RKO Radio Pictures
Not part of a collection.
The Long Night
COMING AT YOU ... in a blast of terrific drama!
City police surround a building, attempting to capture a suspected murderer. The suspect knows there is no escape but refuses to give in.
- Original title
- The Long Night
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Mar 29, 2025 · via TMDB
The claustrophobic setting and the photography here really do promise much, but as the story unravels it becomes all a bit disappointing. Henry Fonda is beleaguered war veteran “Joe” who has returned to discover that a lot has changed since his departure. For a start, his beloved “Jo Ann” (Barbara Bel Geddes) turns out to have been slightly economical with the truth about her relationship with the odious magician “Max” (Vincent Price). On that front, his former assistant “Charlene” (Ann Dvorak) is not entirely unknown to “Joe” either. Now this is told via flashback, and so we know that “Joe” is holed up in an apartment that’s been riddled by official bullets and that someone is dead at his hands. What we don’t yet know is who and why. That explanation doesn’t work so well here, despite a strong effort from Fonda and a gently engaging one from the ladies. Price has the best role in the story, I think, but he just over-eggs his character and what little sense of jeopardy the flashbacks allow is replaced by more than an hint of rather stolidly played out love-quadrangle melodrama. It’s based on a much grittier story by Jacques Viot - that has nothing to do with war, veterans nor psychological exhaustion, and that imbues the characters with much more nuance and passion than we see here as “Joe” is almost given excuses for his behaviour by his traumatic experiences in France. Sadly, after a really compelling and dark start it heads to a conclusion that just leaves very little to the imagination.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video
YouTube TV
TCM
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Amazon Video
Henry Fonda
Joe Adams
Barbara Bel Geddes
Jo Ann
Vincent Price
Maximilian the Great
Ann Dvorak
Charlene
Howard Freeman
Sheriff Ned Meade
Moroni Olsen
Chief of Police Bob McManus
Elisha Cook Jr.
Frank Dunlap
Queenie Smith
Mrs. Tully
David Clarke
Bill Pulanski
Charles McGraw
Policeman Stevens
Melinda Byron
Peggy
Davis Roberts
Freddie
Murray Alper
Mac - Bartender (uncredited)
Ellen Corby
Observer in Crowd (uncredited)
Byron Foulger
Man with Bike (uncredited)
Mary Gordon
Old Woman in Crowd (uncredited)
Ray Teal
Mr. Hudson (uncredited)
Will Wright
Mr. Tully - the Janitor (uncredited)
Eugène Lourié
Production Design
Renié
Costume Design
Anatole Litvak
Director
Anatole Litvak
Producer
Robert Hakim
Producer
Dimitri Tiomkin
Original Music Composer
Vestige
The strange case of detective Jones
Scarface
Casablanca
Double Indemnity
M
Rebecca
Heat
Silmät hämärässä
Notorious
Aladdin
Strangers on a Train
The Killing
Sweet Smell of Success
The Big Sleep
Emil and the Detectives
Gilda
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Scarface
The Lady Vanishes
Shrek 2
The 39 Steps
Woman of the Year
The Good Companions
The Science of Sleep
Insomnia
King Kong
Ferocious Wolf
Heart Blackened
Enchanted
City of Angels
Brighton Rock
The Thomas Crown Affair
A Girl Called Rosemarie
Shall We Dance?
Sleuth
Emil and the Detectives
The Eyes
Bloody Daddy
When in Rome
Hello Ghost
Friday the 13th
Sister
Streetwalker
Planet of the Apes
The Omen
Emil and the Detectives
Thalli Pogathey
Bangkok Dangerous
Journey Bombay to Goa
Death Rite
The Truth About Charlie
The Hot Month of August
Swept Away
The Crimson Key
Anaamika
Naked Wishes
Iris
Under Glass
Méprisé
White Heat
The Asphalt Jungle
Brute Force
West Side Story
The Naked City
The Outfit
The Big Combo
Insomnia
Nightfall
Now You See Me 2
Woman on the Run
He Walked by Night
The Parts You Lose
Cry of the City
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her
Hollow Triumph
Save the Last Dance
F.I.S.T.
The Verdict
Fallen Angel
The Seven-Ups
The Paradine Case
Not Easily Broken
The Organization
Killer's Kiss
Winter's Tale
Transporter 3
The Mirror Crack'd
Marlowe
Angel Eyes
Thick as Thieves
Limbo
May 28, 1947
