I don’t need you, I can buy and sell you. I don’t know why I bother seeing you.
Today on the Classic Movie Reviews Podcast, we are taking on Night Editor (1946).
This movie has a low 6.7[1] rating on iMDB.com. The film is utterly dogged on rottentomatoes.com with no Tomatometer score and a dismal 27 percent audience approval[2].
NoiroftheWeek.com (broken 2023) said of the film, “And aren’t we glad, because Night Editor is as about as solid a hard-boiled artifact of early classic B-noir as can be found, outshadowing even The Devil Thumbs a Ride when it comes to dishing out low-rent seediness.“[3]
About a decade ago, Sony released a collection of eight films titled “Bad Girls of Film Noir.”[4] As a tribute to what a great Femme Fatale Janis Carter as Jill Merrill was, Night Editor (1946) was included in this set.
This 68-minute long Film Noir is a lot better than the scores would indicate. The story of the murder and the cover-up are well executed. The sadomasochistic tendencies of the Femme Fatale Jill Merrill have prompted me to move this character and actress to my list of Great Femme Fatales of Film Noir.
Eddie Muller did a great job explaining this character’s sickness in his conclusions for the film on TCM’s Noir Alley. He stated that it had to be hidden from the censors, who must not have checked very closely.
Actors – Night Editor (1946)
Returning
Veteran character actress Jeff Donnell played the loving wife, Martha Cochrane. She was sickeningly sweet in this role. Donnell was first covered in The Blue Gardenia (1953).
New
William Gargan was in the role of Police Lt. Tony Cochrane. Gargan was born in New York City in 1905. Following high school, Gargan worked as a bootlegger and later as a detective. Gargan visited his actor, brother, onset and was offered work.
Gargan began acting on stage and started with a small bit in film in 1929. Gargan regularly received Irish roles and detective roles. His significant roles include Rain (1932), The Story of Temple Drake (1933), Headline Shooter (1933), The Line-Up (1934), They Knew What They Wanted (1940) for which he received a best supporting Oscar nomination, A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942), A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen (1942), Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942), Night Editor (1946), and Behind Green Lights (1946). He was active on radio and television as well.
In 1958, Gargan was diagnosed with throat cancer. Later, his larynx was removed, and he spent the remainder of his life using a voice box. In 1979, at the age of 73, Gargan died of a heart attack while on a cross country flight.
Janis Carter played the sadomasochistic Femme Fatale, Jill Merrill. Carter was born in Ohio in 1913. In 1935, she graduated college with an art and a music degree from what is now Western Reserve. Carter planed on being an opera singer, but a case of stage fright ended that dream. She was working as a model and radio writer.
Carter obtained a role on Broadway and was spotted on opening night by Darryl Zanuck. She signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox but worked for other studios during her over 30-movies. Some of her better-known movies are I Married an Angel (1942), Secret Agent of Japan (1942), Film Noirs Night Editor (1946), Framed (1947), and The Woman on Pier 13 (1949). She was a great Femme Fatale in Night Editor (1946) and a great Commie Femme Fatale in The Woman on Pier 13 (1949). Before heading east to work in television, Carter was also in Santa Fe (1951), Flying Leathernecks (1951), and My Forbidden Past (1951). Carter retired from acting in 1956 and lived primarily in Florida. She died in 1994.
Frank Wilcox played banker and a little more Douglas Loring. Wilcox was born in 1907 in Missouri. He tried various careers before beginning stage acting. He began studying at the University of Kansas but left for Hollywood in 1930.
In California, he worked in a lemon grove and owned a tire shop. He eventually began studying at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. A Warner Bros. scout signed the actor for a short film role. He signed on as a contractor played and continued to work for decades.
His movies include Santa Fe Trail (1940), The Fighting 69th (1940), They Died with Their Boots On (1941), Across the Pacific (1942), Notorious (1946), Dead Reckoning (1947), Out of the Past (1947), Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), Unconquered (1947), All the King’s Men (1949), Go for Broke! (1951) the fictionalized war story of the 442, The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), The Man From the Alamo (1953), Dangerous Mission (1954), The Ten Commandments (1956), Beginning of the End (1957), and North by Northwest (1959).
Wilcox’s film career was interrupted when he served in World War II. In Dark Passage (1947), his picture was used as the pre-plastic surgery face of Humphrey Bogart. Wilcox was also active on television. I remember him as the oilman that first made a deal with Jed on “The Beverly Hillbillies” 1962–1971. Wilcox died in 1974.
Paul E. Burns played the accented Police Lt. Ole Strom. Burns was born in Pennsylvania in 1881. Burns is primarily known for The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945), Smoky River Serenade (1947), and Son of Paleface (1952). However, movies where he was uncredited, unnamed, or was in a bit part, include New Moon (1940), The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Ox-Bow Incident (1942), Dark Waters (1944), Night Editor (1946), Unconquered (1947), Johnny Allegro (1949), Manhandled (1949), western Film Noir Roughshod (1949), The Woman on Pier 13 (1949), and Armored Car Robbery (1950). He was also in Santa Fe (1951), and the Elvis Presley movie Love Me Tender (1956). Burns died in 1967.
Story – Night Editor (1946)
After the credits roll, a barge is shown moving along the Hudson River. Next is the sign for the New York Star newspaper. The streets are empty except for a lone street cleaner. A man in a daze walks right in front of the machine, causing the driver to swerve.
When he goes into the building, he slowly walks right through a recently mopped floor with no regard for the cleaning lady. The man has a drink of booze before heading into the office.
Inside, four older men are playing cards. The slow walking man is Johnny (Coulter Irwin). The phone rings, and one of the newspaper editors Crane Stewart (Charles D. Brown), answers it. Johnny goes right to sleep at his desk. Crane sends another reporter to check on the story.
A cop, Doc (Robert Kellard), comes by on the way to the morgue, and by the morgue, I think they mean the newspaper stacks. Johnny hasn’t been home to see his wife in two weeks. Crane starts telling a story about Police Lt. Tony Cochrane (William Gargan). The others don’t want Doc to hear.
They tell the tale louder so Johnny can hear. With a spin of a coin, the picture goes back in time to show that Tony loved his wife and his son. Tony tells his son that he is working nights on something special. The boy is laying some heavy guilt on his father about going away.
In the hall, Tony runs into his wife, Martha Cochrane (Jeff Donnell). Martha asks if he is going out again tonight. She keeps a brave face and is very loving.
Tony debates leaving while sitting in his car. He leaves anyway. Tony drives downtown and picks up a fancy filly Jill Merrill (Janis Carter). Tony makes a stop at the police homicide office where he works. He goes to see Police Capt. Lawrence (Harry Shannon).
Lawrence asks Tony what shift he is working. He fusses because Tony has been taking a lot of nights off. He tells a very interesting immigrant, Lt. Ole Strom (Paul E. Burns), that if anyone calls, they must be told that Tony is working.
Tony and Jill park the car at a deserted spot near the beach. Tony says that it is the end of the line for the two of them. They have an insulting contest. It’s fast-talking high pants. They embrace in a passionate kiss. Why can’t I quit you?
Another car pulls into the other side of the lover’s lane. The new car’s diver gets out of the car and suddenly starts beating the woman to death. Tony turns on the lights as Jill yells for him not to go. Tony gets a good look at the man’s face. Tony aims at the killer, but Jill’s pleas and the voice of his son stop him from firing. He looks at the dead girl and returns to Jill. Tony says the murder weapon was a tire iron, and the girl was young.
Jill has a passionate desire to see the fresh kill. I am surprised it made it past the censors.
Tony drives away, leaving the dead girl behind. They do not report the crime.
Tony is at work when Ole comes over to talk to him. Ole picks up the phone, and the murder has been reported to their office.
The two policemen go and talk to Lawrence. The dead woman is Elaine Blanchard (Betty Hill, uncredited). The three men head to the beach and the crime scene.
The coroner has already examined the body. Lawrence has seen Tony’s tire track. Tony sees the tracks too, and he walks on them to destroy them. Lawrence calls Tony back about the tire track that he hasn’t destroyed. Lawrence tells him to make a plaster impression.
Lawrence thinks it was a robbery. She had $200 cash and $12,000 in jewelry. Lawrence says the other car’s track had an identifiable cut in it. Tony may have left fingerprints on the dash. Elaine’s friends think she has been seeing a married man. Tony is assigned to check out her bank account. Ole sees that Tony is hiding something.
On the list of friends of the deceased, Tony sees the names Mr. and Mrs. Paul Merrill, e.g., Jill, that he is seeing. Tony calls the Merrill residence, but the husband picks up. He then calls home to talk to Martha. She is sweet as pie. He asks if he can take her to supper. When he finds out she had planned to eat with friends, he gets mad and tells her to go ahead with her plans.
Tony is in a diner while the cook solves the case. Ole comes in and orders four glasses of buttermilk. He adds salt to each glass before drinking the content. Ole says the tire tracks could be from a different brand.
Tony goes home to his garage. By a small lamplight, he is removing the tire that has the cut in it. Martha comes in and surprises him in the dark. When she tries to turn on the light, he gets verbally aggressive. Tony is really hostile when Martha touches his arm.
The editor that is telling the story is shown, and Johnny is starting to listen. Crane continues that Tony was from the wrong side of the track and grew up fighting. He is still fighting as an adult against himself and everyone else.
Jill is very shocked when Tony shows up at her door. Tony had been to the house about a year earlier on a burglary call, and this time, he is also on official business. Tony talks to Jill and her husband. The husband has to go to work and leaves Tony and Jill alone.
Jill starts toying with Tony as soon as her husband is gone. Tony makes like he is going back with her. Then he drops the line asking who the killer was. She says she knows but won’t tell. When Tony begins to leave, she says she doesn’t really know the killer’s name and begs Tony to stay. He says he will be back because they are partners.
Tony’s next stop is Elaine’s bank. He is sent to Vice President Douglas Loring (Frank Wilcox). As soon as Tony sees Loring, he recognizes him as the killer. He hides his surprise and begins to ask questions about the murder. Loring says that he knew the dead girl Elaine very well. He says she was in the bank on the day of the murder.
Newspaper sellers are saying Elaine’s murderer has been caught. In the station, they have Phillips (Charles Wagenheim) in custody for the murder. He had Elaine’s jewelry. Phillips says he found her first and robbed the body.
Tony waits outside of the bank. He has had Jill come by and confirm the identification of Loring. She does, and the two slowly walk away talking. Jill is grinning again with excitement about the murder. Jill wants a date with Tony. Tony tells her to meet him in the library behind the stacks.
When Jill gets there, she says Elaine was nasty and probably deserved what she got. Jill is content to let the innocent man take the blame and be executed. Then Jill slips that she knows Loring is married. Jill is still looking for a date, but Tony is out to get the guilty man.
Tony looks at Elaine’s stolen jewelry. He takes one clip with him from the evidence room. Tony goes directly to Loring. Loring is happy that the killer has been caught. Tony asks about the clip he has brought with him. Tony has Loring sign that he can id the clip as being worn by Elaine. Loring wipes his prints off of the clip before handing it back.
The editor that is telling the story is shown again, but he is on a break from storytelling. One of the newspaper men realizes from the tale that Loring’s fingerprints were on the pen he used. Johnny is being sarcastic about the story. Crane continues with the story.
Tony tells Jill on the phone that he is heading down to Capt. Lawrence’s office and then to the District Attorney’s office. The newspaper sellers are shouting that Phillips is going to the chair in the morning.
Lawrence decides that the evidence Tony has is sufficient to go to the DA. Lawrence, Tony, and Ole meet with the DA. The DA doesn’t want to stay Phillip’s execution and brings Loring in from the other room.
Loring is on a first-name basis with the DA. Loring has already told the DA that his fingerprints were in Elaine’s car because he was in her car until 6 pm. Loring implies that he was having an affair with Elaine. He denies being the killer. Tony seems beaten, and Ole takes up the questioning. Loring has brought along Jill as an alibi witness for him. Jill backs up his story that they were watching a movie. Jill stands there and smiles at Tony.
Tony makes a phone call to Jill. She meets him in a bar a little after the call. Jill is working to save Loring as they are now involved in an affair. Jill thinks it will all be over when Phillips is executed. Ole comes in and stops Tony from drinking himself stupid. They both know that Loring is guilty. Tony confesses to Ole that he saw the murder. Ole, like Jill, thinks no one will believe Tony.
Tony remembers the tire and tells Ole that the tire is in his garage. They head out to get the tire. The two cop’s arrival wakes Martha. Tony tells Martha that he loves her and his son. She says essentially no problem.
Tony and Ole rush to Jill’s house. Tony finds Jill in the kitchen with her tongue down Loring’s throat. She smiles, and Loring gives a stink face. Loring leaves the room to take some drinks out. Tony says he has found somebody that believes him. He says they have to go downtown and sing a duet.
Jill says she is under Tony’s spell and do what he says. She also has an ice pick in her hand. Jill asks for a kiss goodbye and stabs the ice pick in Tony’s back. Jill vows to tell the truth. The stabbed Tony walks the petrified Jill through the party to the front door, where more police are waiting with Loring. Lawrence takes Tony’s badge. Ole says he is proud of Tony, just before Tony falls to the ground.
Back at the newspaper office, Doc comes out and tells Crane he has known that story for a long time. Crane begins to say that he told the story for Johnny, but Johnny is already gone when they look up.
Downstairs, Johnny asks for a pack of cigarettes from the clerk that runs the tobacco stand. The clerk is Tony, the one policeman that made a mistake. Tony says he always takes his wife and son fishing on Sundays. Tony says that his son is Doc, the detective. Johnny is thrilled to meet Tony.
Johnny goes out onto the street, and the guys from the editor’s office ask if he wants coffee. He says no, he had to get home. He says goodbye to Tony, and Doc from above says I’ll be right down pa.
I’ll be right back with conclusions and the World-Famous Short Summary following a word from our sponsors.
Summary – Night Editor (1946)
This movie’s style of filming, with the story being told by a newspaper editor in flashback, came from a radio show. The radio show was sponsored by Edward’s Coffee from 1934–1948. On the radio show, the stories came in the form of letters to the editor. The format was adapted for a television show but only lasted during the 1954 season.[5]
World-Famous Short Summary – Don’t kiss her if she’s holding an ice pick
Beware the moors
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038774/
[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_editor
[3] http://www.noiroftheweek.com/2010/05/night-editor-1946.html (Broken 2023)
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/movies/homevideo/07kehr.html
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Editor
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.