Susan Hayward

Paul Lukas

Bill Williams

Joseph Calleia

Osa Massen

Lola Lane

Jerome Cowan

Marvin Miller

Roman Bohnen

Steven Geray

Joe Sawyer

Constance Worth

Joseph Crehan

Ernie Adams

Fred Aldrich

Walter Bacon

John Barton

Billy Bletcher

Al Bridge

Edgar Caldwell

William Challee

Eddy Chandler

Jack Cheatham

Tom Coleman

Connie Conrad

Roger Creed

Dorothy Curtis

Ralph Dunn

Al Eben

Dick Elliott

John Elliott

Virginia Farmer

Carl Faulkner

Byron Foulger

Jerry Frank

Edward Gargan

Betty Gillette

Eddie Hart

Annelle Hayes

Earle Hodgins

Jack Kenney

Colin Kenny

Ethelreda Leopold

Larry McGrath

Frank Meredith

Philip Morris

William J. O'Brien

Emory Parnell

Florence Pepper

Louis Quince

Tom Quinn

Jason Robards Sr.

Dick Rush

Shimen Ruskin

Walter Soderling

Larry Thompson

George Tyne

Pearl Varvalle

Alan Ward

Phil Warren

Billy Wayne

Larry Wheat

Isabel Withers

Armand 'Curly' Wright

Cornell Woolrich

Nicholas Musuraca

Harold Clurman

Sid Rogell

Roland Gross

Clifford Odets

Adrian Scott

Renié

Vernon L. Walker

Darrell Silvera

William Dorfman

Albert S. D'Agostino

Jack Okey

William Cameron Menzies

C. Bakaleinikoff

Hanns Eisler

Earl A. Wolcott

Gil Grau

Earl B. Mounce

Harold E. Stine

James G. Stewart

Mystery

Thriller

Romance

Deadline at Dawn

RKO Radio Pictures

United States of America

People with wax heads should keep out of the sun!

Deadline at Dawn is directed by Harold Clurman and adapted to screenplay by Clifford Odets from the novel written by Cornell Woolrich. It stars Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams, Joseph Calleia, Osa Masson and Lola Lane. Music is by Hans Eisler and cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca.

Sailor Alex Winkley (Williams) wakes up with hangover amnesia to find he has a wad of cash on his person that he didn't have before his drunken exploits. Enlisting the help of dancer June Goth (Hayward), he retraces his steps to the home of the nightclub hostess who had befriended him the night before. Finding the woman dead, Alex doesn't know if he murdered and robbed her? So with the clock ticking, Alex and his friend have to find out what happened...

"She's a blitzkrieg with hair on her head"

Amnesia formed the backbone of many a good film noir picture, here we have a familiar theme brought about by a simple social occurrence, that of a drunken night. This sets us up for a mystery to be solved as our protagonists trawl through a backlot produced night time New York that's awash with a whole array of damaged or menacing characters. 

The dialogue is often sharp, where we get plenty of choice one liners and superb philosophical musings from Lukas' taxi driver who has joined the fight to prove Alex's innocence (in fact all the cabbies in this are real cool). This was Clurman's only big screen directing assignment, and in truth it's just a passable job and he's saved by strong turns from Hayward and Lukas. However, there's a nifty noir world painted and the pic constantly holds interest value. 7/10

English