Night Has a Thousand Eyes – Indicator

Director: John Farrow
Screenplay: Barré Lyndon, Jonathan Latimer
Based on a Novel by: Cornell Woolrich
Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, John Lund, Virginia Bruce, William Demarest, Richard Webb, Jerome Cowan
Country: USA
Running Time: 81 min
Year: 1948
BBFC Certificate: PG

Back in 2019, I reviewed Arrow’s release of The Big Clock and was blown away by the hugely enjoyable and expertly crafted film noir. So, when Indicator announced they’d be releasing another noir(ish) title from that film’s director, John Farrow, I was keen to see how it compared.

The film is based on one of the longer books by the great Cornell Woolrich (and one of his most laborious, according to Glenn Kenny in his joint commentary). The screen adaptation reportedly alters and streamlines it, turning it into a short, sweet mystery thriller.

The story begins in thrilling fashion with Elliott Carson (John Lund) saving Jean Courtland (Gail Russell) from committing suicide on a railway bridge one dark night. The couple then heads over to see John Triton (Edward G. Robinson), a clairvoyant whose premonition seems to have fuelled this drastic action.

Triton proceeds to tell what led him to approach Jean. It turns out Triton was initially a phoney stage mentalist who was forced to abandon his act when he suddenly developed the actual ability to see the future. At first, this seems to be a gift and it even leads him to give his friend Whitney (Jerome Cowan) a winning tip at the horse races. However, Triton soon realised it was a curse, as his visions were largely of tragedies and he wasn’t sure whether his acting on these was causing the deaths and losses he foresaw or simply that he was powerless to stop fate.

After living in hiding for around 20 years, Triton foresaw the death of his old friend Whitney, who married Triton’s fiance Jenny (Virginia Bruce) following his disappearance and went on to find great fortune thanks to one of his visions. Jean is Whitney and Jenny’s daughter, and Triton approached her to get hold of her father and warn him of the accident that would take his life. He was, sadly, too late.

Upon meeting Jean, however, he received the vision that she will die within one week on a clear night under the stars.

After her suicide attempt and on hearing Triton’s story, Jean becomes determined to cheat fate, but Triton’s visions are always accurate. As the days pass, she becomes increasingly desperate and begins to doubt her own sanity. Triton, meanwhile, is haunted by the guilt of knowing what is going to happen.

It’s a far-fetched story that Edward G. Robinson himself called “unadulterated hokum” (or at least his ghostwriter wrote that, taking inspiration from a review of the film) but I found it utterly engrossing, for the most part. Tautly constructed, it moves along nicely and its mystery compels, despite the psychic aspects seeming a bit daft.

It makes for a curious mixture of supernatural fantasy, mystery thriller and film noir. I’m not sure I’d call this a fully-fledged noir, due to its fantastical leanings, but it certainly has a distinct flavour of the genre.

Whilst it isn’t as visually impressive as The Big Clock, Night Has a Thousand Eyes still shows Farrow’s skills at skillfully blocking out scenes, occasionally with graceful movement. The low-key lighting, courtesy of DOP John F. Seitz (who shot a number of cast iron classics), creates a moody, dark atmosphere too.

It all gets a bit ‘Old Dark House’ and Scooby Doo by the end though, unfortunately. It seems rather thrown together after building the story so nicely in the previous two-thirds of the film. Bizarre contrivances (an escaped lion?) and third parties with their attached side plots are thrown into the mix late on. As such, I was left a little disappointed after such a promising start.

1948 was the last year that Robinson was free to work on a wide range of films without issue as, following this, he would start to face accusations that he was a member of the Communist Party, putting him in the ‘Red Scare’ spotlight. His reputation as a philanthropist, particularly his great support for GIs during the war, helped keep him off the blacklist, but Robinson still found most doors in Hollywood closing on him as the McCarthy witchhunt gained traction. So this sees the actor at what you might call the peak of his fame.

Robinson is best known for his tough-guy gangster roles but there was so much more to him than that and, in reality, he played a wide variety of characters throughout his career, on top of being a very intelligent, generous and, by all accounts, warm-hearted, art-loving man. This film is a great showcase for his skills as an actor, allowing a more subdued Robinson to show great range, moving from a charismatic showman to a fearful hermit, wracked with guilt.

William Demarest is a scene-stealer here too, as a sceptical, wise-cracking police lieutenant. Gail Russell is also effective in the troubled ‘damsel in distress’ role, though she’s hardly attention-grabbing. John Lund, meanwhile, is flat-out bland, though he hasn’t been blessed with a particularly interesting role here, to be fair.

So, whilst it might not nail its landing, Night Has a Thousand Eyes remains, for the most part, an engrossing, atmospheric treat that blends supernatural mystery with more than a dash of noir.

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