Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Nayan Gough 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.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

dougdoepke No need to recap the plot.The opening scenes suggest this will be a tough-minded buddy picture, with the great Eddie O'Brien and a good-natured Mark Stevens playing the two prowl car cops. Fortunately, this buddy part is convincing. Add some jarring action scenes from much underrated Director Gordon Douglas, and there's considerable to recommend. Trouble is the later romantic parts shift the mood into none-to-convincing light-hearted comedy. To me, the shifts are noticeable, weakening the movie as a whole. Plus, I'm inclined to think Gale Storm is miscast as a police dispatcher, much too malt shop and glowing. Maybe it's the My Little Margie factor, for which she was perfect. Nonetheless, there are a number of nice touches, such as the funny looking little boy, some good snappy lines, along with songbird Gale Robbins to add atmosphere. All in all, the 90-minutes doesn't fit easily into any category. It's mostly a crime drama, yet lacks the moral ambiguity of true noir. Still, any chance to catch Eddie O'Brien, one of Hollywood's best actors, makes the movie worthwhile, along with the great action scenes.(In passing—can't help noticing the similarity of this 1950 screenplay to 1952's The Turning Point. And that's down to even O'Brien as the luckier of the two buddies, William Holden being the other buddy. I wonder: could it be that Hollywood would actually recycle a plot just two years later—then again, do mosquitoes bite.)

bsmith5552 "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.

sol ***SPOILERS*** One of the first films that depicts police partners has squad car Officers Rocky Barnes & Dan Purvis, Mark Stevens & Edmond O'Brian,and the problems that's involved in their both private and professional lives. The movie also has the cute and talented singer, even though she doesn't sing a note throughout the entire film, a pre-"My Little Margie" Gale Storm as police dispatcher Kate Mallory who's dad a police officer was killed in the line of duty five years ago. It's Kate who gets between the two police partners and eventually ends up marrying one of them.It's both Barnes & Purvis' attempts to put part-time night club manager Ritchie Garris,Donald Buka,behind bars that in the end turns out to be deadly for them. In the two not realizing what a outright and maniacal psycho the guy really is. It in fact was out of town hood Leo Cusick, Ronald Winters, who set the deranged Garris off by muscling into his territory that started an all out gang war with Cusick ending up getting the worst of it.Captured in a wild car chase by both Barnes & Purvis Garris is convicted and given the death penalty for the murder of Leo Cusick but as we soon see that he has other plans. Escaping from the prison infirmary Garris sets his sights, or gun sights, on both Barnes & Purvis who had him put away. Gunning down Barnes who had since married Kate Mallory Garris ends up hold up in his girlfriend nightclub singer Terry Romaine's, Gale Robbins, apartment together with the supernatant's 9 year old daughter Kathy, Lora Lee Michael, held as a hostage.**SPOILERS*** Adrenaline driven final sequence with Purvis busting into Terry's fifth floor apartment. from the window ledge, with a teargas canister and having it out with the by now totally crazed and murderous Ritchie Garris. It was in fact Terry whom Purvis slapped around earlier in the film who ended up saving his neck by taking not one but three slugs meant for him by Garris. As for Garris he ends up getting blasted by Purvis and ironically as he falls down a flight of stairs he leaves his hand print on the wall covered with blood! That obviously meant to be, by the films director, all the blood that Garris had on his hands in the life of crime that he lead.P.S Actor Donald Buka as the psychotic hood Ritchie Garris made a name for himself two years earlier as the snarling knife wielding psycho Shivvy in the movie "The Street with no Name" which incidentally also starred Mark Stevens as an undercover FBI Agent.

chipe I found this movie to be very enjoyable to watch. There was no masterful overriding story, but it moved along at a good pace, was quite genial and had no faults. It might be called an early "procedural" in today's lingo: lots of radio squad car scenes, beaming messages in cop talk back and forth, well photographed auto chase scenes and shootouts. The directing, script, acting and cinema-photography were superior. In the movie the cops were all righteous and the criminals all incorrigibly bad. Three things stood out for me, favorably: (1) I was always a big Gale Storm fan, stemming from my childhood watching of "My Little Margie" re-runs on TV (Gale was the co-star of the TV show, and part of the romantic triangle in this movie). (2) The repartee was often witty and jocular and never off-putting. For example, on an early date, Officer Rocky Barnes (played by Mark Stevens) is having his first dance with Gale Storm, and, holding her tightly he says, "I've been waiting a long time for this." She replies, "I can believe it. I feel a rib cracking." He responds, "Oh, control yourself, Barnes. This lady's got to last." (3) The relationship between the two police partners (Stevens and Edmond O'Brien) was friendly and jocular. It was nice to observe their respect for each other. Both were quite competent. O'Brien was the more serious, cynical and hard on criminals. Stevens was more relaxed and sensitive to criminals' feelings.