Contentar
Best movie of this year hands down!
Helloturia
I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
MattyGibbs
A detective tries to find the killer of a composer who was presumed to have committed suicide. The charismatic George Raft does a good job here as the detective who doesn't accept a suicide was murder. This atmospheric and moody thriller scoots along swiftly as the mystery as to who killed the man deepens. Raft is helped by a decent cast especially the beguiling Lynn Bari as Rafts chief suspect. The well paced script shows plenty of wit and lots of snappy one liners. It builds the suspense well as Raft slowly uncovers the truth.This is a classy and very entertaining 1940's thriller that holds up well today. Well worth seeking out.
bkoganbing
Even though the death of an epicene Cole Porter like composer played memorably by Edward Ashley at the beginning of Nocturne is ruled a suicide, Detective George Raft ain't buying it. The man has a wall full of headshot portraits of various women he's discarded over the years and anyone who loves them and leaves them like that is bound to make some enemies. The answer lies among those women, all of whom Ashley called Dolores.George Raft was always best in noir and gangster films whether he was the good guy or the bad. He was limited in his range, but within that range no one was better.A pair of sisters provide part of the answer. Both Lynn Bari and Virginia Huston were involved with Ashley at some point. But they're only part of the puzzle.One of the best things about Nocturne is about how the killer had the police lab people draw the wrong conclusions about the murder. It's why they label Ashley's death a suicide.If Nocturne were made today, Ashley's character would be openly gay and those pictures on the wall would be rent boys. Might make a great story for the Donald Strachey gay detective books and films that Chad Allen has starred in.A very clever noir film, let's see a gay remake of this.
David_Brown
Lets get the bad out of the way first. George Raft was not Bogart, but who was? Did he make some bad career decisions? Yes he did, but they worked out well for film fans. On to the good. First the environment is pure noir, the piano music, the shady women, the dark environment, and the hero who has his issues. Next, Raft's Joe Warner was not a wooden character, far from it. He was extremely complex, a brilliant detective (He learned from his mom (Mabel Paige)), and a real tough guy who could beat anyone up, while listening to classical music. He basically did not fit anywhere. He was essentially a "lone wolf" even in the Police Department. These kind of detectives work quite well at solving difficult crimes (Bobby Goren & Lt. Columbo are two examples of this). Warner is always one step ahead of everyone (Except his mom of course, who helps him solve cases), and the way he finally gets the killer to confess the crime is brilliant. Spoilers ahead: The way he ends up with Frances Ransom (Lynn Bari) is great. When she talks about being an "Accessory" to the crime and about going to jail, and Warner said "You were on my team, but you did not know it.", and "I have a mother who would like to meet you." It goes without saying Frances is not the killer, and Joe bent the rules to win Frances. Who is the killer? Telling that would spoil the fun of this underrated film.
ccthemovieman-1
As a fan of George Raft and a film noir buff, I was expecting a lot more than this film delivered.It was just a little too confusing to be enjoyable, and wrapped things up Charlie Chan-style with everything quickly explained at the end....explained too quickly for my feeble brain. I gave this movie two chances and felt the same way each time.I still liked the atmosphere and liked listening to Raft. The cast, which feature no big names other than Raft, wasn't bad. There was some interesting dialog early on between two women. That was fun to hear. It also was fun to hear the byplay between Raft and his mother (Mabel Paige). The comedy relief with those characters helped make the film a little more fun to watch. Overall, however, this isn't much. I wouldn't waste your time.
