The Big Night (1951 film)

The Big Night
Theatrical release lobby card
Directed byJoseph Losey
Screenplay byJoseph Losey
Stanley Ellin
Hugo Butler
Ring Lardner, Jr.
Based onthe novel Dreadful Summit
by Stanley Ellin
Produced byPhilip A. Waxman
StarringJohn Barrymore, Jr.
Preston Foster
Joan Lorring
CinematographyHal Mohr
Edited byEdward Mann
Music byLyn Murray
Production
company
Philip A. Waxman Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • December 7, 1951 (1951-12-07) (U.S.)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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.

  1. ^ Caute, David (1994). Joseph Losey. Oxford University Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-19-506410-0.
  2. ^ The Big Night at the TCM Movie Database.
  3. ^ "The Big Night (1951), Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved December 31, 2023.