The Midnight Story (1957)

Written by CinemaSerf on November 11, 2023

Tony Curtis is a keen San Francisco cop ("Joe") who is convinced that the killer of a local priest is none other than local crab fisherman "Malatesta" (Gilbert Roland). There's no evidence, though, and that man has a fairly cast iron alibi. His boss "KIlrain" (Ted de Corsia) tells him to forget it but he can't, so he quits and with a bit of off-the-books help from his sergeant "Gillen" (Jay C. Flippen) he sets out to ingratiate himself with his suspect. Against all the odds, they actually start to bond, and after a short while the older man suggests that "Joe" moves into the family home where he fits in well with "Mama" (Argentina Brunetti) and takes a bit of a shine to the tempestuous daughter "Anna" (Marisa Pavan). The longer he associates with this family, the more convinced he becomes that his hunch was wrong. Then, out of the blue, his old boss gets in touch with some startling information... Curtis is quite engaging here, as are the enthusiastic Pavan and Roland and as the story moves along we are all drawn into the seemingly delightful family scenario. There's a twist waiting for us. It's not one that's entirely unexpected but it quickly hurls us towards an ending that I found just a little rushed and disappointing. This is a solid story that just about manages to keep the romance at bay while the noir-elements prevail, and is still worth a gander.