Lloyd Nolan Movies
The son of a San Francisco shoe factory owner, American actor Lloyd Nolan made it clear early on that he had no intention of entering the family business. Nolan developed an interest in acting while in college, at the expense of his education -- it took him five years to get through Santa Clara College, and he flunked out of Stanford, all because of time spent in amateur theatricals. Attempting a "joe job" on a freighter, Nolan gave it up when the freighter burned to the waterline. In 1927, he began studying at the Pasadena Playhouse, living on the inheritance left him by his father. Stock company work followed, and in 1933 Nolan scored a Broadway hit as vengeful small-town dentist Biff Grimes in One Sunday Afternoon (a role played in three film versions by Gary Cooper, James Cagney, and Dennis Morgan, respectively -- but never by Nolan). Nolan's first film was Stolen Harmony (1935); his breezy urban manner and Gaelic charm saved the actor from being confined to the bad guy parts he played so well, and by 1940 Nolan was, if not a star, certainly one of Hollywood's most versatile second-echelon leading men. As film historian William K. Everson has pointed out, the secret to Nolan's success was his integrity -- the audience respected his characters, even when he was the most cold-blooded of villains. The closest Nolan got to film stardom was a series of B detective films made at 20th Century-Fox from 1940 to 1942, in which he played private eye Michael Shayne -- a "hard-boiled dick" character long before Humphrey Bogart popularized this type as Sam Spade. Nolan was willing to tackle any sort of acting, from movies to stage to radio, and ultimately television, where he starred as detective Martin Kane in 1951; later TV stints would include a season as an IRS investigator in the syndicated Special Agent 7 (1958), and three years as grumpy-growley Dr. Chegley on the Diahann Carroll sitcom Julia (1969-1971). In 1953, Nolan originated the role of the paranoid Captain Queeg in the Broadway play The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, wherein he'd emerge from a pleasant backstage nap to play some of the most gut-wrenching "character deterioration" scenes ever written. Never your typical Hollywood celebrity, Nolan publicly acknowledged that he and his wife had an autistic son, proudly proclaiming each bit of intellectual or social progress the boy would make -- this at a time when many image-conscious movie star-parents barely admitted even having children, normal or otherwise. Well liked by his peers, Nolan was famous (in an affectionate manner) for having a photographic memory for lines but an appallingly bad attention span in real life; at times he was unable to give directions to his own home, and when he did so the directions might be three different things to three different people. A thorough professional to the last, Nolan continued acting in sizeable roles into the 1980s; he was terrific as Maureen O'Sullivan's irascible stage-star husband in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). Lloyd Nolan's last performance was as an aging soap opera star on an episode of the TV series Murder She Wrote; star Angela Lansbury, fiercely protective of an old friend and grand trouper, saw to it that Nolan's twilight-years reliance upon cue cards was cleverly written into the plot line of the episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1949
In this drama, an embittered widow, a former concert singer, can't help but blame Lassie for her son's death. Needing help with her chores, she hires an orphan from the local home. At first she remains aloof towards the charming lad who quickly bonds with the collie dog, but as time passes she can't help but develop feelings for the boy. Later Lassie redeems herself when she saves the boy from a terrible fire in the orphanage. After that, the widow suddenly realizes that she does indeed love the boy and adopts him and puts Lassie back in her good graces. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1949
In 1947, Variety Clubs International, a showbiz charitable organization, was responsible for the frothy musical Variety Girl. The organization's 1949 film effort, Monogram's Bad Boy, is a bit on the grimmer side, but not too much so. Most of the film was lensed at the VCI's Boys Club Ranch at Copperas Cove TX. In his first starring role (and second film appearance), war hero Audie Murphy plays Danny Lester, the "bad boy" of the title. A delinquent with a long rap sheet, Danny is sent to the Ranch in hopes that he can be rehabilitated. This seems to be a hopeless goal until ranch head Marshall Brown (Lloyd Nolan) digs into Danny's past to find a reason for the boy's ungovernable behavior. Jane Wyatt as Brown's wife, James Gleason as his assistant, and a coterie of talented juvenile actors lend sensitivity and credibility to this refreshingly unsentimental yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Jane Wyatt, (more)
- 1948
In this drama, based on a novel by Mary O'Hara, the relationship between humans and animals is paralleled as they struggle to live and find love on a wild ranch in Wyoming. The human story centers around a rancher's niece who falls in love with a neighboring rancher's son. The equine story follows the romantic exploits of a wild-eyed black mare and a wild white stallion, Thunderhead. One night, the sly stud sneaks upon the other's land and steals the mare. The rancher's boy brings them back. The rival ranchers get involved in a horse race and the niece's uncle wins over the other's pregnant mare. The two youngsters find love and as Thunderhead's baby is foaled, happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Cummins, Charles Coburn, (more)
FBI operative Mark Stevens is dispatched by his boss Lloyd Nolan to infiltrate a criminal gang. Stevens ingratiates himself with Richard Widmark, the gang's leader, then helps concoct a robbery that will deliver the criminals into the hands of the authorities. But there's an informant in the police department, who gets word back to Widmark. Aware that there's a stoolie in his gang, Widmark automatically assumes that his wife Barbara Lawrence is the guilty party, and beats her senseless. Eventually determining that Stevens is the "mole," Widmark methodically plans to kill Stevens during a holdup; by this time, however, the FBI is a step or so ahead of him. Remade in 1955 by Samuel Fuller as House of Bamboo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark, (more)
- 1947
Alan Ladd and Robert Preston star as Joe Madigan and Jim Davis, rival grain harvesters in the Midwest's wheat country. The animosity between Joe and Jim intensifies upon the arrival of duplicitous Fay Rankin (Dorothy Lamour). Choosing Jim, Fay demands that she be supported in the manner in which she is accustomed, leading Jim inexorably into a life of crime. A cathartic fistfight between Joe and Jim results in their undying friendship and the hasty departure of the troublesome Fay. All this, plus seemingly endless shots of wheat-harvesting teams at work. Alan Ladd and Robert Preston were both better served the following year in Whispering Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Dorothy Lamour, (more)
- 1946
One of two con-artists ends up arrested and given five days of freedom before he must go to jail. This comedy chronicles those five days. The man loves to eat; knowing that prison food is lousy, he decides to spend his days stuffing himself with the finest foods available. He is accompanied to numerous 4-star restaurants by his partner and the arresting officer. Each of these two are interested in learning where he stashed a half-million dollars in loot. Eventually the man begins looking at his lovely partner and thinking of things other than his stomach. This leads to marriage. After serving his time, he and his bride go on to lead honest lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, (more)
George Taylor (John Hodiak) is a war veteran suffering from amnesia with only two clues to his past: the bitter letter from a woman who hates him and another mysterious letter signed "Larry Cravat." Taylor goes to Los Angeles to meet Cravat. It turns out that Cravat is wanted for murder and the robbery of $2 million. George becomes involved with a singer, Christy (Nancy Guild) and is chased by mobsters while on a search for the stolen money. There ensue a series of chases, an interesting plot twist and a surprise ending as John learns the true identity of Cravat.Somewhere in the Night is the quintessential "amnesia victim" as protagonist film, somewhat slow, but nevertheless, engrossing and suspenseful. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Arnt, Richard Benedict, (more)
- 1946
Robert Montgomery is the director and star of the film noir mystery Lady in the Lake, adapted for the screen by source novelist Raymond Chandler. Montgomery plays detective Philip Marlowe, a private eye who just wants to publish his own crime stories. Kingsby Publications editor Adrienne Fromsett (Audrey Totter) meets with Marlowe, but offers him a job as a detective instead of a writer. She wants him to find the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby (Leon Ames). (Adrienne wants them to proceed with their divorce so she can marry Kingsby herself.) Marlowe accepts the job and goes looking for clues at the home of the wife's sometime lover, Chris Lavery (Dick Simmons). When Marlowe gets knocked out and picked up for drunk driving, he decides to drop the case. He is drawn back in, however, when Adrienne suggests that Kingsby's wife is responsible for the murder of a mysterious lady in the lake. Lloyd Nolan and Tom Tully play two police detectives also on the case. Lady in the Lake is remembered as being filmed with a subjective camera -- almost entirely from Marlowe's point of view -- and subsequently hyped by an MGM ad campaign. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, (more)
- 1946
This fast-paced western, geared entirely to the small-fry, was the first in Republic Pictures' long-running "Red Ryder" series to star Allan Lane. Lane had taken over from William Elliot, who had been promised A-westerns only by company president Herbert I. Yates. Ryder and his young Indian pal Little Beaver (Robert Blake) come to the aid of Ryder's stout aunt, "The Duchess" (Martha Wentworth), whose crusading efforts to open up a privately owned toll-road for all travellers has put the elderly rancher in danger from a powerful if corrupt civic leader, newspaper publisher Crawford (Barton MacLane). The second in the Lane "Red Ryder" series to be filmed, Santa Fe Uprising was substituted for a weaker entry in order to give the new Ryder the best possible chances for success. Wentworth, whose character name as depicted by series creator Fred Harman was, interestingly enough, "Martha 'The Duchess' Wentworth," replaced Alice Fleming in the role as Ryder's indomitable aunt. Lane, Blake, and Wentworth went on to star in six more "Red Ryder" westerns before the series moved over to Eagle-Lion (the former PRC) where the roles would be played by Jim Bannon, Don Kay Reynolds, and veteran B-western actress Marin Sais. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the 18-minute Don't Be a Sucker was designed as a cautionary fable for returning American GIs -- and, by extension, all Americans. Narrated by Lloyd Nolan, the film starts out by demonstrating the various methods by which unscrupulous sharpsters cheat homecoming servicemen out of their discharge pay. But there are many ways in which one can be suckered, as demonstrated by a soapbox demagogue who begins haranguing against minority groups. A scholarly professor (Paul Lukas) provides a coda for the story, reminding the viewer that Hitler came to power thanks to the "suckers" of Europe. Felix Bressart co-stars as a rather mature "typical" GI. Originally limited to military showings, Don't Be a Sucker was one of the few films of its kind to be distributed to civilian theaters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Lukas, Felix Bressart, (more)
One-time movie song-and-dance man James Dunn won an Academy Award for his "comeback" performance in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Based on the best-selling novel by Betty Smith, the film relates the trials and tribulations of a turn-of-the-century Brooklyn tenement family. The father, Dunn, is a likable but irresponsible alcoholic whose dreams of improving his family's lot are invariably doomed to disappointment. The mother, Dorothy McGuire, is the true head of the household, steadfastly holding the family together no matter what crisis arises. The story is told from the point of view of daughter Peggy Ann Garner, a clear-eyed realist who nonetheless would like to believe in her pie-in-the-sky father, whom she dearly loves. Joan Blondell co-stars as the family's brash, freewheeling aunt, whose means of financial support is a never-ending source of neighborhood gossip. This first film directorial effort of Elia Kazan earned a special Oscar for "Most Promising Juvenile Performer" Peggy Ann Garner. A Tree Grows From Brooklyn was remade for TV in 1974, and also served as the basis of a Broadway musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, (more)
- 1945
Famed WW1 aviator Eddie Rickenbacker once more entered the public's consciousness during WW2 when, while serving as an Air Force officer, he and several other pilots crashed into the Pacific. While the world anxiously awaited news of his fate, Rickenbacker and a handful of survivors floated for 19 days in a tiny rubber raft. Captain Eddie recreates this incident, using it as a framework for a series of flashbacks in which Rickenbacker (Fred MacMurray) reminisces on the high points of his life. He is seen experimenting with aviation in his backyard, working in an auto factory to finance his earliest flights, and wooing and winning the lovely Adelaide (Lynn Bari). When America enters WW1, Rickenbacker immediately signs up, eventually shooting down more enemy planes than any other American aviator. Back in "the present", Rickenbacker and his comrades (including Lloyd Nolan and Richard Conte as Lt. Whittaker and Private Bartek) struggle to stay alive while awaiting rescue. Darryl Hickman plays Rickenbacker as a boy, while Charles Bickford portrays his father William. The huge supporting cast includes amusing unbilled contributions by Grady Sutton ("The schottische is my fav-or-ite dance!") and George Chandler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Lynn Bari, (more)
Filmed in semi-documentary fashion, House on 92nd Street is a "now it can be told" drama about the smashing of a Nazi spy ring operating the U.S. Thanks to covert surveillance, the FBI learns of the presence of several suspicious persons in NYC. William Eythe is a German-American college student approached by the spies to become a secret Nazi operative. Eythe instead heads directly to FBI chief Lloyd Nolan and offers his services as a double agent. His mission is to locate the head of the spy ring, an unseen figure known only as Mr. Christopher, and to that end Eythe infiltrates the ring, headquarted in a town house on 92nd street. Among the conspirators are an erudite German colonel (Leo G. Carroll) and the beautiful female owner of the house (Signe Hasso). Part of the plot involves the smuggling to Germany of America's atomic secrets by a weak-willed document clerk (played by Gene Lockhart, one of the best "cringers" in the business). Dwelling a bit too long on the meticulous research techniques of the FBI, House on 92nd Street picks up momentum in the final sequence, wherein "Mr. Christopher" is revealed and double agent Eythe barely escapes with his skin intact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Eythe, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
Circumstantial Evidence is so expertly acted and directed that the audience is willing to forget its gaping logic holes. Pugnacious family man Joe Reynolds (Milo O'Shea), blowing his top as usual, threatens violence to an unlikeable storekeeper (Ben Welden). When the latter is killed, Joe is arrested for murder. Thanks to circumstantial evidence and faulty eyewitness accounts, Joe is sentenced to death in what seems to be a matter of days-and never mind that the defense attorney hasn't the presence of mind to enter medical testimony into the record. While awaiting his fate on death row (one of the nicest, most inviting death rows in cinema history), Joe is regularly visited by his young son Pat (Billy Cummings), who has always believed in his dad's innocence. For Pat's sake, Joe escapes from prison on the eve of his execution. Meanwhile Pat and a family friend, postman Sam Lord (Lloyd Nolan), have sought out the eyewitnesses whose testimony cinched Joe's conviction; with a little gentle persuasion, the witnesses probe their memories and realize that they were mistaken, and that the victim's death was accidental. Armed with this new evidence, Pat and Sam convince Joe to break back into jail so that his release can be secured through the proper channels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael O'Shea, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
In 1942, Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and the United States Office of War Information collaborated on Bataan with the official goal to increase public understanding of World War II. The first war film to take place entirely on the battlefield -- with no scenes of the soldiers on leave, depictions of the home front, or flashbacks to pre-war civilian life -- Bataan prepared its wartime audience for American casualties. Its Alamo-esque storyline emphasized the value of such sacrifice and its diverse group of soldiers --compiled of all ranks, races, classes, ages, and creeds -- portrayed this effort as the duty of all men. It is a depiction of altruism and national unity that both inspired public support of the War and served as the template for World War II films throughout the forties and into the present. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, George Murphy, (more)
20th Century-Fox's 1943 filmization of Richard Tregaskis' best-selling book Guadalcanal Diary does full justice to the spare, lean prose of Tregaskis' eyewitness account. The incidents in the "diary" are tied together by an off-screen narrator into a cohesive storyline. The principal characters in this wartime chronicle are marine sergeant Lloyd Nolan, chaplain Preston S. Foster, Mexican enlistee Anthony Quinn, and a Dodgers-lovin' Brooklynite, played by William Bendix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1942
Like most of 20th Century-Fox's "Michael Shayne"detective series, Time to Kill was based on a source other than Brett Halliday's Shayne stories. In this case, the inspiration was The High Window, a "Philip Marlowe" mystery novel by Raymond Chandler. Substituting for Marlowe, of course, is flippant private eye Mike Shayne, again played by Lloyd Nolan. Hired by wealthy Mrs. Murdock (Ethel Gryffies) to retrieve a stolen rare coin, Shayne runs up against a clever gang of counterfeiters. The film's highlight (and ultimate plot resolution) is a murder in a high-rise building, covertly captured on movie film with a telephoto lens. The final entry in Fox's "Shayne" series, Time to Kill was remade in 1947 as The Brasher Doubloon, with George Montgomery as Philip Marlowe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Heather Angel, (more)
- 1942
When MGM made a program western, it generally looked more expensive than an entire years' sagebrusher output at Monogram or PRC. MGM's Apache Trail stars Lloyd Nolan and William Lundigan as two brothers; Nolan is a bellicose highwayman, Lundigan a genial chap assigned guard duties. The main thrust of the film involves an Apache uprising triggered by the theft of a peace pipe. American-as-Cherry-Pie Donna Reed (who plays Lundigan's paramour) is herein cast as "Rosalia Martinez"! Based on a story by Ernest (Stagecoach) Haycox, Apache Trail was remade as Apache War Smoke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Donna Reed, (more)
- 1942
Those obviously hastily assembled to cash in on current headlines, Manila Calling shows no signs of this haste in its execution. Lloyd Nolan stars as Lucky Mathews, the leader of an American guerilla unit, sworn to keep fighting even after the Japanese invasion of Mindano. Likewise staying on is nightclub entertainer Edna Fraser (Carole Landis), who has fallen in love with Mathews, and radio engineer Jeff Bailey (Cornel Wilde). Relying on Bailey's electronic knowhow, the guerillas construct a short-wave radio station and continue broadcasting information of Japanese troop movements to the Allies. As in MGM's Bataan, the ultimate deaths of the courageous protagonists is treated as a moral and spiritual victory. Of interest in the cast is Martin Kosleck, frequent screen impersonator of Joseph Goebbels, in a rare sympathetic role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Carole Landis, (more)
- 1942
A private investigator flees from jury duty to prove the defendant's guilt in this detective story. He and his girlfriend, a reporter, begin looking into the suspect's alibis and discover that in addition to the murder he stands trial for, the man has also killed two others. Afterward, the detective is jailed of 60 days for defecting from the jury. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, (more)
- 1942
It Happened in Flatbush is a likable baseball comedy inspired by the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers' pennant win. Lloyd Nolan portrays an ace ballplayer who was disgraced while still in college and is only able to secure work as a team manager. He takes charge of an unnamed Brooklyn team and whips in into a World Series contender. The players resent Nolan's drill-sergeant tactics, and when Nolan falls in love with the pretty owner of the team (Carole Landis), the players use this as an excuse to circulate a petition demanding Nolan's ouster. The manager pays no attention to the petition and leads his team to a league pennant, finding time along the way to help out a trouble-prone young ballplayer (George Holmes) on the verge of throwing away his career. Bolstered by film clips of actual Dodgers games (including one in which an anxious fan jumps out of the stands and attacks the umpire), It Happened in Flatbush is an enjoyable second-feature effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Carole Landis, (more)
- 1942
20th Century-Fox's The Man Who Wouldn't Die is based on No Coffin for the Corpse, a "Merlini the Great" mystery penned by Clayton Rawson. Alas, magician-sleuth Merlini has been reduced to an expository bit role, and the property has been converted into a "Michael Shayne" series entry. In the first scene, three men-industrialist Dudley Wolff (Paul Harvey), Wolff's secretary Dunning (Robert Emmet Keane) and research scientist Dr. Haggard (Henry Wilcoxon)-are shown disposing of a corpse in the dead of night. Shortly afterward, Wolff's daughter Catherine (Marjorie Weaver) shows up unexpectedly, with news of her recent marriage. Wolff and his confreres manage to keep their body-burying activities a secret from Catherine, but later that night her bedroom is invaded by a gun-wielding stranger-who happens to be the "body" buried in Scene One! Deducing that something is amiss, Catherine summons her old friend, detective Michael Shayne (Lloyd Nolan), to come to the Wolff mansion to investigate. So that Mike can move about without arousing suspicion, Catherine pretends that he's her new husband-which, of course, inevitably leads to chaos and confusion when the real hubby (Richard Derr) shows up. Before this happens, however, another murder takes place, apparently committed by that very active corpse, and it is this plus several randomly placed clues which prompts Mike to consult his magician pal Radini for advice. The suspect list includes Wolff's young wife Anne (Helene Reynolds) and Phillips the butler (Billy Bevan), while the "official" authorities are represented by bucolic Chief Meek (Olin Howlin) and dour coroner Larsen (Jeff Corey). More interesting for its supporting cast than its story, The Man Who Wouldn't Die is one of the lesser Michael Shayne mysteries, with Shayne seeming to be arbitrarily inserted in the proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, (more)
- 1941
A gangster and his mob buy a small-town in this warm comedy. They, tired of trying to make it as big city hoods, buy the town to use as a hideout. The leader of the gang begins to have a change of heart after he begins falling for a local girl. He decides to use the "protection money" his gang has been pocketing to benefit the townsfolk. This feels good to the tough and thug-like gangsters who begin embracing the ideals of good citizenship in favor of a life of crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Constance Moore, (more)
- 1941
The high batting average of 20th Century-Fox's Michael Shayne detective series remained intact with Blue, White and Perfect. Having prevented his sweetheart Merle Garland (Mary Beth Hughes) from marrying a bigamous fortune-hunter (Ivan Lebedeff), Mike Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) offers to marry the girl himself (at long last!) Merle agrees, but only if Mike gets out of the private-eye racket and takes an honest job. Shayne manages to land a job at an aircraft factory, only to discover that he's been hired to protect the company's valuable supply of industrial diamonds. When the gems are stolen during a highly suspicious break-in, Mike follows the trail of clues to a fancy dress shop managed by one Mr. Hagermann (Henry Victor). Sending his fiancee off on a wild goose chase, Mike trails Hagermann to a Honolulu-bound ocean liner, where he renews an acquaintance with former lady friend Helen Shaw (Helene Reynolds) and is introduced to overly effusive young playboy Juan Arturo O'Hara (George Reeves). Detective-movie logic dictates that at least one of these characters is inextricably linked with the elusive Hagermann-who is no mere diamond thief but a very clever German spy. All sorts of serial-like thrills await Shayne before he manages to uncover the "Mister Big" behind the stolen diamond racket (and it's a real surprise to boot!) Like most of Fox's Michael Shayne series entries, Blue White and Perfect was based not on a "Shayne" novel by Bret Halliday, but on a whodunit originally written for another fictional sleuth: In this instance, the source was a novel by Borden Chase. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Nolan, Mary Beth Hughes, (more)
The big-band mystique of the 1940s was explored by Blues in the Night. Future directors Richard Whorf and Elia Kazan star as, respectively, a neurotic band-leader and a carefree clarinettist. Their jazz band travels from one small-time gig to another, always hoping for their big break but always denied fame thanks to their own personal demons. Priscilla Lane and Betty Field portray (again respectively) the good and bad girls in the musicians' lives. While we're never treated to a full rendition of the title song, Blues in the Night scores with its melodramatic set pieces, including a gutsy climactic murder/suicide sequence involving Betty Field and escaped convict Lloyd Nolan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Priscilla Lane, Betty Field, (more)
