Night Editor
1946 film by Henry Levin
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Night Editor is a 1946 American film noir directed by Henry Levin and starring William Gargan, Janis Carter and Jeff Donnell. It was based on a popular radio program of the same name. The script for the film was based on a previous radio program episode "Inside Story."[1] A B-movie produced by Columbia Pictures, the movie was to be the first in a series of films featuring stories about the graveyard-shift police beat reporters at a fictional newspaper, the New York Star, but no other Night Editor films were made.[2]
by Scott Littleton
| Night Editor | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Henry Levin |
| Screenplay by | Hal Smith |
| Based on | Night Editor episode "Inside Story" by Scott Littleton |
| Produced by | Ted Richmond |
| Starring | William Gargan Janis Carter Jeff Donnell |
| Cinematography | Burnett Guffey Philip Tannura |
| Edited by | Richard Fantl |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 67 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
In 2010, Sony Pictures released the film on DVD in the Bad Girls of Film Noir: Volume II[3] box set alongside Women's Prison, One Girl's Confession and Over-Exposed.
Plot
Crane Stewart (Charles D. Brown), the editor of the New York Star, while playing poker with his friends, tells a story about a cop involved in a murder investigation.
In flashback, the editor tells the tale of police lieutenant Tony Cochrane (William Gargan), a family man who cheats on his wife with socialite femme fatale Jill Merrill (Janis Carter). Cochrane and the woman, who is also cheating on her husband, witness a man bludgeoning his girlfriend to death with a tire iron while the couple is parked at "lovers lane" by the beach.
The two can't report the crime without revealing their cheating, a dilemma which eventually leads to bigger troubles. Meanwhile, Cochrane must investigate the killing but is not able to tell anyone he witnessed the crime.
Cast
- William Gargan as Lt. Tony Cochrane
- Janis Carter as Jill Merrill
- Jeff Donnell as Martha Cochrane
- Coulter Irwin as Johnny
- Roy Gordon as Benjamin Merrill
- Charles D. Brown as Crane Stewart
- Paul E. Burns as Police Lt. Ole Strom
- Harry Shamnon as Police Capt. Lawrence
- Frank Wilcox as Douglas Loring
- Robert Kellard as Doc Cochrane (as Robert Stevens)
Radio program
The radio program the film was based upon ran from 1934 until 1948. Sponsored by Edwards Coffee, this featured Hal Burdick (1893–1978) as the "night editor". Burdick would receive readers’ requests for stories, in a "letter to the editor" format, which he would relate to the listeners. Burdick played all characters in the program. The stories varied greatly including tales of war, adventure, crime, and an occasional ghost story. The radio series was adapted for Night Editor, a short-lived TV series on the DuMont Television Network in 1954, also hosted by Burdick.
Film rights were bought by Columbia Studios who originally intended to make it into a series. It would be the sixth film series made by the studio, the others including The Whistler, Boston Blackie, Crime Doctor, I Love a Mystery and Blondie.[4]
Inside Story
The script is based on a maagazine story Inside Story by Scott Middleton, a chief investigator for the Pasadena Branch of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. It was published in 1937.[5] Film rights were bought by Columbia in December 1944.[6] Ted Richmond was assigned to produce.[7] It was originally announced that the story would be the basis of an episode of The Whistler series.[8] However it was then decided to use the story for Night Editor.
Production
Filming started 26 December 1945.[4]