''Chinatown at Midnight'' is a 1949 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Seymour Friedman Seymour Friedman (August 17, 1917 – April 2, 2003) was an American film director. He later worked as a production manager in television. Friedman began his career as an assistant director, before enlisting for military service following America ...

and starring

Hurd Hatfield William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He was known for playing characters of handsome, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' (1945). Ea ...

Jean Willes Jean Donahue (born Jean Willes; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Born Jean Willesin Los Angeles to William Simmons Willes ...

and

Tom Powers Thomas McCreery Powers (July 7, 1890 – November 9, 1955) was an American actor in theatre, films, radio and television. A veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw, he created the role of Charles Marsden in Eugene ...

Plot

After a jade vase is mentioned to him by Lisa Marcel, an interior designer, Clifford Ward steals it from a Chinatown shop. He shoots and kills shopkeeper Joe Wong, who triggered the burglar alarm, and when employee Betty Chang telephones for help, Ward shoots her as well. Ward, fluent in Chinese, speaks to the police on the phone. Telephone operator Hazel Fong becomes the only hope police have of identifying the voice. Lisa sees a photo of the stolen vase in the newspaper and immediately suspects Ward, who then adds her to his murder victims. When he falls ill and phones a neighborhood pharmacy, the call is once again placed by Hazel, who recognizes his voice. Ward attempts to flee, but the police gun him down.

Cast

as Clifford Ward *

as Alice *

as Capt. Howard Brown * Ray Walker as Sam Costa * Charles Russell as Fred Morgan *

Jacqueline deWit Jacqueline deWit (September 26, 1912 – January 7, 1998) was an American film and TV character actress from Los Angeles who appeared in over two dozen films, including '' Spellbound'' (1945), '' The Snake Pit'', '' The Damned Don't Cry!'', '' ...

as Lisa Marcel (as Jacqueline DeWit) * Maylia as Hazel Fong *

Ross Elliott Ross Elliott (born Elliott Blum; June 18, 1917 – August 12, 1999) was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career in the Mercury Theatre, where he performed in Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of ''The War o ...

as Eddie Marsh

Preservation status

In 2014, a pristine 35mm print of the film was struck from the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

archives and subsequently exhibited at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

External links

''Chinatown at Midnight'' at IMDB
Columbia Pictures films 1949 crime drama films Films set in San Francisco 1949 films American crime drama films Films directed by Seymour Friedman American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language crime drama films Films produced by Sam Katzman {{1940s-US-drama-film-stub