| The Big Night | |
|---|---|
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:The_Big_Night_(1951_film)_poster.jpg) Theatrical release lobby card | |
| Directed by | Joseph Losey |
| Screenplay by | Joseph Losey Stanley Ellin Hugo Butler Ring Lardner, Jr. |
| Based on | the novel Dreadful Summit by Stanley Ellin |
| Produced by | Philip A. Waxman |
| Starring | John Barrymore, Jr. Preston Foster Joan Lorring |
| Cinematography | Hal Mohr |
| Edited by | Edward Mann |
| Music by | Lyn Murray |
Production company | Philip A. Waxman Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $300,000[1] |
The Big Night is a 1951 American film noir directed by Joseph Losey, that features John Drew Barrymore (credited as "John Barrymore, Jr." in his first starring role), Preston Foster and Joan Lorring. The feature is based on a script written by Joseph Losey and Stanley Ellin, based on Ellin's 1948 novel Dreadful Summit. Hugo Butler and Ring Lardner, Jr. also contributed to the screenplay, but were uncredited when the film was first released owing to his Hollywood Ten conviction.[2]
Robert Aldrich, who had been an assistant director on other films directed by Losey, also has a brief uncredited appearance in a scene at a boxing match.[3] In a scene that prefigures 1976's famous routine from Taxi Driver, Barrymore challenges himself in a mirror brandishing a revolver to practice his menace.
- ^ Caute, David (1994). Joseph Losey. Oxford University Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-19-506410-0.
- ^ The Big Night at the TCM Movie Database.
- ^ "The Big Night (1951), Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved December 31, 2023.