Pluskylang Great Film overall

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

mamalv A realistic look at the sorrow and despair that most human beings suffer after a sudden and horrific loss. This is a mature Ray Milland who suffers the loss of his wife and son in a home explosion. His grief is so raw that it overwhelms even those of us watching his spiral into darkness. He finds solace in alcoholic slumber only to wake and find it was not a dream but stark reality. This is not the story of an alcoholic as in his award winning role as Don Birnam in the Lost Weekend. Birnam was lost because of his disappointment in himself, not in grief over the loss of his loved ones. Milland once again proves he was a terrific actor, who could swing from crazy comedy to the depths of reality. Only after Nancy Kelly, who has also suffered a loss, comes to find him on the ledge of a building ready to jump, does he finally break down the shield of false bravado. An outstanding performance from Milland again.

krocheav While looking through the TCM listing, found this rarity. Might have given it a miss, but was drawn to it by the title. The first review I read put me off, but with a cast like this (and again that title) took a chance....very pleased I did.My introduction to the screenplay writing skills of Karl Tunberg came after seeing "Ben Hur". When I found that 'Night Into Morning' was his original story, just had to see it. It's hard to know if his credited co-writer Leonard Spigelglass ("All Through the Night" '41 ~ "Mystery Street '50) collaborated on the original story or perhaps adapted chapters after the event. There are some sections that could be seen as perhaps, changing tone - but this would also be expected from a story of this nature - people dealing with grief go through several phases.Films with this theme are rare and often can be depressing, but not this handling. All characters are credible and the script and direction are in harmony. Tunberg's dialogue is non stop and full of character. It's not a film I would have expected from MGM and as you might expect, in the declining decade of this studio, it's a modest production ~ but wonderfully realized by a sterling crew.Ray Miland (as the English Professor) is as always the consummate professional. Roles dealing with a full range of strong emotions are always difficult. Nancy Davis (Reagan) matches him with a sincere performance, after all, her character is still dealing with her own earlier loss. John Hodiak (what a pity we lost this fine actor so early!) plays the 'thick headed' Swede who has difficulty in reading both his professor friend's reactions, as well as his intended wife's 'awareness' of the professor's erratic behavior. The delightful Jean Hagen puts in a marvellous turn as the lonely girl across the hall and a very young Dawn Addams adds charm as the girlfriend of one of the professor's students. The themes of a Shakespearian quote, being studied in the professor's class, are used to perfection. Celia Lovsky (Mrs Peter Lorre) has a small part as a neighbor (it was her portrait that was used so well in 1955s "The Big Heat"). My wife also picked an uncredited Percy Helton as a drunk in a prison cell --whose only line is crucial to the story-- Producer: Edwin H. Knopf, himself an Actor, Writer and Director has several distinguished films to his credit..."The Seventh Cross" '44 ~ "Crossroads" '42 ~ Cry Havoc '43. Here, he's picked an un-commercial but vital project and his Director: Fletcher Markle (also an actor and writer) handles the film's theme with care and feeling. Great Director of Photography: George Folsey seems to have been around forever and has such a wide range of top films to his credit...The Bandwaggon" 53 ~ Executive Suite '54 ~ 7 Brides for 7 Brothers '54, etc. Some could be unimpressed by the professor's closing remarks "Go with God", but this is apt for the films themes and gives a measure of hope where today's filmmakers leave their audiences in total despair. Hope-less.The TCM copy broadcast in Australia did not look like a re-mastered print, still it's better than some I've seen. Recommended for thoughtful viewing - unfortunately it seems to be unavailable on DVD.

mrb1980 Ray Milland was a very versatile leading man from the 1930s to the 1980s, winning an Academy Award for his performance in 1945 as an alcoholic in "The Lost Weekend". Here in "Night Into Morning" (1950), his character reacts to personal tragedy by hitting the bottle again.Milland plays Phillip Ainley, a distinguished university English professor. After his wife and son die in a house fire, Milland understandably falls apart emotionally and begins to stay in a cheap hotel and drink heavily. His university co-workers Tom Lawry (John Hodiak) and war widow Katherine (Nancy Davis) worry about him but are unable to get him to snap out of his depression. He has a brief meeting with an alluring neighbor (Jean Hagen) in the hotel but spends most of his time getting drunk in the hotel lounge. After a drunk-driving accident and a humiliating court appearance, Ainley decides to commit suicide before Katherine arrives to tell him he has much to live for. The film ends with Ainley conducting his final English class of the semester before a classroom of adoring students.The film is pretty pedestrian but does provide insights into the situation a person faces when he has lost about everything. The tragic and accidental loss of a spouse and a son is shown to have a devastating effect on Ainley. Besides the opening fire and Ainley's contemplated suicide, the film ambles with very little plot, just meandering from one vignette to another. It does have the novelty of starring future first lady Nancy Davis plus John Hodiak, whose career was sadly cut short when he passed away at age 41. Jean Hagen is wonderful as Ainley's pretty and lonely neighbor—it's too bad her part is so minor. Whit Bissell even appears as a dignified gravestone salesman who knows all about "Vermont Granite" monuments. "Night Into Morning" is a minor film, but it is worth a look for the cast and the tragic story.

Mike Conrad (conono) Material which all-too-readily lends itself to melodramatic and/or hackneyed treatment is handled in a deliberate and truly intelligent manner in this surprising sleeper of a film.The acting of the leads is beyond reproach but to my mind it is the script which wins you over. There are a couple of typical Hollywood clichés (young, wide-eyed midwesterners and earnest, virtuous eastern-European immigrants) but for the most part, the writing is unaffected, original and convincing.Several subplots weave neatly into the story and are just as convincing themselves. I had never heard of this film before (as opposed to the legendary "Lost Weekend") but I won't forget it soon. Highly recommended