamorous femme fatale here and plays a woman devoid of any conscience or compassion. In fact, when she learns the dead woman's face had been bashed in, she wants to see it. The idea is, she's married to an older rich man and likes slumming.

I wasn't expecting much from this two-noir disc from Netflix, but I would up liking both of them.

Never trust your bank manager

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 4 February 2012]

This is a story told in flashback by the night editor of a newspaper to warn off Coulter Irwin (Johnny) from misbehaving away from home. It is the tale of policeman William Gargan (Tony) who is playing away from home with Janis Carter (Jill). One night they witness a murder but Gargan hesitates in pursuing the culprit for the sake of revealing his affair and bringing shame upon himself. The murder is investigated by his homicide team but things don't sit comfortably with him when an innocent man is sentenced to death for the crime. He holds the key to a stay of execution but will he reveal his hand?

The film gets off to a slow start - the first fifteen minutes are actually quite annoying as we have to suffer some crass dialogue from a boy, eg, "I get lonesome sometimes". It's unrealistic dialogue and makes the boy seem like a drip. You can actually see why Gargan is having an affair when we are also introduced to the sickly nice Jeff Donnell (Martha) who plays his wife. If you can get past the rather sentimentally awful beginning, then you will be rewarded as scheming Janis Carter makes an appearance.

As regards the cast, everyone has good and bad moments: Janis Carter is unintentionally hilarious when she loses control of her emotions and begs to see the dead body of the murdered woman, Paul E Burns (Strom) puts on an awful foreign accent from nowhere but succeeds in being likable as Gargan's police buddy, while Gargan himself is a bit too zombie-like on occasion.

Despite the cast being slightly off, the film still works and the story keeps you watching. You may guess the outcome but you will also be entertained by some of the twists.

Noir in B

[robert-temple-1 · 9/10 · 22 April 2010]

This is a superb film noir B picture. It stars William Gargan as a cop, and the sizzling dish Janis Carter as the femme fatale. And what a femme and how fatale! She is really something. What a pity she did not achieve the status in films which she clearly deserved. Here she plays a hyper-glamorous psychotic man-eater. Poor, bumbling homicide detective Gargan is no match for her. He succumbs, and succumbs, and succumbs. Well, one evening things get complicated. One has to remember that he is happily married to sweetie Martha, played with big loving eyes and a warm smile by 'Jeff' Donnell (she was born Jean Marie but was always called by the nickname of Jeff; see her also as Sylvia Nicolai in IN A LONELY PLACE, 1950), and adores his son. But there he is sitting in a car in a lover's retreat off the road, with Miss Glamour-puss, doing his usual succumbing, when another car pulls up and does not see them. The man proceeds to bash in the skull of the girl and then runs off, but not before they see his face very clearly in the headlights. It later transpires that Janis knows the man very well, but she says nothing at the time. Gargan starts to give chase but then realizes that he dare not do so because his involvement with Janis will come to light and his wife might leave him. So he endures an enforced silence and is then a member of the homicide team which investigates that very crime. A wrong man is accused and is about to 'get the chair'. Tension mounts. Should he do the right thing and stop the execution, at the risk of his career and his marriage? He wants to, but Janis is going crazier and crazier. She is so nuts that she makes statements like: 'I don't know why I do these things' as she tries to stab a man to death. Just the kind of girlfriend one wants! She is a rich socialite and highly sophisticated, thus intimidating the humble Gargan further. As he bitterly says to her at one point: 'You and I both add up to zero.' Every time he tries to leave her, she kisses him, which all goes to show just how dangerous kissing can be. After they have seen the murder, Janis gets a wild look in her eye and, in the midst of a seizure of psychotic excitement, says she wants to go and look at the girl's bashed-in skull and all the brains spattered all over the car because it excites her, and Gargan restrains her only with great difficulty. Janis really is very convincing in all of these scenes, and it is all pretty hair-raising. And so the story progresses. I must not reveal the ending. The next year, Janis went on to scare people further in FRAMED (1947).

Proper B-Movie noir gem - with a real femme fatale and a twisty tale.

[declancooley · 6/10 · 27 January 2022]

I found this on a list of "b-film gems" and truly got a little kick out of it - if only for the femme fatale alone - but also its flashback structure, the duplicity, its sentimentality, its twists and turns, all packaged in 66 mins - you won't regret the time spent here with all the usual tropes nicely delivered despite its brevity. An ode to poetic justice.

First rate film noir

[dcole-2 · 10/10 · 1 June 2004]

NIGHT EDITOR is as good as any other noir produced in the forties: it's got a solid, intelligent story; a great flawed lead character; a nasty femme fatale; beautifully fluid camera-work; and that all around, despairing, hard-boiled feel. But because it's only got B-level stars and a no-name director, it's not thought of highly. Too bad: it has all the ingredients needed for a great film. William Gargan is a cop who's having a fling with the aforementioned Femme Fatale Janis Carter -- hardly anyone is more ice-like and more cold-hearted than she -- neglecting his loving wife and son. While on a rendezvous with her, they witness a murder -- but can't come forward without wrecking his life and career. He's torn... but she just wants to have fun. The framing device of the "Night Editor" (a bunch of newspapermen at night recounting various stories) doesn't work. But otherwise, this is dark, good, fun noir. Gargan and Carter really give it their all. Loved it.

NYPD Lieutenant falls for twisted femme fatale and then takes a circuitous road to redemption

[Turfseer · 7/10 · 7 October 2020]

With a title like Night Editor, you might imagine this 1946 noir was about an intrepid newspaperman who gets too involved in one of the crime stories he's investigating. Actually, Night Editor refers to a bunch of reporters huddled around a poker table shooting the breeze at a fictional newspaper office, The New York Star. The chief editor is named Crane Stewart (Charles D. Brown) who serves as the narrator of a crime story about to unfold on the screen.

The narrative is presented as a flashback set during the Prohibition era, around 20 years earlier. The film centers on NYPD Lt. Tom Cochrane (William Gargan), a devoted family man entangled in a steamy affair with the seductive Jill Merrill (Janis Carter). One night, while parked in a secluded area, the couple witnesses a chilling murder. The killer, driving another car, brutally bludgeons his companion to death with a hammer. Aware of the potential scandal their involvement might cause, Merrill urges Cochrane not to intervene and risk exposing their affair through a police investigation.

Following Merrill's advice, Cochrane lets the murderer escape, and this decision serves as the turning point into the film's second act. As the police investigation unfolds, Cochrane finds himself in an uncomfortable position as one of the investigators assigned to the case-the same murder he witnessed.

The plot takes several intriguing twists and turns to maintain the audience's interest. It is revealed that Merrill already knew the murderer, a bank employee named Douglas Loring (Frank Wilcox). Initially, Loring is off the hook when the police arrest a drifter found in possession of items belonging to the victim. However, Cochrane can no longer tolerate his own cover-up and gathers evidence linking Loring to the crime, including fingerprints found in his car.

When confronted at the district attorney's office, Loring admits to having an affair with the victim and claims he was in her car hours before the murder occurred. In a surprising turn, Merrill arrives and temporarily provides Loring with an ironclad alibi, stating they were together at the movies during the time of the murder.

All seems lost until Cochrane recalls that the investigation discovered a flat tire tread, indicating that the car he was in had a tire issue. He presents this as evidence supporting his story of witnessing the murder while with Merrill.

One of the film's greatest strengths lies in Janis Carter's exceptional performance as a truly malevolent femme fatale. She portrays the character's manipulative and dangerous nature with convincing intensity. In a climactic scene, when Cochrane confronts her at a house party, she stabs him with an ice pick.

Cochrane manages to stumble out of the house with Merrill's assistance before collapsing. Although the wound is not fatal, Cochrane must face the consequences dictated by the Hays Code. Interestingly, he does not cry out for help when stabbed, as if he accepted the notion of receiving his "medicine" as a result of his actions. Furthermore, he loses his job as a police officer, a significant punishment.

Returning to the night editor as he concludes the narrative, the film delivers a satisfying twist ending when a visiting detective at the newspaper office is revealed to be Cochrane's son, Doc. Even more uplifting, Cochrane is seen working behind the cigarette counter in the lobby. This offers a refreshing sense of redemption for the fallen police lieutenant. He avoids imprisonment and sheds his previous self, no longer chasing after sadistic women.

Night Editor falls short in terms of production design, as it lacks an authentic representation of the 1920s era, with characters dressed in contemporary 1940s outfits. Nevertheless, despite the absence of major stars, the convincing performances and engaging tale provide a satisfying narrative of long-awaited moral redemption.

Mantrap

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 6 September 2020]

Sharp eyed viewers will see quite a bit of similarity between Night Editor and the classic Double Indemnity. At least in the Janis Carter character who makes Barbara Stanwyck's Phyllis Diedrichson look like Mother Goose.

The story is told in flashback by one of a bunch of reporters at the night desk of your typical urban newspaper. It's the story of homicide cop William Gargan and his extramarital involvement with Carter who has a society type husband of her own.

One night parked at the local passion pit the two witness a murder which considering the compromising position he's in Gargan doesn't report. Then he's one of a team assigned to the case.

Gargan gives a good portrait of a man trapped, but Carter is the ultimate in mantraps. You will not easily forget her.

Nice Little Noir

[boblipton · 6/10 · 7 September 2020]

Over an end-of-shift poker game, Night Editor Charles Brown tells a tale of morality lost. Police detective William Gargan has been carrying on an affair with rich Janis Carter. He's married to Jeff Donnell, but it's ok -- she's married too, to much older Roy Gordon. When they're out necking at the beach, they witness a murder. Gargan trapped between his wish to do his job, and desire to get back to wife and son, and how to explain what he was doing out there.

It's based on a radio show that ran from 1934 through 1938, written, produced and directed by Hal Burdick, who also played all the roles. Brown certainly doesn't play all the roles, but the interior movie stops occasionally for auctorial asides.

It's a decently run super-cheap noir, but Miss Carter doesn't quite bring off the role; I can't tell whether it's a matter of the script's translation from radio to film wasn't quite right, the Hays office interference, or Miss Carter not quite getting how to play a sadistic, slumming philanderer. Still, there are quieter pleasures, like Paul Burns as a sympathetic colleague, and Frank Wilcox as the actual murderer.

solid crime noir

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 7 September 2020]

New York Star editor Crane Stewart is playing poker with his friends. He tells a story about a cop involved in a murder investigation. Police detective Tony Cochrane is stepping out on his wife with devious blonde socialite Jill Merrill. He tells his wife that he is always working late nights. His boss is wondering why he's taking off on so many nights. While he's parked on an isolated beach with Jill, he tries to break up with her but she refuses to let him go. Then they witness a murder.

This started as a radio program and turned into a TV series. The basic premise is solid crime noir material. The newspaper poker game should be limited to an opening credit sequence. William Gargan looks like a fine character actor but he's not a sex symbol leading man. He's not able to maintain the rooting interest especially when he's with Jill. The story feels familiar. It's a guy investigating a crime that he's already involved in. It's like No Way Out and others. It's solid crime noir.

Hidden Gem - Night Editor

[arthur_tafero · 7/10 · 22 February 2021]

This was a very good film, but it could have been a great film. I understand why Hollywood used to be insistent on happy endings; that's what 90% of the audience wanted in those days. Audiences even want that now. But if you had a happy ending for a film like Sunset Boulevard, it wouldn't have been the classic that it is today. The acting is first-rate, as is the direction. The dialogue is creative and well written by Scott Littleton and Hal Smith (who actually did the screenplay). For something a bit different, try on this suit for a change. Enjoy the engaging cinematography of Burnett Guffey and Philip Tannura; it is a fresh and inventive mix of excellent shots.

Young man???

[valstone52 · 7/10 · 24 July 2020]

Good movie, but main characters are not believable. Jill saying to her husband, you remember this young man dear. Tony had to be pushing forty if anything. I like film noire femme fatales, but Jill was too coarse and crude. Very unlikeable person. The killer was weasely, he and Jill were a better match.

IF ONLY IT WAS BETTER...!

[masonfisk · 6/10 · 5 May 2021]

A 1946 film noir about an illicit affair which yields murderous consequences. On the surface, a happily married detective, played by William Gargan, (w/an adoring son) has a perfect life but he's been stepping out w/a blonde hussy, played by Janis Carter (who resembles Lana Turner). One night at a secluded spot on the highway, the couple witness a murder but when Gargan goes to intercede, Carter stops him rationalizing if he gets involved, his extramarital affair will be exposed. Doing some digging (after beating himself up as he continues to think about his dereliction of duty), he finds out the murderer has ties to Carter & hopes his self preservation to his wife will take precedence over arresting the correct parties. Pretty good for something running under 70 minutes but the unnecessary yarn telling bookends (a group of newspaper guys are gathered & one pipes up to tell the tale) adds nothing to the narrative especially w/the sunny ending presented.

Gritty...even by film noir standards.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 4 March 2010]

This is a relatively unknown lesser film noir movie. By the word 'lesser', I mean it's a B-movie--meant as a lower budget second feature back when it debuted. You can tell this is true because the film has no real stars in it--just career supporting actors, like William Gargan. It just so happens that I watched another Gargan B-film a few days ago ("Behind Green Lights") and thought he was great in the film--as he usually is. But, I must admit, "Night Editor" is not one of Gargan's best performances. The reason I say this is that his character behaves too distracted through much of the film and he comes off as almost like a zombie cop! I assume the director told him to emote that way--and it was a shame, as apart from that, it was an exceptional film.

The movie begins with some old time reporters telling a young guy the story of a cop who stayed away from home too often--and its consequences. It seems that the cop (Gargan) was working many late nights--mostly because he was cheating on his wife. The 'other woman', it turns out, is among the very worst and most evil of all the film noir dames I've ever seen. It's almost as if she isn't quite human because of her strange and unnatural nature.

One night when he is parked in a lonely place with this platinum blonde dame, a very brutal murder occurs right before their eyes. The cop, sadly, freezes. He COULD have possibly apprehended the murderer but froze--worried about how he could explain his being there with another woman. As for the woman, instead of being shocked, she actually is turned on by it and wants to see the corpse!! She calls out to her shocked lover to stop so they can take a peek--but he speeds off instead.

The next day, the victim is found and he, among others, is sent to investigate. He saw the murder and murderer but must pretend to know nothing about it or risk ruining his life. But, when an innocent man is later arrested and sentenced to death for the killing, his conscience gets the best of him--he must prove who really did the killing--even if it ruins his life. However, now his lover is his ex- and she is, in a very sick twist, dating the murderer--she finds him very exciting!!! This sick fascination with violence of the dame, combined with the brutality of the killing (with a tire iron--and they show some of this) and the use of rough noir phrases like "meat wagon" make this an unusually gritty and realistic cop film. This is, by far, the best aspect of this simple little film. In addition, by the end of the film, you've got a great conclusion that leaves you impressed. All in all, a very effective film and a great film for the money spent making it.

Worth seeing--and a must-see for fans of the genre.

murder mystery... too close for comfort

[ksf-2 · 8/10 · 12 May 2012]

(minor spoilers, but not really) Looks like this film was made into a TV series aboot 8 years later... film & TV show both written by Hal Burdick. In the film, a police detective Tony Cochrane (William Gargan) is assigned to a murder case where he has a personal connection, and could be implicated, even though he did NOT commit the moidah. Gargan often played the police officer or detective. VERY similar to 1987 movie "No Way Out", with Kevin Costner, where he also has a connection to the murder, and may be implicated. Paul Burns is his partner/sidekick "Ole", who keeps coming up with ideas and suggestions that might sink Tony. Janis Carter is "Jill", the femme fatale, who knows more than she is telling. Also a side story with Doug Loring, (Frank Wilcox), who is also involved somehow. Good story, lots of flashbacks, but it all holds together pretty well. Directed by Henry Levin, who directed many films from 1940 - 1980, some hits, some not. It's called Night Editor, but it's more of a who-dunnit with a newspaper setting tacked on at the beginning and end. Part of the "Bad Girls, Film Noir Volume 2" series from Columbia Classics.

Muddled script, and a female lead who's more nut job than noir seductress

[mbhur · 5/10 · 7 September 2020]

I saw this on Noir Alley on TCM, and after a big build up from Eddie Muller, who said it was one of his all-time favorite B noirs, I was sadly disappointed. Eddie was clearly very smitten with Janis Carter, but I think her performance here almost seems like a parody of noir bad girls, as if the director encouraged her to be over-the-top. In other films I've seen her in ("Framed," "The Woman on Pier 13") she's been more restrained and thus more effective. And actually sexier.

But I think the biggest problem with the movie is the script. It doesn't give Carter's character enough motivation for her actions. She's not after money or revenge, or even the man she loves. She's just kind of bored, and playing games for the fun of it. And her only "crime" is lying to the police, so that hardly seems like enough motivation for her to stab a police detective with an ice pick and subject herself to a murder charge. I guess we're just supposed to accept that she's crazy. So is this whole movie really just the portrait of a psycho? In classic film noir there is at least a twisted logic behind people's actions, even when the characters have obsessions that drive them to do unreasonable things.

William Gargan makes an effective noir "hero," trapped by his lust for Carter but ultimately struggling to do the right thing. But then how come he never comes right out and confesses that he was the murder scene, even when it gets down to the 11th hour before an innocent man's execution? An execution, by the way, that seems to be taking place literally about three days after the murder. Was there no trial? It's a giant flaw in logic. One of several in the script.

Also, we're told by the newspaper editor narrating the story that it took place during Prohibition, but there isn't even the slightest attempt at period clothes or cars. I know, it's a low budget movie, but even the dialogue is pure '40s.

I love B noirs, but while this movie checks many of the noir boxes, I wish there'd been more care given to the script. And that Carter could've played been a more believable noir seductress, and not just a nut job.

Unwaveringly honest noir with Director Levin and leads in great form

[adrianovasconcelos · 8/10 · 3 March 2022]

Director Henry Levin may never rate one of Hollywood's best, but he made some films of undeniable quality - including NIGHT EDITOR.

It posts very good cinematography by Guffey and Tannura, an incisive script from Harold Smith and, above all, high caliber acting from Gargan, Carter, Burns (fantastic Swedish accent), and Wilcox, who steals the show as the suave bank manager who doubles up as top villain.

For a 66' film, it boasts etched and credible characters, makes an intelligent use of narrator flashback, and builds solid motives for the actions of Gargan and Carter, the former as a police detective and philandering husband who witnesses a murder, the latter as the other witness who actually masterminds it and emerges as the femme fatale that any self-respecting film noir simply cannot do without.

I have to admit that when I saw Gargan drive an old car to pick up the fabulously gorgeous Carter wearing diamonds and mink coat, I thought the mismatch a mistake in the film - I judged too quickly, it was a very clever introduction to the devious femme fatale.

Good, tense dialogue and great ending, too.

Effective low budget noir with Hitchockian twists

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 23 July 2023]

The film starts out with a group of reporters that cover the crime beat playing cards on a hot summer night in the detective squad room of the local police station. To pass the time an older reporter tells in flashback the story of Lt. Detective Tony Cochrane (William Gargan).

Tony had been cheating on his true blue wife with a bloodless society gal, Jill Merrill (Janis Carter). He's been claiming he is working overtime at night on a case as cover. He takes Jill out to the beach in his car to try and break it off because the guilt is killing him. While there, they see another car park nearby. Then the man gets out of the car and beats his female passenger to death with a tire iron and then he runs off. Cochrane does nothing because of the scandal that would erupt if he admitted what he was doing there. It turns out the murdered girl is high society, so the police are under pressure to solve this one. Tony can't seem too much in the know lest he give himself away, but then an arrest is made of somebody he knows is innocent - the guy took the victim's purse after Tony had left the scene so he knows this is not the killer. Of course nobody else believes the guy's story. But now Tony must find out who that killer is before the state tries and executes an innocent man. And oddly enough, his old girlfriend isn't being helpful even with the small things in this case.

Some compare this to Double Indemnity, but I say no. Cochrane was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing for him to gain from the murder occurring. He just didn't want to lose everything - his job, his family, any respect he might have had in the community - had he said or done something immediately.

This film has no big stars in it, being a Columbia B of the time, but you'll always remember Janis Carter as the bad girl. At the time of the murder she actually gets sexually aroused at the idea of the murder repeating that she "wants to see her" (the body of the murdered girl). I have no idea how that got past the censors.

Just a minor point - When the older reporter starts to tell Tony's story he says this took place during prohibition. Yet practically the entire police force is bellying up to a local bar and ordering doubles when off duty. People are just stepping in off the street, so this is no speakeasy. Then toward the end the host of a society party assures a couple of officers who show up concerning the murder that the alcohol content of what he is serving is less than 3%, which what was allowed during the final stages of Prohibition. So it seems the makers of this B forgot more than a few times that they were not in the bold and bustling post war era of present day.

Post-war sadomasochism is a lesson in morality.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 1 May 2014]

"Let me see her!" the extremely kinky Janis Carter demands after witnessing a brutal murder of a young woman with her married lover (William Gargan) who happens to be one of the officers involved in the investigation. Carter and Gargan saw who the killer was, but can't reveal their identity because it would expose the affair and hurt Gargan's somewhat clingy wife (Jeff Donnell). Carter, too, has something to loose, being married to a very powerful man, and not wanting to give that up. Wht is a supposedly honest police officer to do?

Told in flashback, this "B" noir is a neat sleeper, and while far from perfect, it is quite daring considering that the Hays code was still in effect and this came to breaking a few major rules. Janis Carter is a vixen with claws sharper than any Jurassic Park cl;one and obviously a bit kinky in her need for physical love. She rivals Stanwyck, Joan Bennett, Ann Savage and Jane Greer in ferocity. Even if this vixen isn't a killer here, you know she has that capability.

The theme is retribution, how the cheating husband learns the truth about his selfish lover, and has to be nearly destroyed to come to his senses and truly atone. While there are certainly better examples of true film noir, this one is an interesting entry with different elements in plot, style and execution.