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Girls in the Night
Girls in the Night
	Movie poster
Directed by	Jack Arnold
Screenplay by	Ray Buffum
Produced by	Albert J. Cohen
Starring	Harvey Lembeck; Joyce Holden; Glenda Farrell; Leonard Freeman
Narrated by	Jeff Chandler
Cinematography	Carl E. Guthrie
Edited by	Paul Weatherwax
Color process	Black and white
Production; company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	January 15, 1953 (New York City); February 19, 1953 (Los Angeles);
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Girls in the Night is an American film noir directed by Jack Arnold. Released by Universal Pictures on January 15, 1953, the film stars Harvey Lembeck, Joyce Holden and Glenda Farrell.^[1]^[2] The film revolves around a family whose efforts to move into a better neighborhood are suddenly hampered when their son is accused of killing a blind man.

Plot

Hannah Haynes, a pretty girl who competes in a beauty contest, dreams of moving away from her New York slum neighborhood. Her older brother Chuck, who has a chance to land a new job on Long Island, is hit by a car and needs to recover first.

Hannah frustrates her boyfriend by agreeing to a date with a hoodlum named Irv Kellener, which causes a fight between the men and makes the evil schemer Vera Schroeder jealous. Chuck and his girlfriend Georgia, who does seductive dances to entice men to throw coins to her, become so desperate that they steal from a beggar who is pretending to be blind.

Anticipating their plot, Irv arrives there first but is caught by the beggar and shoots him. Vera hides the gun and provides an alibi. Chuck and Georgia later execute their plan and steal more than $600, unaware that their victim is dead. Vera blackmails them, demanding $2,000 to prevent her from snitching to the police.

The principals confront each another in a warehouse, where Irv kisses Hannah and infuriates Vera. The police arrive, Irv runs and he is accidentally electrocuted. Chuck and Georgia are set free after returning the stolen money.

Cast

Harvey Lembeck as Chuck Haynes
Joyce Holden as Georgia Codray
Glenda Farrell as Alice Haynes
Leonard Freeman as Joe Spurgeon
Patricia Hardy as Hannah Haynes
Jaclynne Greene as Vera Schroeder
Don Gordon as Irv Kellener
Anthony Ross as Charlie Haynes
Emile Meyer as Police Officer Kovacs (as Emile G. Meyer)
Susan Odin as Hilda Haynes
Tommy Farrell as Frankie (as Tommie Farrell)
Paul E. Burns as 'Blind' Fred Minosa
John Eldredge as Judge
Alan Dexter as Police Lt. Meyers
Charles Cane as McGinty
Dolores Fuller as woman at sorority clubhouse party

Critical reception

François Truffaut wrote that the film "leaves us in an intermediary state between surprise and delight," that "each scene [...] makes us think that it was the one that the author treated the most lovingly," and that "the directing of the actors (all newcomers) is perfect."^[3] Writing in AllMovie, critic Hal Erickson described the film as a "misleadingly titled [...] potboiler" in which "Glenda Farrell delivers the film's best performance."^[4] Critic Mike Bear wrote in Letterboxd that the film was an "unusual noir" that "combines juvenile delinquency, family values, yearning for a better life, murder, robbery, and blackmail [and] a homely girl they all call 'Ugly.'"^[5]

References

^ "Girls in the Night". Moviefone. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
^ "Girls in the Night (1953)". TCM. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
^ Truffault, François (1993). "The early film criticism of François Truffaut". Internet Archive. Indiana University Press. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
^ Erickson, Hal. "Girls in the Night (1953)". AllMovie. Netaktion, LLC. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
^ Bear, Mike. "Girls in the Night (1953)". Letterboxd. Letterboxd Limited. Retrieved 2023-11-06.