Night Unto Night

Stunning photography and Don Siegel's direction make the most of an unusual overly melodramatic story starring Ronald Reagan as a scientist with epilepsy who goes to south Florida on doctor's orders and meets a young woman, (Viveca Lindfors) recently widowed, who is haunted by the voice of her dead husband. Reagan rents her slightly dilapidated beach mansion and experiences several epileptic episodes, but tries his best to keep his condition a secret. Broderick Crawford's role as an artist who lives close by verges on annoying as he goes on and on about art and life. Ossa Massen gives the film a boost as Lindfor's scheming, jealous sister who tries seducing Reagan and later drunkenly blurts out his secret when she realizes that she can't have him. The concluding hurricane arrives just in time, with all the main characters assembled for dinner in the creaky old mansion, and Reagan pushed to verge of suicide by the shame of his medical condition, while Lindfors begs him to reconsider.

I was a young teenager when this film came out. I couldn't recognize a set from the real outdoors and, of course, knew nothing about plot and character development, pacing, conflict resolution, etc. But now, viewing it with a more critical eye I can see its weaknesses. Still I need to make one comment. In the film there is a romantic interlude that takes place at night on the beach. It culminates in a long, lingering kiss. For some reason the technicians, especially the lighting technicians, took a great deal of time setting up the scene. The amount of time and effort even became part of what little lore remains about the picture. Well, to a young, impressionable lad, that was my first sense of the warmth of romance in films. Before this, my only interest were comedies and adventures. Now I sensed their potential for romance--and I liked it.

Someone missed the boat here, but I'm not sure where it all went wrong. Ronald Reagan, Viveca Lindfors, Broderick Crawford, Rosemary DeCamp and Osa Massen star in "Night Unto Night," a 1949 psychological drama directed by Don Siegel.

The story concerns a scientist, John Galen (Reagan) who rents a house in South Florida owned by a widow, Ann (Lindfors) who believes she hears her husband's voice. She continues to mourn her husband and can't embrace life; Galen has been told he has epilepsy and has taken the house to work and try to deal with his situation.

Filmed mostly on sets, despite the beautiful cinematography, a lot of scenes look fake. The photography does give the film a brooding atmosphere.

There are some interesting metaphysical, "today" ideas tossed around in the script, but the dialogue is pretentious, not at all like normal people speak. Also, epilepsy here seems to be treated as almost a death sentence or at least a communicable disease. Perhaps back in 1949 that's how it was viewed.

Reagan, a pleasant actor, didn't have a great range and was much better in comedy. He seems miscast here, and the role didn't play to his main assets, which were charm and a genial presence.

Viveca Lindfors was brought over from Sweden as the next Ingrid Bergman; it came as a surprise when husband Don Siegel made a name for himself when he directed "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" when she was supposed to be the star. Despite being beautiful and a wonderful actress, she never made it to the top tier. The actresses who were part of the foreign influx post-war: Alida Valli, Valentina Cortese, Maria Schell, Hildegarde Knef, Mai Zetterling -- all met similar fates. Of all of them, Lindfors was the only one who stayed in America and worked, in film, television, and on the stage - until her death in 1995.

A bizarre film, with spirited performances by Lillian Yarbo, Rosemary DeCamp, Osa Massen, and Broderick Crawford.

This fascinating title 'Night Unto Night' was perhaps an American film ahead of it's time. In the late 40's you might expect Europe and Britain would be more prone to produce works with the themes found in 'Night'. Maybe this explains why the film was better received outside the USA.

It's a serious story written by Philip Wylie, also known for 'Island of Lost Souls', 'When Worlds Collide', etc. Here we have a story that reaches into the darkness of the human condition, uncovering the vulnerable surfaces that either hold us together or tear us apart. Obviously, after producing this film Warner Brothers did not quite know what to do with it so, shelved it for over a year. It's more along the lines of the socially conscious stories that First National Pictures were unafraid to make in the 30's IE; 'Heroes For Sale' etc. The screenplay adaptation by Kathryn Scola, who had earlier worked on 'The Glass Key', 'A Modern Hero', etc, has a sharp edge to it, bringing to life Wylies' troubled characters quite nicely. The two European female imports do very well in vastly different character turns. Swedish Viveca Lindfors is near perfect as the haunted feminine lead, while Danish Osa Massen plays her superficial, vampish sister to the hilt.

American Producer Owen Crump, while not generally well known, was himself not unfamiliar with making films in Europe. He is also known to Write: "Zeppelin" 71, ~ and to Direct: "The Couch" 62. The weakest link in this production lies with his allocated Director, Don Siegel. This was only Siegel's 2nd feature and he was not up to the material. Siegel tended to be more suited to the simple 'shoot em up' Eastwood type films.

Visually the film is absolutely stunning. Cinematographer John Peveral Marley who's known for all time classics such as the original 'Count of Monte Cristo' - 'Suez' - 'Night and Day' etc, crafts a treat for the artistic eye with his eerie floating camera, spiraling along dark stairways and over glistening waters. Marley is ably supported by Art Director Hugh Reticker ('Humoresque' etc) who creates a darkly Gothic look and feel to the interiors of Lindfors' rambling beach front house. Also adding a strong sense of mystic mood is Franz Waxmans' music, conjuring up the building torment of the two suffering leads.

Acting honours should go to Broderick Crawford for his strong portrayal as Reagans newly found Artist friend, he's a man who shuns commercialism and offers sympathetic spiritual support to both leads. If it's action you want, you wont get it here. Thoughtful viewers should find rewards if they approach it as a soul searching character study. If this was not meant to be 'A grade', then in so many ways it certainly is. Watch for Craig Stevens, TV's Peter Gunn, who two decades latter would again work for Producer Owen Crump in the 1967 theatrical feature version of 'Gunn'. Recently, at two private film appreciation group screenings of Night Unto Night (with an audience mix of young and older viewers) when the film ended, there was a round of enthusiastic applause, and much discussion followed ~ ninety percent said the film was quality melodrama of the 'superior' kind. Most also said it's one of the best performances they'd seen from Reagan, I have to agree. This unfairly dismissed film is highly recommended for lovers of late 40's romantic noir. Ken Roche......

"Night Unto Night" was made in 1947 and was not released until 1949. That is a very bad sign...a sign that the studio thought they had a bomb on their hands. While I would not call this one a bomb, it certainly could have been a lot better...and it's a shame because the acting is really nice in this one...particularly by Ronald Reagan in the lead.

When the film begins, John (Reagan) moves to the Florida coast and finds a home to rent. A widow (Viveca Linfors) wants to leave her home...and not for the usual reasons. She thinks the place is haunted and she hears her dead husband's voice there! John thinks this is nutty but is a gentle man and treats her well despite her odd delusion. Eventually the pair fall in love...but he has a secret he broods over...he has epilepsy.

The acting and production values are really nice in this one but the film acted like epilepsy is some sort of death sentence...or at least a life destroyer! It certainly isn't and handling the illness this way seemed pretty crass and silly. Overall, some nice moments but the plot just didn't make a lot of sense...and marrying a man who occasionally goes blank (which happens with many types of seizures) is NOT something that destroys your life or makes you destined to be a lonely recluse! The writing sinks this one....and it's a shame as Reagan is at his best in this one. And, I wonder how epileptics felt when they watched this film...as if they were somehow destined for hollow lives because of the disorder!