Change Your Image
billwisser
IMDb member since January 2000
Reviews
Deadline at Dawn (1946)
A fine, fast firecracker of a film noir
27 April 2002 - 29 out of 33 users found this review helpful.
Explosive lighting by cinematographer Nick Murasaca; a twisty, turning plot by mystery writer Cornell Woolrich; literate dialogue with heart from playwright Clifford Odets; and an estimable ensemble cast of fine character actors, plus a young, beautiful, and surprisingly effective Susan Hayward -- it all adds up to make this a little film noir gem.
It's a very New York piece, though it's also an example of RKO Pictures at its Hollywood best. And yet, for a film noir, there's a surprising sweetness, a current of innocence personified by the sailor boy accused of murder in a nocturnal urban jungle of violence, betrayal and corruption.
Highly recommended.
See more▼See less▲