''Star in the Night'' is a 1945 American short

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Don Siegel Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film and television director and producer. Siegel was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut ...

and starring J. Carrol Naish,

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after ...

and Rosina Galli. The film was Siegel's

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

, and won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...

for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel). The film is a modern-day retelling of the Nativity story, set on Christmas Eve at a desert motel in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

Plot

Christmas Eve in a lonely desert in the

: Three riding

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaqu ...

s have just bought out Christmas presents from a store, although they actually don't need them. One of the cowboys says that he just had the feeling that he should buy gifts to give them to someone. The cowboys see a flashing star in the distance, which they ride over to investigate. The star is actually a second hand star, used by the Italian-American Nick Catapoli for his little motel in the desert. A mysterious hitchhiker appears at Nick's motel who states that he just wants to come in from the cold for a little while. Nick and the Hitchhiker have a discussion about Christmas. While the hitchhiker tries to explain the true meaning of Christmas with love, goodwill and brotherhood; Nick opposes the holiday: He thinks that people behave badly during most of the year, but then try to behave in a fake-friendly way at Christmas. Nick shows the hitchhiker his motel customers as examples: Miss Roberts complains about the noise of Christmas carolers; the businessman Mr. Dilson is furious about the shirt-cleaning service that Nick uses and a traveling couple demands to get extra blankets for their room. A young Mexican-American couple, Jose and Maria Santos, arrives at the motel hoping to get lodging. There are no cabins available, so Nick's wife Rosa accommodates them in a small shed next to the hotel. Maria is expecting a baby and is in a somewhat critical condition without a doctor. When the motel lodgers find out about Maria's approaching birth they try to help her. The lodgers forget their selfishness and now react in a social way: For example, the businessman who was angry about the poor work of the laundry on his "expensive shirt", now insists that his shirts be torn up to make bandages for the delivery when none can be located ("These will make the best bandages in the world!"), tearing up the first one himself, the couple demanding extra blankets use them for the baby while the woman complaining about the chorus singing carols asks what she can do to help. After the successful birth, the three cowboys appear at the motel and give their presents to the child. Nick learns that there is still goodness in the world and is now positive about Christmas. He even gives the hitchhiker, who observed the situation, a cup of coffee and his coat. He wishes "Merry Christmas" to the hitchhiker who now leaves the hotel. At the end, Nick sees how much the birth of the child in his shed resembles the Nativity Story and cries.

Cast

* J. Carrol Naish as Nick Catapoli *

as the Hitchhiker * Rosina Galli as Rosa Catapoli * Dick Erdman as one of three cowboys (riding middle) *

Lynn Baggett Lynn Baggett (born Ruth Baggett; May 10, 1923 – March 22, 1960) also credited as Lynne Baggett, was an American actress. Early life Lynn Baggett was born Ruth Baggett in Wichita Falls, Texas on May 10, 1923 to David L. Baggett, who worked in ...

as Maria Santos * Johnny Miles as one of three cowboys (riding left) *

Tony Caruso Anthony Caruso (April 7, 1916 – April 4, 2003) was an American character actor in more than one hundred American films, usually playing villains and gangsters, including the first season of Walt Disney's ''Zorro'' as Captain Juan Ortega. L ...

as José Santos Uncredited (in order of appearance) *

Virginia Sale Virginia Sale (May 20, 1899 – August 23, 1992) was an American character actress whose career spanned six decades, during most of which she played older women, even when she was in her twenties. Over the 46 years she was active as an actr ...

as Miss Roberts, guest complaining about noise made by carolers *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

as Mr. Dilson, businessman complaining about his shirts * Dick Elliott as traveling husband, insisting on having more blankets *

Claire Du Brey Claire Du Brey (born Clara Violet Dubreyvich, August 31, 1892 – August 1, 1993) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 200 films between 1916 and 1959. Her name is sometimes rendered as Claire Du Bray or as Claire Dubrey. Ear ...

as traveling wife, dissatisfied with the quality of the place * Cactus Mack as one of three cowboys (riding right)

Background

The short film ''Star in the Night'' deals with a modern retelling of the Nativity story and also adds some elements from ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'' to it.

Saul Elkins Saul Elkins (June 29, 1907 in New York, New York – May 9, 2001 in Henderson, Nevada) was an American writer, producer and director in the film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commerc ...

wrote the screenplay; the story was by Robert Finch. Produced with a rather small budget and character actors, it was the directorial debut of

, who later directed thriller feature films like ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...

''. Previously Siegel had worked as a Warner Bros. montage and

second unit director Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...

. The cinematography was by a young

Robert Burks Leslie Robert Burks, A.S.C. (July 4, 1909 – May 11, 1968) was an American cinematographer who worked in many genres, in both black-and-white and color, and who collaborated a number of times with Alfred Hitchcock. Biography Robert Burks w ...

who later worked for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

. In 1946, ''Star in the Night'' won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel) at the

18th Academy Awards The 18th Academy Awards were held on March 7, 1946 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre to honor the films of 1945. Being the first Oscars after the end of World War II, the ceremony returned to the glamour of the prewar years; notably, the plaster st ...

. The Academy Award for Best Short Documentary Film was won by ''

Hitler Lives ''Hitler Lives'' (also known as ''Hitler Lives?'') is a 1945 American short documentary film directed by Don Siegel, who was uncredited. The film won an Oscar at the 18th Academy Awards in 1946 for Documentary Short Subject. Earlier the same y ...

'', also directed by Don Siegel. After his success with both shorts he went on to make feature films.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Star In The Night 1945 films 1945 drama films 1945 short films 1940s Christmas drama films American black-and-white films American Christmas drama films Films directed by Don Siegel Films scored by William Lava Films set in the United States Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners Warner Bros. short films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

Background

See also

References

External links