BY DOUG OSWALD
Gregory
Peck is an Army intelligence officer stationed in West Berlin during the Cold
War in “Night People,†available on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. Lt. Colonel Steve
Van Dyke (Peck) is investigating the kidnapping of an American soldier stationed
in West Berlin and taken by Soviet agents to East Germany. It’s unknown at
first why the soldier was taken, but his wealthy industrialist father soon
arrives in an attempt to get his son back with money if necessary. His
philosophy is everyone has a price, but Van Dyke knows better and has no time
for outside interference. Broderick Crawford plays the father, Charles
Leatherby, who uses his connections in Washington to meet with the American
government bureaucrats in West Berlin. Van Dyke dresses down the father in short
order, but builds a relationship with Leatherby in order to keep him on a short
leash and use him in the correct way.
Van
Dyke is also finalizing a plan for a Russian to defect to the West with his
family and thinks the kidnapping may be connected, but it turns out to be far
more complex. Van Dyke has a German informant, “Hoffy†Hoffmeier (Anita Bjork),
with an addiction to absinthe and their relationship may be more than
professional. Van Dyke is assisted by his military aid, Sergeant Eddie
McColloch (Buddy Ebsen), and his German secretary, Kathy Gerhardt (Marianne
Koch), always suspicious and jealous of Hoffy. The Cold War was a complex
puzzle, especially in Berlin, a divided city in a divided country, often with
divided and complex allegiances. It turns out the kidnappers want an elderly
married couple who helped the allies during WWII. They’re wanted by East Germans
seeking revenge against the couple for their betrayal of Nazi Germany.
Written
and directed by Nunnally Johnson, the complex plot requires close attention.
The story unfolds mostly at night and has a neo noir feel to it. Its spy vs.
spy with double agents and triple agents and repeat viewing is rewarded with
greater clarity. There are nuances I missed the first time around and if there
is a flaw in this movie, it’s that the plot is almost too complex. After a follow-up
viewing, things made more sense and that’s one of the many joys of home video –
rewind and repeat. I’m not sure how audiences reacted to this movie when
released in theaters and I wonder how often it was broadcast on television. I’d
never seen the movie until this Blu-ray was released and I enjoyed the complex
nature of the plot. It requires the viewer to think through the plot as if building
a puzzle, anticipating the patterns as each minute is pieced together. This
isn’t a thriller dependent on action, fights and car chases. It requires the
viewer to think.
The
cast features familiar character actors like Max Showalter as a local American
bureaucrat, Walter Abel as an Army surgeon always begging a smoke, Peter van
Eyck as a local West German bureaucrat and John Horsley as a British Army
liaison. Buddy Ebsen is terrific as Sergeant McColloch and steals nearly every
scene. The kidnapped soldier is played by Ted Avery and his role is almost a
footnote as the main thrust of the story is the spy game as it unfolds over several
nights. Much of the movie takes place in a few key locations including Van
Dyke’s office, a local nightclub and an Army hospital. Much of the plot unfolds
over telephone calls with a vital story twist made after an interrogation and
an innocent conversation between Van Dyke and the British liaison. I’m not
going to reveal it here, but it unfolds quickly as all the pieces are fitted
together.
The
Blu-ray looks and sounds terrific with a neo-noir feel to the color production.
Filmed in CinemaScope and released in 1954, the film clocks in at 93 minutes. An
unobtrusive score by Cyril J. Mockridge works well to help set the mood
throughout the film. Extras on the disc include trailers for this and several
other Peck titles released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. There’s also a nine -minute
interview with Peck’s children discussing their father and this movie. I highly
recommend “Night People†for fans of Peck and those who enjoy a complex Cold
War thriller driven by great characters and a complex plot.
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