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| A Night To Remember - 1942 |
Coming up next we have 1942's "A Night To Remember", the story of a young couple who move into a Greenwich Village apartment and find themselves smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation.
The film's cast includes Loretta Young, Brian Aherne, Jeff Donnell, William Wright, Sidney Toler, Gale Sondergaard, Donald MacBride, Lee Patrick, Don Costello, and George Chandler.
Mystery novelist Jeff Troy and his wife Nancy move into a Greenwich Village apartment. Right away, things seem strange. A mysterious scream sends them into each other's arms.
The scream came from the housekeeper, who was cleaning in the basement apartment. Something crawled across her feet and pinned her to the floor. It's not the first time that this has happened, either. Jeff and Nancy are a bit nervous. The basement apartment now belongs to them!
Soon enough, Jeff and Nancy come into contact with whatever this mysterious thing is. Nancy feels something on her feet. She also sets down a candle (their electricity hadn't yet been switched on), and the candle begins to move across the floor. In the middle of the night, Nancy is awakened by something slowly pulling the blankets off of her.
It turns out the mysterious thing was just a turtle. (This is, in fact, a tortoise, however, it is called a turtle in the film.) The turtle is named Old Hickory. The apartment used to be a speakeasy, and Old Hickory was the mascot. He was left behind after it closed. Jeff and Nancy decide to keep him around.
Things in the apartment get very strange, when, after returning from eating dinner out, Jeff and Nancy find that items appear to have moved and the bathtub has been used. The next morning, a dead body is discovered in their garden.
Soon the place is overrun with cops and coroners, who are anxious to find out exactly what happened.
The apartment house is full of people who have a motive for murder. All of these people were apparently being blackmailed by the killer and forced to live in the building together. Now, they don't have to worry about it anymore.
After discussing that the killer may well be one of them, Polly Franklin announces in a loud voice, "Well, whoever it was, I want them to know I appreciate it."
The police are very interested in Jeff as as suspect, especially since, as a murder mystery novelist, he has some idea of the workings of a murderer's mind. Anxious to keep himself out of their line of questioning, Jeff decides to solve the case himself.
His investigation leads them to the residence of Mrs. Devoe. Information learned there alters the direction of the case and gives Jeff a better understanding of who the murder is and why he committed his crime.
Once the killer is identified and caught, the where, who, why, and how shock everybody to their core. Of course, you'll have to watch the film to find out who it was.
Cast rundown:
Loretta Young................................Nancy Troy
Brian Aherne.................................Jeff Troy
Jeff Donnell...................................Anne Stafford Carstairs
William Wright...............................Scott Carstairs
Sidney Toler..................................Inspector Hankins
Gale Sondergaard..........................Mrs. Devoe
Donald MacBride............................Bolling
Lee Patrick....................................Polly Franklin
Don Costello.................................Eddie Turner
George Chandler............................Taxi Driver
And that's it for A Night To Remember. It's a pretty good murder mystery. It's got drama, thrills, and a lot of comedy. The basement apartment was used in the film "My Sister Eileen", which was released a few months previously.
