Deadline at Dawn

“Deadline at Dawn” was on the Movies TV one morning last week.  At first, I thought the title referred to a newspaper reporter, but the main characters were really a sailor and a dance hall girl.  There is a dead body and $1400 which are part of the story, and the pair take to playing detective to solve the mystery before daybreak.  Other people get involved in the plot, like a cab driver.  I saw the entire scenario as unbelievable.  I couldn’t see these people simply hanging around a murder scene talking endlessly.  It was too artificial and unconvincing, a product of a writer’s mind.  The ending was something I definitely didn’t see coming, but I can’t say that it was satisfying.  The story was based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich and the script was by Clifford Odets.  Susan Hayward had a strong presence, but her character couldn’t sell us on the whole story.  This film was made before she became a star.  I would say that this film is worth watching on the late show, but it can’t be considered anything great.  It’s worth a look if you’re a fan of Susan Hayward.  Cornell Woolrich was born in 1903, and he used the pseudonym William Irish.  Francois Truffaut made films from his books.  He was a very good crime author.  He died at age 64 on September 25, 1968.  The director of “Deadline at Dawn” was Harold Clurman, who was born in 1901.  He was known as a stage director, and this was his only film.  He died at age 78 on September 9, 1980.  Some of the people who died on June 15 include Wes Montgomery (1968), Art Pepper (1982), Ned Glass (1984), Hume Cronyn (2003), Casey Kasem (2014), Daniel Keyes (2014), Franco Zeffirelli (2019), Maureen Arthur (2022), Arnold Skolnick (2022), Glenda Jackson (2023), and Donald Triplett (2023).  Today is a birthday for Neil Patrick Harris (51), Ice Cube (55), Courteney Cox (60), Helen Hunt (61), and Jim Belushi (70).  According to the Brandon Brooks Rewind radio segment for June 15, the remake of “Stagecoach,” starring Ann-Margret, Bing Crosby, Slim Pickens, and Keenan Wynn, was released in 1966.  In 1974, the John Denver album “Back Home Again,” featuring “Annie’s Song,” was released.  In 1988, “Bull Durham” was released.  In 2007, Bob Barker’s final appearance as the host of “The Price is Right” aired on CBS.