''The Midnight Story'' is a 1957 American

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Joseph Pevney Joseph Pevney (September 15, 1911 – May 18, 2008) was an American film and television director.

and starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

Marisa Pavan Marisa Pavan (born Maria Luisa Pierangeli; 19 June 1932) is an Italian actress who first became known as the twin sister of film star Pier Angeli (Anna Maria Pierangeli) before achieving success in her own screen career. Early life and career ...

and

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

. The film was originally slated to be titled ''The Eyes of Father Tomasino'', after the 1955 ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vid ...

'' TV episode it was based on.

Plot

Father Tomasino is stabbed to death. San Francisco traffic cop Joe Martini felt the priest was like an actual father to him. He asks to assist homicide Lieutenant Kilrain in his investigation, but after being rejected, Joe quits the force. He has a hunch restaurant owner Sylvio Malatesta could be involved. Joe is warmly welcomed by Sylvio's family, however, and falls in love with a cousin, Anna. He hides his past identity as a cop from her. Something is troubling Sylvio, but the family believes he still misses a sweetheart killed in Italy during the war. Sylvio also has an alibi for the night of the priest's murder, but Sergeant Gillen gets word to Joe that the alibi is a fake. In a ploy to encourage Sylvio to confide in him, Joe pretends to be a murder suspect himself. Sylvio breaks down and admits to having killed his own sweetheart, then the priest as well after confiding to him about the murder in confession. Sylvio runs into the street and is struck by a moving vehicle. Dying, he begs for Joe's forgiveness.

Cast

as Joe Martini *

as Anna Malatesta *

as Sylvio Malatesta *

Jay C. Flippen Jay C. Flippen (March 6, 1899 – February 3, 1971) was an American character actor who often played crusty sergeants, police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s and 1950s. Before his motion-picture career he was a leading va ...

as Sergeant Jack Gillen *

Argentina Brunetti Argentina Brunetti (born Argentina Ferraù; August 31, 1907 – December 20, 2005) was an Argentinian stage and film actress and writer. Biography Brunetti was born Argentina Ferraù in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Italian parents; her moth ...

as Mama Malatesta * Ted de Corsia as Lieutenant Kilrain * Richard Monda as "Peanuts" Malatesta *

Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1923August 23, 2001) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives, almost in ...

as Rosa Cuneo *

Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...

as Charlie Cuneo (as Herburt Vigran) *

Peggy Maley Margaret June "Peggy" Maley (June 8, 1923 – October 1, 2007) was an American actress who appeared in film and television. In 1942, aged 18 or 19, she was crowned Miss Atlantic City. Career Film Maley delivered the feeder line to Marlon ...

as Veda Pinelli *

John Cliff John Cliff (7 March 1883 – 18 October 1977) was the first Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union and later a prominent London Transport board member. Cliff was born in Leeds in 1883, the son of John Cliff and ...

as Father Giuseppe *

Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one ...

as Det. Sgt. Sommers * Chico Vejar as Frankie Pellatrini *

Tito Vuolo Tito Vuolo (22 March 1893 – 14 September 1962) was an Italian-born American actor, best known for his supporting work playing often stereotypical Italian characters. Prior to his film career, he toured the United States as a stage actor. His wi ...

as Grocer * Helen Wallace as Mother Catherine * James Hyland as Frank Wilkins

Production

The film was shot on location in San Francisco in August 1956. At Tony Curtis's request, the shoot following a "French" shooting schedule, whereby filming would begin at noon and run continuously until 7 p.m.

External links

* * * *

References

1957 films Film noir Films directed by Joseph Pevney 1957 crime films Universal Pictures films CinemaScope films Films set in San Francisco American crime films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{1950s-crime-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

External links

References