''Two O'Clock Courage'' is a 1945 American
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
directed by
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. He came to prominence as a skilled director of ''Film noirs, film noir'' and Western film, Westerns, and for his Epic film ...
and written by
Robert E. Kent, based on a novel by
Gelett Burgess
Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. He was an important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his ico ...
. The drama features
Tom Conway and
Ann Rutherford. It is a
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
of ''
Two in the Dark
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and the only even prime number.
Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many ...
'' (1936).
Plot
An amnesiac who fears he's the mystery man in a high-profile murder case searches for the truth with the help of a female cabdriver.
Cast
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Tom Conway as The Man, Theodore "Step" Allison
*
Ann Rutherford as Patty Mitchell
*
Richard Lane as Al Haley
*
Lester Matthews
Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor.
Career
In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. M ...
as Mark Evans
*
Roland Drew as Steve Maitland
*
Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career.
Early years
Parnell was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He spent eight months in the Arct ...
as Insp. Bill Brenner
*
Jane Greer
Jane Greer (born Bettejane Greer; September 9, 1924 – August 24, 2001) was an American film and television actress best known for her role as ''femme fatale'' Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir ''Out of the Past''. In 2009, ''The Guardian'' ...
as Helen Carter (billed as Bettejane Greer)
*
Jean Brooks as Barbara Borden
Production
The film was based on a 1934 novel that had been filmed by RKO in 1936 as ''
Two in the Dark
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and the only even prime number.
Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many ...
''. It was directed by Benjamin Stoloff who produced ''Two O'Clock Courage''. The film starred Tom Conway, who was appeared in The Falcon series at RKO. Ann Rutherford had just left MGM studios. Filming started August 1944.
Reception
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called the film "a modest little item of second-rate cinematic fun".
''Variety'' called it a "slow paced, drab mystery... situations are obvious, the dialog routine" although it felt the leads "give film some story strength."
Has been shown on the
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...
show 'Noir Alley' with
Eddie Muller.
References
External links
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1945 films
1940s crime thriller films
American black-and-white films
American crime thriller films
Remakes of American films
1940s English-language films
Film noir
Films about amnesia
Films directed by Anthony Mann
Films scored by Roy Webb
RKO Pictures films
1940s American films
English-language crime thriller films
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