''Hot Summer Night'' is a 1957 crime film directed by

David Friedkin David Friedkin (March 8, 1912 – October 15, 1976) was an American writer and director of radio shows, film, and television shows. Early life and education Friedkin was born on March 8, 1912 in Kansas City, Missouri to Russian Jewish immigrant ...

and starring

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

Colleen Miller Colleen Joy Miller (born November 10, 1932) is an American actress. She starred in several films, such as the Westerns '' Gunfight at Comanche Creek'' (1963) and '' Four Guns to the Border'' (1954). Early life The daughter of Elias and Lillian ...

, and

Edward Andrews Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. (October 9, 1914 – March 8, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and films from the 1950s into the 1980s. His stark white hair ...

Plot

Out of work but on his honeymoon, Bill Partain, a newspaper reporter, reads about a bank robbery in Sedalia, Missouri pulled off by notorious criminal Tom Ellis and his gang. Having once interviewed Ellis's girlfriend Ruth Childers for a Kansas City, Missouri paper, Partain figures an exclusive interview with Ellis could assure him of landing a new job. Lying to his new wife Irene about where they are going, Bill drives them to a small

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

town where he believes Ruth is living. Townspeople are reluctant to help Bill locate her, and deputy Lou Follett warns him that almost everyone in the community is afraid of Ellis. Bill finally finds Ruth, who remembers him favorably. She manages to arrange his being taken to Ellis by a young man named Kermit who is not in the gang, but sometimes works for him. Ellis grants him an interview, boasting of his crimes, to the consternation of gunman Elly Horn, who suddenly shoots both Ellis and Kermit. He also shoots his own gang member, Oren, by mistake. Irene, left behind, is desperate to find her husband, who is now being held by Elly for a ransom of $50,000. She gets the address from Ruth, hitchhikes to Ellis's hideout and notifies the police, who arrive just in time to rescue Bill.

Cast

as William Joel Partain *

as Irene Partain *

as Deputy Lou Follett * Jay C. Flippen as Oren Kobble *

James Best Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. Duri ...

as Kermit * Paul Richards as Elly Horn * Robert J. Wilke as Tom Ellis * Claude Akins as Truck Driver * Marianne Stewart as Ruth Childers * Paul Wexler as the "Lean Man"

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $250,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $250,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss to the studio of $110,000.

References

External links

* * 1957 films 1957 crime drama films American crime drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by André Previn Films about journalists Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films set in the Ozarks Films about honeymoon {{1950s-crime-drama-film-stub