Kauhujen yö (1956)

Kauhujen yö (1956). 1h 29m | K-16

“Kevin McCarthy stars as a musician who wakes up one morning to find tangible evidence of something he thought heu0026#39;d done in a dream. Things really gets going when good old Edward G. Robinson appears as the musicianu0026#39;s brother-in-law who also just happens to be a police detective. Thereu0026#39;s just something about Eddie G. that compels us to watch him, whatever heu0026#39;s in. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMcCarthyu0026#39;s character, Stan, thinks he may have committed a murder, and is tortured by the fact that he has no recollection of doing so, except in his u0026quot;nightmareu0026quot;.He canu0026#39;t reconcile what he knows as reality with what he remembers from his dream and the evidence he found afterwards. (Intriguingly, a button and an odd-looking key.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOh, thereu0026#39;s also a few female characters, none of them of the fatale variety. One of them is just a pick-up in a seedy all-night bar (interesting and kind of fun scene, though), the other two are his sister and his u0026quot;girlfriendu0026quot;. I put girlfriend in quotation marks because Stan doesnu0026#39;t seem to have much regard for the poor girl, whou0026#39;s a jazz singer and devoted to him. Poor Gina, Stan has not the least interest in confiding his troubles to her, or in fact talking to her at all, as far as I could tell. Heu0026#39;s always telling her heu0026#39;ll get back to her later, when heu0026#39;s straightened some things out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSome noirs have a smart and sympathetic girlfriend or secretary (who of course later becomes the girlfriend) who helps the main character sort out his troubles, but Nightmare isnu0026#39;t one of those. Itu0026#39;s all about Edward G. and his crime-solving abilities. But whou0026#39;s complaining when Edward G. solves or even commits a crime in any movie? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story is set and filmed on location in New Orleans, which is a major strength of the film. Thereu0026#39;s one scene where Stan goes on a desperate search through the nightclubs and all-night bars of the city, trying to find a musician whou0026#39;s heard the mysterious melody he heard in his nightmare. I love all the neon lights flashing on and off, proclaiming the alluring names of the nightclubs – scenes like this are what noir is made of. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnother memorable scene is when Stan, the long-suffering Gina, and Edward G.Robinson and his wife (Stanu0026#39;s sister) go on a picnic and get caught in a rainstorm. They take refuge in a deserted house, where they light a fire and make themselves tea ! It just struck me as funny that they were making themselves so much at home in a complete strangeru0026#39;s house. Now, there is a reason for this, but that would be spoiler territory.”