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Disappointment for a huge fan!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Nocturne is an atmospheric, entertaining noir/mystery thriller starring taciturn George Raft as a suspended Los Angeles police detective obsessed with proving an apparent suicide was actually a murder. During the course of his investigation, he gets to check out a covey of beautiful dames, as the murder victim was a Lothario par excellence. Even with the list narrowed down, figuring out which babe is the real femme-fa-tale may be the key to the mystery. Was it beautiful, buxom Lynn Bari, leggy, glamorous singer Virginia Huston, or some other honey -- you can't even trust the cleaning lady in this one! Wise-cracking, live-in maid Myrna Dell may have been more and known more than she lets on. Never mind the detective lives with his mother. He probably couldn't have supported the old bingo babe in the style she wasn't accustomed with separate digs on his salary. Mamma's boy or not, he's tough enough for the physical and emotional poundings he will have to go though before he gets to the bottom of this convoluted mystery.Nocturne is stylishly directed and sensuously filmed by all-purpose director Edwin L. Marin and veteran cinematographer Harry J. Wild with classic noir atmosphere so thick they could have bottled it. Top screen writer and sometimes mystery novelist Jonathan Latimer provides crackling, tough dialog while managing all the taut twists and turns of the Frank Fenton/Rowland Brown story. Marin was equally at home directing mystery thrillers like this, Ann Sothern's light comedies, or some of Randolph Scott's better westerns -- see my review of Fort Worth (1951). Nocturne is one of several collaborations between Marin and Raft, and they seemed to bring out the best in each other. The dark, intense, scene with Raft at the window curtains of the photographer's house is a text book example of noir cinema.Much ink -- far too much in fact -- has been spilled on this forum labeling George Raft a stiff, even a bad actor. All unfairly. Raft was a stone face to a certain extent all right, but that fit the characters he played -- and his fans liked. Nevertheless he said a lot with his eyes, inflections of his slightly nasal Lower-East Side Manhattan voice, and an enigmatic half-smile. Such a stoic style was admired in men of the 1940's, who regarded "wearing your emotions on your lapel" as unmanly, self-centered, and ill-mannered. This is of course a concept alien to the typically self-absorbed Baby Boomers and their strange hatchlings Gen-Xers, who spend practically every evening examining their navels then all the next day spilling their guts about it to whomever will listen.George Raft was actually a pretty good actor. And Nocturne is an excellent noir/mystery -- atmospheric, thrilling, dramatically engaging, dark, mysterious, exotic, and ultimately satisfying. Top drawer entertainment from Old Hollywood's Golden Era.

As most Fans of Film-Noir are aware, making a "pure" Noir is difficult at best. There seems to be a penchant to include disappointing and diverting Scenes and attributes not befitting the most elusive and interesting of Genres. Here we have an opening Reel much of which could be used as exclamations and examples of Film-Noir at its most compelling. But alas, only some snippets and occasional "bright" spots remain. Some snappy Dialog, lighting, Off-Studio L.A. locations, and brutal Violence are overshadowed by some Matronly Comedy relief, a hollow and forced Lead Performance, and a smarmy Ending Exit that hardly is Noir.There are enough elements here that keep it from sinking under its own convoluted weight and veering too far from Noir, that make it watchable. It is a minor entry in the Pantheon with some things that are intriguing, but still contains enough exacerbations that render this, for the most part, unfulfilled.

Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy pre-1960 films that use Los Angeles as a backdrop, and Nocturne is one of 'em. Several scenes were shot off the lot, and one can catch quick (and sometimes elongated) glimpses of Hollywood Blvd., Vine Street, Tom Brenneman's, the Pantages, and the (Hollywood) Brown Derby in their heyday - the exterior of the Derby is used for a scene between Warne and Torp, the oafish thug for hire. One of the places I haven't been able to pinpoint is the location of the Shawn photography studio. It could very well be the area of Sunset Blvd. printed on the photographer's mark in the film... hard to say as the whole area has changed dramatically since the late 1940's. And that's too bad, because the building they used for the exterior shot of the studio looked pretty nice. But I suspect that it's one of those buildings like Mildred Pierce's Glendale house: the actual structure was 1 storey on the outside and the Hollywood set shows it magically to be 2 storeys on the inside. Suspension of disbelief anyone?If you like post-war design as much as I, a couple of the sets are a treat to see - those being Vincent's house (possibly a Neutra-inspired creation) and the Shawn Studio, both of which feature up-to-the-minute trends in styling and decor (that is, for Southern California, 1946). Personally, I'd move into Keith Vincent's house in a heartbeat! It's like a little bit of Palm Springs in the Hollywood Hills.When it comes to performances, Mabel Paige steals the show, especially in the scene where she's having tea with her gambling partner, Mrs. O'Rourke (Virginia Edwards). Her character adds a delightful touch of homespun levity to the story. I'd love to have her as a grandmother!Surprisingly, George Raft's performance is so stiff that Woody Woodpecker was probably eying him for lunch. He kind of traipses through the pic with a strange, wry countenance, and grins at (what strike me as) odd times, like we're all missing out on some behind-the- scenes joke. Raft doesn't strike me as a great actor of the period, the likes of Clark Gable or Edward G. Robinson, but he held his own in movies where he played the bad guy. I don't think he really got the concept of how to play the good guy. Someone else said that Dick Powell should have been awarded the role, and I couldn't agree more. What a great transitional picture that could have been for Powell, the warbler from Warner Bros. turned private dick. Music and murder. But alas...Myrna Dell is a kick. I see her as a kind of a cross between Eve Arden and Joan Blondell. Wish there were more of her in the movie. Her delivery of lines like "I didn't listen to his music. It was icky!" are priceless.The full cast list includes characters in scenes that were deleted. I wonder what the deleted scenes were all about...(POSSIBLE SPOILER FOLLOWS) All in all, I really like this movie. It's got some fun twists and turns as it goes along, and the revelation of the culprit caught me by surprise. I have this film on a commercially-released VHS but have not come across it on DVD yet. Apparently it was released on DVD in the early 90's, so it probably isn't a restored print, and I'd also assume it wouldn't have any decent bonus material (like the deleted scenes). Too bad, because this is a good little film worth watching, all in all.

After George Raft left Warner Brothers in the early 1940s, his career was in the toilet. He'd rejected the leads in some amazingly successful films that would have made him a mega-star of the first caliber--such as "The Maltese Falcon", "Casablanca" and "Double Indemnity" (among others). His stubbornness and a string of mediocre films instead of hits really killed his career. By 1946, he was practically a has-been--and frankly most of his films of his latter career were really dull. In light of this, I had little faith in "Nocturne". Fortunately I was wrong.This movie hooked me early on--with two brilliant scenes that really set the stage for the rest of the movie. First, a playboy is talking to his latest conquest. It's obvious that she's just another notch on his bedpost and you only see her in the shadows. He basically sits there playing the piano as he laughs at her for trusting him. Nice guy, huh?! Then, when she blasts him, the audience is hooked--a wonderful way to get the viewer interested. Second, when the cops are investigating, the Lieutenant (George Raft) sits down at the piano and begins playing the unfinished song the creep had been working on when he was plugged--and the whole time the body is STILL lying there under the piano! What a tough film! I knew this wasn't going to be one of the dull Raft films he made so many of in the late 40s--this one had style.Upon further investigation, the coroner rules the case a suicide! However, the viewer knows this isn't so and Raft is inclined to think it's murder. After all, the creep had a long string of ladies who he'd used--surely one of them was mad enough to kill! While he's right, his methods during his investigation leave a lot to be desired. Now his methods aren't any more harsh than most cops in film noir movies--but that IS pretty harsh. However, unlike other noir films, Raft is rewarded for his actions by being fired! You can't just rough up people and act like you own the world without consequences--and I liked this aspect of the film, as it heightened the realism.Despite being fired, Raft is doggedly determined to investigate the case to the end. With a bit of help from, of all people, his sweet mother, Raft slowly starts to unravel the mystery. Considering that there is a big goon bent on breaking him in half, it's not so certain he won't be the next murder victim! Pluses for the film are, of course, the first five minutes, but also the great fight scenes (particularly at the 80 minute mark), an interesting plot and the fact that a cop CAN'T just beat up people and do what he wants--making it a lot more realistic than some noir films. Well worth seeing--and one of Raft's best films of his post-Warner Brothers years. Exciting and stylish. I nearly gave this one a 9--it was that good.