So Dark the Night

Actor Steven Geray was a common presence throughout the film noir cycle but only once did he have a starring role. In Joseph H. Lewis’ So Dark the Night, Geray plays Paris investigator Henri Cassin in a scenario not uncommon in mystery novels of the period: a detective on vacation to escape the criminal milieu stumbles upon a crime and is compelled to investigate. The victim in this case is Nanette Michaud (Micheline Cheirel), daughter of the innkeepers accommodating Cassin and the sudden, new object of Cassin’s affection; her disappearance on the eve of their engagement party places immediate suspicion on her jealous ex-boyfriend Leon (Paul Marion). The film unfolds in two halves: the first is a lighthearted introduction of sweet characters and romantic attractions, the second is a dark descent into murder and madness, including an unusual twist that may hold special appeal for fans of Agatha Christie’s novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Lewis and art director Anderson create a semi-Gothic landscape in which anxious faces are reflected on windowpanes and fistfights erupt in front of roaring fireplaces. There’s even a hunchback!