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Deadline at Dawn

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Deadline at Dawn is a 1946 film noir, the only film directed by stage director Harold Clurman. It was written by Clifford Odets and based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich (as William Irish). The RKO Radio Picture was the only cinematic collaboration between Clurman and his former Group Theatre associate, screenwriter Odets. The director of photography was RKO regular Nicholas Musuraca. The musical score was by German refugee composer Hanns Eisler.

Plot

Alex Winkley (Bill Williams), a young Navy sailor, wakes up from a night of drinking in New York City and finds he has a wad of cash. His memory is hazy but he knows he got it from a woman he visited earlier in the evening, Edna Bartelli (Lane).

With the help of a dance hall girl June Goth (Hayward), he attempts to return the money only to find the woman he got the cash from is dead. The sailor isn't sure if he's the killer or not. The pair, along with a philosophical cabbie (Lukas), stay up all night attempting to solve the murder mystery before the sailor has to catch a bus to the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia in the morning. Their deadline is at dawn.

During the film there are many false leads and red herrings, involving a blind piano player, Sleepy Parsons (Miller) and a young couple. Bartelli was in the business of blackmailing men with whom she had affairs, so there are many possible suspects. The woman's brother Val (Calleia), adds a touch of menace. The surprise ending resolves all issues, including the relationship between Alex and June,

Production details

The dialogue contains Odets' trademark New York wisecracks. For example, while dancing at club early in the movie, the Hayward character says, "this is like a post office, filled with second class matter." There are many "slice of life" characterizations of big city people in small roles, such as a tired banana salesman, a refugee with a skin condition who has a crush on June, and a wisecracking sidewalk pitchman. Odets' Group Theater colleague Roman Bohnen appears in a bit part, as a grief-stricken man with a dying cat.

Cast

External links



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Last updated on Thursday July 17, 2008 at 07:37:47 PDT (GMT -0700)
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