Many of the standard film noir components are blended together brilliantly in "Deadline At Dawn" to create a murder mystery that features a culprit whose identity, when revealed, is a genuine surprise. As its title suggests, the plot involves a race against time which adds tension and intensity as an innocent fall guy tries to prove that he's not a killer. Numerous twists, dead ends and colourful characters complicate the search for the real murderer and the dark city streets in which much of the action takes place, seem to carry a threat all of their own.
When on-leave sailor Alex Winkley (Bill Williams) wakes up in a New York City newsstand with a hangover and $1,400 in his pocket, he struggles to remember what happened before he blacked out. Gradually, he recalls losing all his money in a fixed card game and a woman who invited him to her apartment to fix her radio. As she refused to pay him for restoring her radio to working order, Alex comes to the conclusion that he must have stolen the money from her apartment to cover his losses.
In his confused state, Alex goes to a nearby dance-hall where he meets a taxi-dancer called June (Susan Hayward) who later takes him back to her place for sandwiches and listens when he tells her about the guilt he feels about not being able to remember how the $1,400 came into his possession. June advises him to take the money back to the apartment and agrees to go with him. When they go there, they find that Edna Bartelli (Lola Lane) has been strangled to death and Alex becomes anxious because he can't remember whether or not he killed her and also becomes convinced that the police will obviously regard him as the prime suspect.
June, whose life and work in the city has made her very cynical, feels some sympathy for Alex and finding his exceptional naiveté rather refreshing, decides to help him in his search for the real killer. Together, throughout a long hot night, they follow up whatever leads they can find with increasing desperation as they're also sharply aware that they only have until 6.00 a.m. to complete their investigation because, at that time, Alex has to catch his bus to report back to his base in Norfolk, Virginia.
"Deadline At Dawn" packs a lot into its 83 minutes and features a series of interesting characters. Alex and June are helped in their endeavours by a good natured cab driver, Gus Hoffman (Paul Lukas) who puts his cab at their disposal and shares his thoughts on life with them. Edna Bartelli turns out to be a woman with many enemies because she and her gangster husband, Val (Joseph Calleia) ran a blackmail scheme with many victims. Three of these victims, a blonde woman with a limp, a mystery woman with a gun who enters the Bartelli apartment to recover some letters and a Broadway producer who's a business associate of Val Bartelli, all become obvious suspects as does Edna's ex-husband, Sleepy Parsons (Marvin Miller).
The main strengths of this movie are its plot, which is based on a Cornell Woolrich (aka William Irish) novel, its array of well-drawn characters and Nicholas Musuraca's cinematography which contributes so much to the wonderful look and powerful atmosphere of the piece. In addition, a whole series of strong performances, especially from Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas and Joseph Calleia make this an enjoyable thriller that remains totally gripping throughout.
When on-leave sailor Alex Winkley (Bill Williams) wakes up in a New York City newsstand with a hangover and $1,400 in his pocket, he struggles to remember what happened before he blacked out. Gradually, he recalls losing all his money in a fixed card game and a woman who invited him to her apartment to fix her radio. As she refused to pay him for restoring her radio to working order, Alex comes to the conclusion that he must have stolen the money from her apartment to cover his losses.
In his confused state, Alex goes to a nearby dance-hall where he meets a taxi-dancer called June (Susan Hayward) who later takes him back to her place for sandwiches and listens when he tells her about the guilt he feels about not being able to remember how the $1,400 came into his possession. June advises him to take the money back to the apartment and agrees to go with him. When they go there, they find that Edna Bartelli (Lola Lane) has been strangled to death and Alex becomes anxious because he can't remember whether or not he killed her and also becomes convinced that the police will obviously regard him as the prime suspect.
June, whose life and work in the city has made her very cynical, feels some sympathy for Alex and finding his exceptional naiveté rather refreshing, decides to help him in his search for the real killer. Together, throughout a long hot night, they follow up whatever leads they can find with increasing desperation as they're also sharply aware that they only have until 6.00 a.m. to complete their investigation because, at that time, Alex has to catch his bus to report back to his base in Norfolk, Virginia.
"Deadline At Dawn" packs a lot into its 83 minutes and features a series of interesting characters. Alex and June are helped in their endeavours by a good natured cab driver, Gus Hoffman (Paul Lukas) who puts his cab at their disposal and shares his thoughts on life with them. Edna Bartelli turns out to be a woman with many enemies because she and her gangster husband, Val (Joseph Calleia) ran a blackmail scheme with many victims. Three of these victims, a blonde woman with a limp, a mystery woman with a gun who enters the Bartelli apartment to recover some letters and a Broadway producer who's a business associate of Val Bartelli, all become obvious suspects as does Edna's ex-husband, Sleepy Parsons (Marvin Miller).
The main strengths of this movie are its plot, which is based on a Cornell Woolrich (aka William Irish) novel, its array of well-drawn characters and Nicholas Musuraca's cinematography which contributes so much to the wonderful look and powerful atmosphere of the piece. In addition, a whole series of strong performances, especially from Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas and Joseph Calleia make this an enjoyable thriller that remains totally gripping throughout.