Eyes in the Night
| Eyes in the Night | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Fred Zinnemann |
| Produced by | Jack Chertok |
| Written by |
Baynard Kendrick (book The Odor of Violets) Guy Trosper (screenplay) Howard Emmett Rogers (screenplay) |
| Music by |
Lennie Hayton Daniele Amfitheatrof |
| Cinematography |
Charles Lawton Jr. Robert H. Planck |
| Edited by | Ralph E. Winters |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $433,000 |
| Box office | $978,000 |
Eyes in the Night is a 1942 American crime mystery directed by Fred Zinnemann, based on Baynard Kendrick's 1941 novel The Odor of Violets and starring Edward Arnold, Ann Harding and Donna Reed.
The film was followed by a sequel (also starring Arnold), The Hidden Eye.
New York private detective Duncan MacLain (Edward Arnold) is blind but has keenly developed all his other senses. He pursues his work assisted by his faithful guide dog Friday, his butler, Alistair (Mantan Moreland), and his assistant, Marty (Allen Jenkins). Retired actress Norma Lawry (Ann Harding), an old friend, comes to Mac seeking advice. Her headstrong 17-year-old step-daughter Barbara (Donna Reed), herself a promising actress, is enamored with her leading man in a small theater production, the much older Lothario Paul Gerente. Paul, who had once been Norma's lover, has convinced Barbara that Norma actually wants Paul for herself and has only married her father Stephen for his money. At Mac's urging, Norma tried to reason with Paul, but he insists that he loves Barbara and laughs her off. Barbara is equally disdainful of her and agrees to meet Paul for dinner that night at his apartment.
Norma's husband Stephen Lawry (Reginald Denny) is a scientist leaving that night on a trip to test a secret invention on which he has been working for the government and the war effort. Worried about Barbara, she uses a pretext not to accompany Stephen and goes to the apartment. When Barbara arrives, she finds Paul's dead body and thinks that Norma has killed him, even though Norma insists that he was dead when she arrived. Barbara threatens to call the police unless she leaves Stephen. Fearing that a scandal will hurt him, Norma agrees. Norma then turns to Mac, who goes to Paul's apartment with Friday and Marty, only to find the body and the rug under it missing. A man (Stephen McNally) arrives to replace the rug and Mac hides in a closet, overhearing a telephone call to Norma's number from "Gabriel" to "Vera." Mac accidentally gives himself away, but with Friday's help overpowers Gabriel, who refuses to talk. Mac has Marty hide him to keep him under wraps.
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Wikipedia