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Night Editor (1946)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 5/24

NightEd
5/24: Night Editor confused me on the first try, so I decided to watch it again to make sure that I had the story straight.

I initially thought Jill Merrill set up Tony Cochrane as part of a scheme with Douglas Loring, but it turns out to be nothing of that kind. Hence, this is the most perplexing part: why did she hook up with the murderer so quickly, even after what had happened? Gee whiz, she's crazy.

Meanwhile, Night Editor has plenty of deep noir elements. The best scene occurs when Tony Cochrane and Jill Merrill have a Double Indemnity-esque exchange in the car at lovers' lane with lines such as "The end of the line, baby. This is where I get off," "You're just no good for me. We both add up to zero," "You're worse than blood poisoning," "Pretty little house, pretty little wife, pretty little brat," and "There's a meanness inside of you that has to hurt or be hurt."

Speaking of the aforementioned scene, it's interesting to see a shot of the wave crashing against the rocks a couple of times. That's because one of the cinematographers is Burnett Guffey. He would go on to be an Oscar winner seven years later for Best Cinematography by transforming that same exact shot into a famous movie moment for Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity.

Janis Carter steals the show as the femme fatale while William Gargan is almost too stiff. I don't have any sympathy for his character and feel his wife deserved better than him. As for the narrative structure, I find the approach weird because I don't understand why a newspaperman has the privilege when the more appropriate person should be Tony. How the crime was solved is stupid; the tire tracks don't mean it's absolutely connected to the night before and can be a result of Tony pulling into the crime scene on the following day. There isn't other evidence to work with, but Tony should've reported the crime right away because, after all, what's there to lose?

All in all, if you don't mind watching an hour-long decent film noir, Night Editor will do.