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Memorable, crazy movie

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Blistering performances.

One of the people reviewing on this site noticed a similarity to 1952's Turning Point and asked if Hollywood would recycle a film in just two years.The answer to that is yes, but I think in this case, it was just a coincidence. Studios recycled scripts all the time - they would do it as an A picture, then another time as a B picture. But these are two different studios and the writers are different.The story is about two police officers who are partners, Rocky Barnes and Dan Purvis (Edmund O'Brien and Mark Stevens) who work the night shift. Purvis is interested in the night call operator (Gale Storm) and wants to meet her. Both men meet her, become interested in her, and take her out to dinner. Turns out her father was a police officer who was killed, and she's not interested in dating cops. However, thanks to her mother's interfering, they move into the other side of their house, which is for rent. Ultimately she becomes engaged to Purvis, which Barnes accepts with good grace.Barnes and Purvis are trying to nab a mobster, Ritchie Garris (Donald Buka). They find out that a bigger mobster, Leo Cusick (Roland Winters) is planning on moving in on Garris' territory. When they finally are able to arrest Garris, he threatens to get back at Barnes and Purvis if it's the last thing he does. When he escapes, they're in danger. Police start watching the apartment of his girlfriend, Terry (Gale Robbins).Pretty good drama with nice performances by all involved.

"Between Midnight and Dawn" is buddy/cop movie about two ex marines who are now uniformed policemen in an unnamed city. The title refers to the graveyard shift that they work through most of the story.Mark Stevens and Edmond O'Brien play officers Rocky Barnes and Dan Purvis respectively who go about their business arresting crooks, breaking up fights and the like. Barnes takes a liking to a voice he here's on the police radio. The voice turns out to belong to Kathy Malloy (Gale Storm), their boss Lt. Masterton's (Anthony Ross) assistant. Naturally a triangle is formed as both Barnes and Purvis pursue her to the point of moving next door to her.On the serious side the boys are trying to get something on Ritchie Garris (Donald Buka) a baby-faced mobster who runs a popular night club. To show their honesty, the boys reject an attempted bribe by the gangster. One night while at the club off duty with Kathy they spot rival mobster Lee Cusick (Roland Winters). Cusick tries to muscle in on Garris' territory only to be murdered for his trouble.Cusick's murder give Barnes and Purvis the opening they need to go after Garris. Barnes and Purvis arrest Garris and he is brought to trial and is found guilty of murder. On his way to jail Garris vows revenge on the two cops that arrested him. At this point you just know that he will escape and attempt to carry out his threat.An argument could be made to type this picture as a "film noire" as most of the action takes place at night on the shadowy rain soaked streets of the unnamed city where the story takes place. As in most buddy movies you sense that misfortune will befall one of them and that one will ultimately get the girl. There is a "femme fatale" of sorts in the person of Garris' girl friend Terry Romaine (Gale Robbins)who ultimately has an effect on the out come of the story.The light hearted banter between the three principals seems a little bit out of place in this otherwise serious police drama but what the heck this was 1950 after all. Edmond O'Brien stands out among the cast (as he usually did) as Purvis the serious cop. Mark Stevens is adequate as his partner but O'Brien steals the picture.Gale Storm would go on to greater fame on TV as "My Little Margie". Roland Winters had just finished playing Charlie Chan in the long running series."Between Midnight and Dawn" suffers from the light comedy scenes but overall is an enjoyable police buddy picture.

Like a previous reviewer, I also like Gale Storm. I can still remember the theme music to her early TV show "The Gale Storm Show". Years later when I saw some of her older films I was struck by how pretty she was as well as being a terrific singer. Even in a Frankie Darro movie ("Let's Go Collegiate" I think) where she only tagged along, she really stood out, especially when she sang. Just imagine if she had been with MGM in some of those heady musicals with grade A productions as well as being surrounded by big stars, she would have really reached the top. But unfortunately she was trapped at Monogram and by the end of the 40s when she was starting to get a few interesting dramatic roles television beckoned. The star of this movie, Edmond O'Brien, was also terribly under-rated, in my opinion - it was his "ordinary guy" looks and lack of artifice in a decade of pretty boys (Robert Taylor, Tyrone Power) that probably kept him from stardom.It was films like this one that set the high moralistic tone that was followed by TV shows such as "Dragnet", "Lock Up" and "Racket Squad". "Between Midnight and Dawn" attempted a very realistic portrayal of patrol men on the beat and their private lives, complete with the banter and wisecracks that in their stressful work environment they couldn't survive without (they called each other the "gruesome twosome"!!). Barnes (Mark Stevens) and Purvis (O'Brien) are a pair of "prowl car" cops who work the midnight to dawn shift. Barnes still has his humanity but Purvis is hardened, especially when it comes to "low dirty dames" who are involved with the scum of the street!!! A young girl caught up in a burglary gets no sympathy from hard hearted Purvis. His philosophy is that in a year's time she won't be so innocent!!! Barnes is shocked at his partner's attitude. One thing they both agree on is the honeyed tones of the girl on the switchboard - a girl they have never seen!! Kate turns out to be just as beautiful as she sounds (how could she help it, being Gale Storm)!! and she is also the daughter of a policeman slain in the line of duty. That means initially she is firm in her resolve not to date policemen but of course she is talked around. I felt at first she was drawn to Purvis, but his steely and rough approach especially during a scene where he slaps singer Terry (Gale Robbins) silly to get her to talk, really shocks Kate. Of course with Edmond O'Brien at hand, she is not really going to end up with Barnes. He is neatly disposed of about 3/4 of the way through. Purvis then has about half an hour to find his sensitive side which he does, in a shootout involving a small child and Terry, whose actions cause him to have a major rethink about his attitude and his approach to his work!!I would really recommend this terrific little movie, could it have been one of the first films to show the unglamorous policing of "prowl car" men?? And also the pity that Edmond O'Brien didn't get the acting kudos he so richly deserved!!

Contains SpoilersEver wondered how various producers, writers and directors came up with original ideas for such TV classics such as "Adam Twelve", "Dragnet", "CHIPS", "Police Story", "Columbo", "McCloud" and maybe even "Police Woman's" leading lady "Pepper" played by Angie Dickinson ? I'm sure this classic 1950 good cops and nasty bad guys "B" movie "Between Midnight and Dawn" had to have been THE model for "partner" cop dramas that teamed up two good, morally correct and by-the-book street cops together in some very dangerous, and very believable situations. The two idealistic and by-the-book cops played by Mark Stevens and Edmond O'Brien present their roles with exceptional style. Donald Buka, who played in numerous criminal roles, also gives a great performance as the sadistic crime boss turned cop killer "Ritchie". The crime boss has one of the best "mugs" for crime stories - thin, nervous lips, a sub-zero stare and equally cold eyes that give audiences a lot of material for many nightmares.This film was made in 1950 and certainly belongs into the upper level of classic "B" movies that showed a much darker side of society and the hidden slums of big cities in postwar America. It's obvious that the writers, directors, and producers of dozens of film classics such as "Ashfault Jungle" starring Sterling Hayden and "Cross Cross" starring Burt Lancaster were trying to make a very strong point that following the unbelievable horrors of World War II, the movies had many new, and more graphic boundaries in terms of depicting society, crime, suffering, and the sadistic nature of the those who prayed on the innocent."Between Midnight and Dawn" could easily be rewritten into a current police drama. Simply add some more currently cars, and a little more violence and you could have a major box office smash in 2004. . . . . . . This 1950 film is simple, and gives a new insight into the routine, predicable, and often violent surprises of the street cops who work the graveyard shift in an unknown, and large Midwest city. The scenes take place mostly at night, and show few, if any pretty interludes as Mark Stevens and Gale Storm (who plays a sexy voiced radio dispatcher) gradually begin a short, and tragic relationship. Gale Storm was rarely given any opportunities to show her screen talents, and it's a rare treat to see this pretty gal who had several #1 song hits in the early 1950's (like "Dark Moon") display some great acting talents. Edmond O'Brien, who was one of the screen's grittiest and well-rounded actors comes across as a tough, no-nonsense cop who hunts down the sadistic killer of his partner Stevens. Early in the story, the two cops catch a nasty criminal who guns down a rival hood for control of the city's gambling action, and when he's brought to trial he swears revenge for the two cops who testify against him. Shortly before he's transferred to the state prison, the gunman's cohorts free him from a jail hospital in a dramatic escape and gun battle. Within hours Stevens is gunned down by Ritchie while out on patrol and his partner O'Brien watches in horror as his partner wilts under gunfire. Gale Storm, now in love with Stevens has a few last moments with him, and the two discuss plans about a wedding before Stevens dies on the operating table.Now the stage is set for some major reprisals by the police, and the hunt takes a very personal mission by O'Brien who baggers and roughs up the killer's girlfriend - a beautiful night club singer in a vain attempt to gain the location of her "mad dog" boyfriend. Following the classic story line of "I'm an absolute sucker for my girlfriend", the killer foolishly sneaks into his sexy girlfiend's apartment, without realizing that the police have set up hidden microphones, and are monitoring her phone calls and all activities from the basement of her high rise building. Oh please, is this guy REALLY dumb or what ???Within minutes police converge on the building, and put on a great show of spotlights, begin shouting into bullhorns "come out this is your last chance", and must have 100 police with guns of every description trained on the windows. In one last desperate attempt to buy some extra minutes for his escape, the mad dog killer grabs a small child from an adjoining apartment and dangles her outside the window . . . "You cops let me go or I drop this girl in 30 seconds" !!!!!. . . . WHEW, things are really tense, and the action level rises to the boiling point. The final moments have to go down as one of THE best classic life or death scenes between an army of cops, the determined O'Brien who wants blood, the equally determined mad dog killer, an innocent (and screaming) little girl and a suddenly turned moralistic girlfriend who jumps in front of her killer boyfriend's bullet meant for O'Brien. Just before the killer is shot dead in the hallway he makes one last insulting comment "You crazy dame" to his dying girlfriend. As expected the mad dog cop killer gets his punishment in the final and most violent scene (especially for 1950) and leaves a wall full of blood as he takes bullet after bullet from O'Brien.We're not sure if O'Brien and Gale Storm begin a new love interest, however the director leaves a final subtle message that may very well be a STRONG possibility.One final note, Hollywood had two very obvious "camps" of "A" and "B" actors and although all of the "B" group gave first rate performances in this fast-paced, and excellent film, very few of them ever made the transition into the "major leagues" of Hollywood. It's also very clear that the director choose a proven and reliable actor like Edmond O'Brien to greatly improve the over all quality and pace of this exciting melodrama.The determined cops, the nasty criminals, and all of the supporting cast pulled out their talents to the max and made "Between Midnight and Dawn" one of the BEST of the top 100 crime dramas of all time from the classic black and white era. One of the best and shortest performances featured character actress Madge Blake who was one of the most recognized actresses in films of the 1950's. She also had a short revival of her career as Bruce Wayne's mother in TV's "Batman" in the mid-1960's.