[.ca] Eyes in the Night

Not The Thin Man or Charley Chan But Good:
If you are a fan of the movies of the 30's and 40's you will recognize Edward Arnold but probably not his name. He was often cast as a man of power in the state, town, company or the family and he was convincingly good at it. Arnold diverts from his usual persona in Eyes In The Night. He deftly assumes the role of a blind private detective. Arnold brings to the screen some extraordinary talent as the male lead, the extent of which you don't see in his appearances as a supporting actor. His guide dog will amaze you, too. With a little tweaking this should have become a series of movies, and could have competed with Charlie Chan, The Thin Man, etc. The story and screenplay is a little hokey by today's standards, of course, but I am glad I bought it.

Good 1942 "B" film:
"Eyes in the Night" was director Fred Zinneman's first feature film after having, among other things, directed some MGM short subjects, notably some of their "Crime Does Not Pay" entries. Here he directed a tidy little thriller which is a little slow in getting started but builds tension and suspense as it goes along. The plot deals with a blind detective and his seeing-eye dog who become enmeshed with enemy agents. There is a quiet intelligence to this film which is noticeable in other early Zinneman efforts, particularly "Kid Glove Killer", another good MGM "B" not on home video and "The Seventh Cross". The villains are shrewd and resourceful not given to "for the fatherland" melodramatics of so many other films of this period. A solid first feature from a fine director.

Feast for Fido Fans:
Take the hard-boiled resourcefulness of a wrestling blind sleuth and his canny canine sidekick, stir in a stew of diverse supporting characters, and the result is the recipe for this wartime noir mystery. Donna Reed is delicious as a precociously hard-edged seventeen-year-old, and Mantan Moreland and Allen Jenkins add just the right dash of comic relief.