I always liked this little film. A dating couple, to escape the girl's overbearing detective father, go the local lovers lane and run afoul of an emotionally retarded (though mentally normal), disturbed loner. It seems his mother (who needs an army of psychiatrists herself) has so consumed his life he has virtually no social interaction with anybody. Anyway the loner, in fear, slugs the boyfriend and abducts the girl. Thus starts a frantic all-night search by the police, including the girl's father (who bullies everyone) and the boyfriend. The family dynamics are the most interesting point. Dad keeps a loving but tight lid on the family. The wife walks on eggs when she imparts the daughter's activities. Dad's sister is a emptied spinster whose one chance at a life of her own was derailed by her brother when he ran off her young man. When she lets him have it that he's doing the same thing to his daughter the look on his face is priceless. Apparently he 's always been so sure he's right in all he does that it has never occurred to him that he's strangling his family. Good performances all around for a minor little film with some near-A list performers. The Warner Archive Collection DVD-R has no extras but is excellent quality. It would have been better if it was a regular DVD. Recommended.
Review of A Cry in the Night
