The Long Night

The Long Night is a 1947 American film noir crime-drama directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by RKO Pictures. It is a remake of Le jour se lève (1939) by Marcel Carné. The drama stars Henry Fonda, Barbara Bel Geddes, Vincent Price and Ann Dvorak. The title of the original French film is an idiom which translates roughly as "dawn is breaking". The Long Night was the first screen appearance by character actress Barbara Bel Geddes and it served as a springboard for Bel Geddes's career. RKO signed Bel Geddes to a seven-year contract. Plot A dead man tumbles down a flight of stairs. When the police arrive at the top-floor apartment of Joe Adams, he shoots at them through the door. The sheriff calls in reinforcements and sets up snipers on nearby rooftops. Adams, in his room, begins a recollection of the events leading up to this, beginning with his first chance encounter with Jo Ann, who works in a flower shop. It turns out they had been raised in the same orphanage.