Chinatown at Midnight

A low-budget police procedural through the streets of San Francisco, Seymour Friedman’s Chinatown at Midnight follows a trigger-happy jade bandit named Clifford Ward (Hurd Hatfield) who eliminates anyone who comes between him and his merchandise. “They say we were all fish at one time or another,” he says, an attempt at a pickup line. “We haven’t made much progress, have we?” As he evades capture for his growing list of crimes, Ward’s clever plotting and instinctive killing keep the film moving fast as the police pursuit led by Captain Howard Brown (Tom Powers) follows just a few steps behind. The technical aspects of the investigation (crime scene forensics, bullet analysis, voice identification) are more interesting than expected, while Friedman creates suspense in the shadows, such as when confronted by the pops and flashes of police gunfire in the pitch black. While voice-over is over-used on occasion and there are a few missed opportunities for more suspenseful editing, the film’s swift pacing, wistful score, and nasty attitude make for efficient entertainment.