Eyes in the Night (1942)
Director - Fred Zinnemann
The Plot
Edward Arnold is Captain Duncan Maclain, a blind detective. An old friend comes to him for help when the fiancé of her stepdaughter is murdered. The friend is the chief suspect. But then the body disappears and apparently the Nazis are involved.
Film Notes
Sometimes Quality Things Come in "B" Packages
Not all "second features" films were shot on the cheap. Eyes in the Night contains a few "A" list actors and a soon to be "A" list director. Though pretty much a standard "who done it", it was good enough to merit a sequel The Hidden Eye. Not in any shape or form a Noir film, there is a crisp black and whiteness to the whole affair representing both the Nazis vs the Free World and the blindness of the protagonist.
"A" List Director
Director Fred Zinnemann was never known as a great stylist, but his films were never-the-less always artistically composed and carefully paced. Zinnemann was born in Vienna and came to America in 1929. He became an assistant first to the pioneering documentary director Robert Flaherty and then the great film choreographer Busby Berkeley. That's about as wide a variety of experience as one could dream up, and Mr Zinnemann was soon directing "B" films. In 1948 he directed The Search, a fiction film shot documentary style. This film was a popular and critical success and launched him onto the "A" list of directors. His shining career includes High Noon, From Here to Eternity, Oklahoma, and A Man for All Seasons.
Donna Reed
Donna Reed was most often typecast as a symbol of wholesomeness in It's A Wonderful Life or middle class suburban perfection in The Donna Reed Show (1958-66). She occasionally played the Bad Girl, as in Eyes in the Night, and most prominently in From Here to Eternity, where she played a prostitute, though one with a heart of gold.
There's Trivia and Then There Is...
- Marie Windsor as an extra in the stage play rehearsals.
- Edward Arnold, usually a villain, as the good guy.
-- Ed Schneider
Cast & Production Credits
| Edward Arnold | Capt. Duncan Maclain |
| Ann Harding | Norma Lawry |
| Donna Reed | Barbara Lawry |
| Katherine Emery | Cheli Scott |
| Horace (Stephen) McNally | Gabriel Hoffman |
| Allen Jenkins | Marty |
| Stanley Ridges | Hansen |
| Reginald Denny | Stephen Lawry |
| John Emery | Paul Gerente |
| Rosemary de Camp | Vera Hoffman |
| Erik Rolf | Boyd |
| Barry Nelson | Busch |
| Marie Windsor | Actress |
| Friday the Dog | Friday |
| Robert Gleckler | Doc Ward |
| John Ridgely | Charlie Magee |
| Barbara Pepper | Budgie |
| Ward Bond | Lenihan, fight promoter |
| Robert Strange | Malvin |
| Louis Jean Heydt | Smith |
| May Robson | Grandma |
| Ann Sheridan | Goldie |
| Produced by MGM | |
| Fred Zinnemann | Director |
| Jack Chertok | Producer |
| Baynard Kendrick | Book |
| Howard Emmet Rogers | Screenwriter |
| Guy Troper | Screenwriter |
| Charles Lawton | Cinematographer |
| Robert Planck | Cinematographer |
| Lennie Hayton | Composer (Music Score) |
| Ralph Winters | Editor |
| Cedric Gibbons | Art Director |
| Stanley Rogers | Art Director |
| Edward Boyle | Set Designer |
| Edwin B. Willis | Set Designer |
| Robert Kalloch | Costume Designer |
| Douglas Shearer | Sound/Sound Designer |
