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The Long Night main poster

The Long Night

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5.7/10 • 35

1947-05-281h 41m

DramaThrillerCrimeRomance

COMING AT YOU ... in a blast of terrific drama!

City police surround a building, attempting to capture a suspected murderer. The suspect knows there is no escape but refuses to give in.

Directors
Anatole Litvak
Writters
John Wexley
Editors
John Wexley, Robert Swink

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Henry Fonda

    Henry Fonda

    Joe Adams

  2. Barbara Bel Geddes

    Barbara Bel Geddes

    Jo Ann

  3. Vincent Price

    Vincent Price

    Maximilian the Great

  4. Ann Dvorak

    Ann Dvorak

    Charlene

  5. Howard Freeman

    Howard Freeman

    Sheriff Ned Meade

  6. Moroni Olsen

    Moroni Olsen

    Chief of Police Bob McManus

  7. Elisha Cook Jr.

    Elisha Cook Jr.

    Frank Dunlap

  8. Queenie Smith

    Queenie Smith

    Mrs. Tully

  9. David Clarke

    David Clarke

    Bill Pulanski

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Mar 29, 2025

6/10

The claustrophobic setting and the photography here really do promise much, but as the story unravels it becomes all a bit disappointing. Henry Fonda is beleaguered war veteran “Joe” who has returned to discover that a lot has changed since his departure. For a start, his beloved “Jo Ann” (Barbara Bel Geddes) turns out to have been slightly economical with the truth about her relationship with the odious magician “Max” (Vincent Price). On that front, his former assistant “Charlene” (Ann Dvorak) is not entirely unknown to “Joe” either. Now this is told via flashback, and so we know that “Joe” is holed up in an apartment that’s been riddled by official bullets and that someone is dead at his hands. What we don’t yet know is who and why. That explanation doesn’t work so well here, despite a strong effort from Fonda and a gently engaging one from the ladies. Price has the best role in the story, I think, but he just over-eggs his character and what little sense of jeopardy the flashbacks allow is replaced by more than an hint of rather stolidly played out love-quadrangle melodrama. It’s based on a much grittier story by Jacques Viot - that has nothing to do with war, veterans nor psychological exhaustion, and that imbues the characters with much more nuance and passion than we see here as “Joe” is almost given excuses for his behaviour by his traumatic experiences in France. Sadly, after a really compelling and dark start it heads to a conclusion that just leaves very little to the imagination.

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  • The Long Night poster
  • The Long Night poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
magicremakefilm noirtenementpolice standoffmagician