RKO Radio Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Deadline at Dawn
Fate points the finger of suspicion... and one evening of innocent fun turns into a nightmare of MURDER!
A young Navy sailor has one night to find out why a woman was killed and he ended up with a bag of money after a drinking blackout.
- Original title
- Deadline at Dawn
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
John Chard
Feb 16, 2020 · via TMDB
People with wax heads should keep out of the sun! Deadline at Dawn is directed by Harold Clurman and adapted to screenplay by Clifford Odets from the novel written by Cornell Woolrich. It stars Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams, Joseph Calleia, Osa Masson and Lola Lane. Music is by Hans Eisler and cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. Sailor Alex Winkley (Williams) wakes up with hangover amnesia to find he has a wad of cash on his person that he didn't have before his drunken exploits. Enlisting the help of dancer June Goth (Hayward), he retraces his steps to the home of the nightclub hostess who had befriended him the night before. Finding the woman dead, Alex doesn't know if he murdered and robbed her? So with the clock ticking, Alex and his friend have to find out what happened... "She's a blitzkrieg with hair on her head" Amnesia formed the backbone of many a good film noir picture, here we have a familiar theme brought about by a simple social occurrence, that of a drunken night. This sets us up for a mystery to be solved as our protagonists trawl through a backlot produced night time New York that's awash with a whole array of damaged or menacing characters. The dialogue is often sharp, where we get plenty of choice one liners and superb philosophical musings from Lukas' taxi driver who has joined the fight to prove Alex's innocence (in fact all the cabbies in this are real cool). This was Clurman's only big screen directing assignment, and in truth it's just a passable job and he's saved by strong turns from Hayward and Lukas. However, there's a nifty noir world painted and the pic constantly holds interest value. 7/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Susan Hayward
June Goffe
Paul Lukas
Gus Hoffman
Bill Williams
Alex Winkler
Joseph Calleia
Val Bartelli
Osa Massen
Helen Robinson
Lola Lane
Edna Bartelli
Jerome Cowan
Lester Brady
Marvin Miller
Sleepy Parsons
Roman Bohnen
Frantic Man with Injured Cat
Steven Geray
Edward Honig
Joe Sawyer
Babe Dooley
Constance Worth
Nan Raymond
Joseph Crehan
Lt. Kane
Ernie Adams
Waiter (uncredited)
Fred Aldrich
Nightclub Guest (uncredited)
Billy Bletcher
Waiter (uncredited)
Al Bridge
Detective Smiley (uncredited)
William Challee
Ray (Newsstand Proprietor) (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler
Policeman (uncredited)
Jack Cheatham
Policeman (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn
Capt. Dill (uncredited)
Dick Elliott
Chap (uncredited)
John Elliott
Sleepy Man (uncredited)
Virginia Farmer
Building Superintendent's Wife (uncredited)
Byron Foulger
Night Attendant (uncredited)
Edward Gargan
Bouncer (uncredited)
Earle Hodgins
Barker (uncredited)
Jack Kenney
Headwaiter (uncredited)
Colin Kenny
Birthday Party Table Guest (uncredited)
Ethelreda Leopold
Dancer (uncredited)
Emory Parnell
Police Captain Bender (uncredited)
Jason Robards Sr.
Policeman with Liquor Bottle (uncredited)
Shimen Ruskin
Sam (Taxi Driver) (uncredited)
Walter Soderling
Building Super (uncredited)
George Tyne
Soft Drink Proprietor (uncredited)
Billy Wayne
Billy White (uncredited)
Larry Wheat
Derelict (uncredited)
Albert S. D'Agostino
Art Direction
Nicholas Musuraca
Director of Photography
Renié
Costume Design
Vernon L. Walker
Special Effects
William Cameron Menzies
Co-Director
C. Bakaleinikoff
Music Director
Hanns Eisler
Original Music Composer
Cornell Woolrich
Novel
Clifford Odets
Screenplay
Where's The Colonel
The Fleet's In
One Shoe Makes it Murder
Chained
The Long Memory
Friends with Benefits
They Made Me a Fugitive
Nowhere to Go
Man on a Ledge
Premium Rush
Daybreak
The Resident
A Dangerous Profession
I Was a Communist for the FBI
My Gun Is Quick
Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence
Primal
The Passion of Ayn Rand
Just One Time
No Escape
Vertigo
The Maltese Falcon
Shadow of a Doubt
Spellbound
Dark Passage
The Naked City
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
Phantom Lady
The Scarlet Claw
D.O.A.
Young Sherlock Holmes
The Glass Key
Crossfire
Young and Innocent
A Blueprint for Murder
The Mirror Crack'd
Secret Agent
Lady in the Lake
Black Angel
Murder!
Feb 15, 1946
Buffalo, New York
Mar 21, 1946
Baltimore, Maryland
Apr 3, 1946
