The Long Night (1947 film)

The Long Night (1947) is a film noir directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by RKO. It is a remake of Le Jour se lève (1939) by Marcel Carné. The drama features Henry Fonda, Barbara Bel Geddes, Vincent Price, and others.

Plot

Henry Fonda stars as Joe Adams, a grizzled ex-G.I. who has a hard time adapting to society after the war. Barbara Bel Geddes makes her motion picture debut as teenage orphan Jo Ann, who is Joe’s girlfriend. Vincent Price is a lounge magician Maximilian, who makes life difficult for Joe and his girlfriend. Elisha Cook Jr. plays Joe’s blind neighbor.

Cast

• Henry Fonda as Joe Adams
• Barbara Bel Geddes as Jo Ann
• Vincent Price as Maximilian
• Ann Dvorak as Charlene
• Howard Freeman as Sheriff Ned Meade
• Moroni Olsen as Chief of Police
• Elisha Cook Jr. as Frank Dunlap
• Queenie Smith as Mrs. Tully
• David Clarke as Bill Pulanski
• Charles McGraw as Policeman Stevens
• Patty King as Peggy

Production

When RKO acquired the distribution rights to Le Jour se lève in preparation for remaking it as The Long Night, they also sought to buy up all available prints of the original film and destroyed them. For a time it was thought that the French film had been lost completely, but copies of it re-appeared in the 1950s and its classic status was re-established.International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers: 1: Films; ed. by Nicholas Thomas; 2nd ed. (Chicago, London: St James Press, 1990.) p.447.

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