Six years after Ray Milland's triumph in Billy Wilder's brilliant "The Lost Weekend," another drinking role came along. This time, we have a strong excuse: a happy, suburban associate professor's wife and young son are implausibly blown up by an "old furnace" in their home. In a screenplay with a number of improbabilities and coincidences, if the audience accepts the big one early and the characters are sympathetic enough, the later ones can pass without notice. Despite the ministrations of close friends, John Hodiak and Nancy Davis ( Reagan), the sexual aggressiveness of Jean Hagen and imprecations of pretty coed, Dawn Addams, Milland sinks into a deep funk. On the way down, wisdom is offered by no less than Lewis Stone and Richard Hale. At bottom, suicide is entertained with sober words from Percy Helton. A strong cast includes the producer's son, Christopher Knopf, in his only acting appearance, soon to become one of Hollywood's top TV and screen writers. This affecting story unfolds in a crisp 86 minutes.
Review of Night Into Morning
