Deadline at Dawn
After a woman he meets is murdered, a soon-to-ship-out sailor has until dawn to find the killer, aided by a weary dance hall girl. Alex, a radio-specialist sailor on leave, recovers from a drink-induc…
Deadline at Dawn
After a woman he meets is murdered, a soon-to-ship-out sailor has until dawn to find the killer, aided by a weary dance hall girl. Alex, a radio-specialist sailor on leave, recovers from a drink-induced blackout with a large sum of money belonging to Edna Bartelli, a B-girl who invited him home to fix her radio. He tries to return the money with the reluctant aid of June Goffe, a sweet but oh-so-tired dance hall girl. They find Edna murdered. Not quite sure he didn't do it himself, Alex and June have four hours in the dead of night to find the real killer before his leave ends. Their quest brings them into contact with a sleazy kaleidoscope of minor characters as the clues get more and more tangled. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> It's the middle of a sweltering New York City night. Non-confident sailor Alex Winkler, on a short term pass, has been wandering around the city before he needs to catch a bus back to Norfolk, VA at 06:00 to board his ship. Along the way, he discovers $1,400 in his pocket, he remembering that he stole it earlier in the evening from a woman named Edna Bartelli in being swindled out of money from her brother, thus money he felt he was owed. After that incident which included having a few too many drinks, he doesn't remember anything until he ended up at a newsstand an hour later when he discovered the money in his pocket. Spending much of the evening afterwards with streetwise taxi dancer June Goffe with who he makes a human connection, Alex is convinced by her to return the money in Edna's brother being able to identify him, thus placing a black mark on his military record in the certainty of he being caught. However, when Alex and June arrive at Edna's apartment which is located across the street from a police station, they discover her murdered dead body. While Alex cannot definitively rule out that he killed her in that one hour blackout in his memory, June is certain that he didn't in inherently not part of his being. Rather than report the murder where he would certainly be detained if not charged in the circumstantial evidence pointing to him as the murderer, Alex and June believe the better option, with what few leads they have, is to try and find out who murdered Edna themselves to clear his name, all before he has to leave the city at 06:00 in a few hours. Along the way, they pick up yet another person who wants to help them, middle-age cabby Gus Hoffman who can see in his innocent nature that Alex could not have killed her. —Huggo
Deadline at Dawn
Crime,Drama,Film-Noir
Film Details
After a woman he meets is murdered, a soon-to-ship-out sailor has until dawn to find the killer, aided by a weary dance hall girl. Alex, a radio-specialist sailor on leave, recovers from a drink-induced blackout with a large sum of money belonging to Edna Bartelli, a B-girl who invited him home to fix her radio. He tries to return the money with the reluctant aid of June Goffe, a sweet but oh-so-tired dance hall girl.
They find Edna murdered. Not quite sure he didn't do it himself, Alex and June have four hours in the dead of night to find the real killer before his leave ends. Their quest brings them into contact with a sleazy kaleidoscope of minor characters as the clues get more and more tangled.
—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu> It's the middle of a sweltering New York City night. Non-confident sailor Alex Winkler, on a short term pass, has been wandering around the city before he needs to catch a bus back to Norfolk, VA at 06:00 to board his ship. Along the way, he discovers $1,400 in his pocket, he remembering that he stole it earlier in the evening from a woman named Edna Bartelli in being swindled out of money from her brother, thus money he felt he was owed.
After that incident which included having a few too many drinks, he doesn't remember anything until he ended up at a newsstand an hour later when he discovered the money in his pocket. Spending much of the evening afterwards with streetwise taxi dancer June Goffe with who he makes a human connection, Alex is convinced by her to return the money in Edna's brother being able to identify him, thus placing a black mark on his military record in the certainty of he being caught. However, when Alex and June arrive at Edna's apartment which is located across the street from a police station, they discover her murdered dead body.
While Alex cannot definitively rule out that he killed her in that one hour blackout in his memory, June is certain that he didn't in inherently not part of his being. Rather than report the murder where he would certainly be detained if not charged in the circumstantial evidence pointing to him as the murderer, Alex and June believe the better option, with what few leads they have, is to try and find out who murdered Edna themselves to clear his name, all before he has to leave the city at 06:00 in a few hours. Along the way, they pick up yet another person who wants to help them, middle-age cabby Gus Hoffman who can see in his innocent nature that Alex could not have killed her.
—Huggo.