| Between Midnight and Dawn | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
| Screenplay by | Eugene Ling |
| Story by | Gerald Drayson Adams Leo Katcher |
| Produced by | Hunt Stromberg |
| Starring | Mark Stevens Edmond O'Brien Gale Storm |
| Cinematography | George E. Diskant |
| Edited by | Gene Havlick |
| Music by | George Duning |
Production | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Between Midnight and Dawn is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien and Gale Storm.[1] It is notable as one of the earliest Hollywood policiers to focus on beat cops rather than detectives and other high-ranking officers.
Childhood friends Rocky Barnes and Dan Purvis are Los Angeles prowl car cops on night duty. Barnes is easygoing while Purvis is a cynic who views all lawbreakers as scum. Both men are attracted to radio communicator Kate Mallory but she is reluctant to get involved with policemen, her cop father having been killed in the line of duty. After several pushes from her mother, she eventually falls for Barnes.
While Barnes and Purvis are shown patrolling the streets and responding to crime small and organized, it is their arrest of murderous racketeer Ritchie Garris that is most consequential. After his arrest Garris swears vengeance on the duo, and quickly carries out his threat by escaping from prison, and shooting Barnes in the face several times.
After months of hiding from the police, Garris finally believes it is safe to collect to his girlfriend Terry Romaine and then flee to Mexico. The police, however, have been surveilling Romaine's apartment and quickly close in on Garris. In a desperate attempt for his freedom, he takes a neighbor girl hostage, forcing a daring one-man raid from Purvis. While his smoke bomb separates the child from the killer, it also disorients Purvis allowing Garris to get the jump on him. At the last minute Romaine jumps in front of Garris' bullet, saving Purvis' life and forcing the officer to rethink his cynicism.
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