All Through the Night (1942)

All Through the Night might seriously be one of the most suspenseful and thrilling and - at the same time - most amusing and joyful comedy thrillers of the 1940's. It's a star-studded picture, which astounds with a noteworthy, most up-to-date, literate and fast-paced narrative. While the film storyline concerns a rather familiar topic of Nazi saboteurs in America during World War II, it gives an all-new, promising twist to the whole intrigue. All Through the Night makes great use of scrupulously-filmed on-location scenes, giving the audiences many spectacular and rewarding action sequences (i.e. speedy car chases on the streets of New York, or Central Park being in the center of a deadly gunfight between Americans and Germans). A group of laid back Broadway gamblers - lead by the charismatic and always-elegant Humphrey Bogart - stumble onto an intriguing scheme, which starts off when a friendly baker turns up dead in his shop. Every clue brings them closer to danger, as they discover that the whole mystification might be connected with a deadly ring of enemy agents operating in the USA in order to gradually destroy the country right from its heart. Following a few deadly encounters, kidnappings, shoot-outs (and marvelously laughable situations) the boys finally realize what they've gotten themselves into. And in the third act it's Bogey's and William Demarest's (ingeniously called Sunshine) time to shine. Namely, they try to persuade - speaking gibberish for the great amusement of the audiences - a room filled with Nazis that they're actually two Germans from Detroit with an accurate report in their hands.With clever and and faultless dialogues, adequate comedic interludes, fascinating plot and most- ravishing ending All Through the Night aspires to be a sharp, entertaining propaganda flick that is as dramatic as it is hilarious.

Broadway bookie Humphrey Bogart (as "Gloves" Donahue) is ticked when his favorite cheesecake, from "Miller's Home Bakery", isn't served at one of his favorite eateries. Investigating the matter leads the discerning taste-budded Mr. Bogart to discover his favorite baker has been shot dead by sneaky Peter Lorre (as Pepi). Now, Bogart is more than ticked. Hot on the trail, Bogart meets duplicitous songstress Kaaren Verne (as Leda Hamilton), who leads him to a New York City gang of Nazi sympathizers."All Through the Night" begins as a broad, Damon Runyon-stylized comedy. "Miller's" cheesecake is, of course, swiped from Mr. Runyon's "Mindy's" (by way of "Lindy's"). It's startling to see Bogart walk on-screen to join his henchmen - cantankerous William Demarest (as Sunshine) is bantering with jovial Jackie Gleason (as Starchy) as waiter Phil Silvers (as Louie) mediates. The soundtrack sometimes enters cartoon territory. Then, it gets deadly serious. The incongruence is amazing, the cast unique.***** All Through the Night (12/2/41) Vincent Sherman ~ Humphrey Bogart, Kaaren Verne, William Demarest, Peter Lorre

WE can well remember seeing this film about 40 years ago. It was shown over WGN TV Channel 9 here in Chicago As was their usual custom, it was part of their 10;30 P.M. slot on either Sundays or Mondays. They had the anthology of films on either night at one time or another; featuring mostly classic of the 1930's and '40's, under the umbrella title of "When Movies Were Movies!" WEEK after week our late evening time in the parlor were rewarded by the showing of titles such as DESTINATION TOKYO, DODGE CITY, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, JOHNNY BELINDA, 20,000 YEARS IN SING-SING, CASABLANCA, RHAPSODY IN BLUE, THE FIGHTY 69th, ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, SERGEANT YORK and even THE JAZZ SINGER (with Al Jolson). Clearly, the folks at this Chicago Tribune owned station lived up to the platitudes suggested by the movie series title and gave the younger generation a great familiarity with the films of their parents' generation.AS for the presentation of today's disectee, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, it didn't go over so well with the young 'uns in our household. Perhaps be because it wasn't a true gangster part for Bogey, but rather more of a Damon Runyon-esquire type of character; as truly was all the rest of the picture. The storyline, characterizations and the odd combination of happenings gives the whole production an overall resemblance to a Comic Book story of THE SPIRIT by the greatest creative genius in that field, Mr. Will Eisner.(1917-2005).PERHAPS it was an unavoidable occurrence that should be chalked up to youthful inexperience and green naiveté, but it was difficult to accept such a film with one of its feet firmly planted in Drama, the other decidedly on the side of Farce. This lack of being neither here nor there is sometimes difficult to understand for us young people.TIME has a way of healing all wounds and removing all the youths from their preeminent places in the world, not to be replaced by others; but rather by their own selves in "Grown-up" versions; in much the same way that Jackie Paper did to 'Puff, the Magic Dragon." Indeed, making further viewings in that mean, old, nasty state of life variously called Adulthood or Grown-upness, it is much easier to assimilate the intentionally designed dichotomy of what is the heart and very fiber of ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT.WHEN viewing it recently on home video, without all of those commercial breaks that our friends at Channel 9 were and still are shackled with; we had a great chance to make some chronologically updating reevaluation. Now, when we watched the movie, the thought occurred to us that it bears more of a resemblance to a farce of a Stage Play, rather than to any film type. We thought that for sure, it was an adaptation from stage to screen. But alas, the credits reveal no such ancestry in the movie's family tree.WHILE we're on the subject, let's not forget to mention something about Warner Brothers' Films in general.MOVIES coming from Warners' lot also always had a fine group of supporting players who functioned almost like a stock company in giving fine performances in supporting roles. It is no different in ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, which can proudly boast of names such as: Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Ed Brophy, Kaaren Verne, Jane Darwell, Frank Sully, William Demarest, Judith Anderson, Wallace Ford, Barton MacLane and Frank McHugh. Additionally, they had the fine services of a couple of Up and Coming Funny Men by name of Phil Silvers and Herbert John "Jackie" Gleason.MORE than the products of any other of the Studios in Hollywood, it was those movies that came out with their name on them that seemed to have their finger on the pulse of America. In turn the various Melodramas, Cops & Robbers, Westerns and Biopics or what have you; all served as training for all of us on just what it is to be an American. Whether the leading actor's ethnicity was Irish, German, Italian, Jewish, Polish or whatever, they all came across as 100% American. We saw proof of same hundreds of times as played out by guys with names like: Bogart, Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, Pat O'Brien, Paul Muni and even Errol Flynn.Why even those Warner Brothers' Productions that bore the series names of 'LOONEY TUNES" and "MERRY MELODIES" seemed to have it right! "THAT'S ALL FOLKS!"POODLE SCHNITZ!!

Investigating the murder of his cheesecake supplier, a sports promoter uncovers a Nazi spy ring in this tongue-in-cheek film that had the misfortune of being released the week of the Pearl Harbor bombing, when America was in no mood for a light-hearted movie about the Nazis. The film is quite amusing, thanks to the witty dialog and fast pace. Bogart is cool and playful as a shady character named "Gloves," and Demarest and McHugh provide most of the laughs as his sidekicks. Veidt, Lorre, and Anderson are appropriately vile as the Nazis. Of course Bogart, Veidt, and Lorre would reunite the following year for "Casablanca." Some of the scenes foreshadow "North by Northwest."