User reviews

Nocturne is certainly not in the 1st rank of 40's film noir movies but nevertheless has a few things going for it.....the photography, some funny lines ("one more crack like that and I'll wrap the piano around your neck"), and for me, Lynn Bari. I always thought she was ( like Hillary Brooke, Lenore Aubert, Brenda Joyce, and a few others of the 40's) an underrated, very beautiful and sophisticated actress ( of a type that no longer exists in films). Of course no-one is going to confuse George Raft with Lawrence Olivier but the rest of the cast, particularly Joe Pevney (also good in "Body and Soul") does a professional job.and makes the film worthwhile.

After George Raft handed his career to Humphrey Bogart on a silver platter, he made films like Nocturne, a somewhat routine B film noir. Though I guessed the ending, the movie was nevertheless entertaining. What I especially liked were the outside shots of '40s LA, the night club scenes, and the dance lesson scene, all of which, when viewing it today, give a real idea of the atmosphere of the era.

The prolific Lynn Bari co-starred. I always found her somewhat odd-looking and older-looking than other women playing the same types of roles. She does these sophisticated, albeit street-smart women well, however. Raft is ably assisted by a good performance from Mabel Paige as his mother. But don't get me wrong. Raft is no mama's boy.

Tough and dogged detective George Raft investigates a composer's death. It was ruled a suicide but Raft doesn't buy it. Despite being ordered off the case, he continues to look into it and tracks down some of the women the composer had "relationships" with.

George Raft gets a lot of flack for being stiff or playing the same role over and over, but I happen to like most of his movies that I've seen. He had no pretenses about being a Shakespearean actor. He knew what he was good at playing and worked with it quite well. His earlier WB successes in gangster movies and the like were always fun. Here he's playing a film noir detective, which isn't too far removed from those older roles come to think of it. He's quick with a snappy comeback and doesn't back down from anybody. It's a part Raft plays with ease but that shouldn't be taken as a put-down, as is often the case. Several tough female roles in this one. Lynn Bari and Virginia Huston (in her film debut) get the juiciest parts but honorable mentions should go to Myrna Dell as a wisecracking maid and Mabel Paige as Raft's mom, who helps him with his investigation.

Good script with some punchy noir lines, interesting characters, and a good ending. A nice fight scene, too. By the way, the film's title refers to the song the composer writes for his latest conquest. The guy wrote songs for all the women he screwed. They had a classier kind of douchebag in the old days, I guess.

A piano composer is killed in an apparent suicide, and George Raft is a detective who searches for the truth among the composer's many past girlfriends. Lynn Bari plays opposite as a dark haired, beautiful prime suspect.

The plot needed a bit of work. Even after seeing the conclusion of the film, it is difficult understand exactly what happened. Despite this one shortcoming, the film is really watchable and moves well. The dialog is sharp and a lot of nice details are worked into the film. Look for Myrna Dell, who plays the "Tehachapi Debutante" in a supporting role.

Joan Harrison was the producer, and the film bears her unmistakable stamp. This is a noir film, though not as dark as her earlier "Phantom Lady", which was a superior film in terms of acting and overall dynamics.

The opening shot is technically interesting for a 1946 film as it opens up on the night skyline and continuously glides into the the composer's penthouse living room as he plays piano.

Nocturne is directed by Edwin L. Marin and adapted to screenplay by Jonathan Latimer from a story written by Roland Brown and Frank Fenton. It stars George Raft, Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston, Joseph Pevney, Myrna Dell and Edward Ashley. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by Harry J. Wild.

When Hollywood composer Keith Vincent (Ashley) is found dead in his swanky abode, the police feel it is a clear case of suicide. But there is one exception, Joe Warne (Raft), who feels it just doesn't add up. When it becomes apparent that any number of lady friends of the composer could have killed him, Joe drives himself onwards in pursuit of the truth.

Comfort food noir. Nocturne is a Los Angeles based detective story that doffs its cap towards Otto Preminger's far superior "Laura". Raft is in suitably understated hard-bitten mode as Joe Warne risks more than just the wrath of his bosses when he becomes obsessed with finding a woman called Dolores. He is convinced she has committed a murder and the gap on the wall where a row of ladies photographs hang only fuels his obsession still further.

As director Marin ("Johnny Angel") balances the opposing lifestyles of the principal players, taking us for a trip through the varying haunts of Los Angeles, the dialogue is pungent enough to overcome the failings of the script. A script evidently tampered with by Raft and leading to a rushed and not entirely satisfying finale. But as a mystery it works well enough as the acid tongued dames are dangled in the narrative to keep the viewer as interested as our intrepid detective is.

Marin does a grand job of mixing suspense with action, even opening the picture with a doozy of a plot set-up that is born out by some lovely fluid camera work, and while Wild's ("Murder, My Sweet") photography and Harline's music barely break the boundaries of mood accentuation, the tech credits are admirably unfurled to ensure the picture remains in credit. It helps that the support cast is a roll call of strong "B" movie players, and Raft fans get good value from an actor who was desperately trying to get away from the thuggish characters he was by then becoming known for. 7/10

A fair detective mystery with a somewhat hackneyed plot (detective believes suicide was actually *moider*!), and occasionally almost laughable direction - the detective's meditations on the case are illustrated by the camera zooming past photos of his suspects.

What makes _Nocturne_ enjoyable is the fun characters and great dialogue, especially between George Raft's detective and suspects Lynn Bari and Myrna Dell. Watch out for the scene where the detective's mother discusses his case with a friend, who has learned all about forensic science from watching detective movies, and he walks in on them re-enacting the crime - pure gold.

George Raft does a superb job as "Police Lt. Joe Warne" investigating whether a man committed suicide or was murdered. What I liked about this film was the way it made Lt. Warne seem so human even though he was a hard-as-nails police detective as well. Truth be known, it's not often you watch a tough detective who lives with his mother. I also liked the performance of Lynn Bari who played the main suspect named "Francis Ransom". Now, since this is a mystery I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but I will say that if a person enjoys a good film-noir then they might want to check this one out some day. I'd also like to say that I realize there are some folks who don't like movies filmed in black and white. I understand that but frankly they're missing a whole lot of good movies if they use that as a reason not to watch them. This film is one of them.

This neat little noir thriller is a rare find. The dialog is witty and clever. The acting, mainly by a second-line cast, is better than in many bigger budget movies. I was especially impressed by Myrna Dell's performance. Plus she had some of the best lines in the flick, i.e., "He was a lady killer. But don't get any ideas. I ain't no lady." Another line, "Who ever heard of a detective wearing a hat," is uttered by a dance hostess instructing Dt. Joe Warner (George Raft) who is trying to squeeze information out of her about the suicide (the audience knows it is murder)of composer Keith Vincent (Edward Ashley). Such witticisms are scattered throughout the film.

Many critics rate George Raft's performance in "Nocturne" as poor at best. But actually he plays the part fairly well as the director, producer, and writers intended for Joe Warner to be. He is a mama's boy (40's and still living with mom). He is definitely a Hitchcockian lead character - producer Joan Harrison comes in to play here. Hitchcock would take this image to its utmost realization with Norman Bates. As critics have pointed out in other IMDb reviews Joe Warner's mom (Mabel Paige) has some of the best scenes in the movie. Since he is living at home and obviously supported by his mother, Joe can afford to indulge in going his own way. He does not have a family to support. One reason he is so interested in the case is his love for music. He and his mom both play piano. In one scene he talks about spending much of his spare time attending the opera. So music and murder intertwine. "Nocturne" is appropriate as a title, not only because it is the name of the murdered's composer last composition which he had not quite finished when shot to death, but nocturne also connotes L.A. nightlife where much of the action in the film takes place. Nocturne can also be used to describe the tangled minds of many of the frequenters of the clubs and hang-outs in the film.

Some critics have mentioned that no answer is given as to why the womanizing murdered composer called all his girlfriends Delores. The writers were attempting to point out that like most womanizers, Keith Vincent was only interested in women as sex objects. A woman had no existence in his mind beyond her genitalia. He wanted sexual conquest, not commitment or any kind of romantic relationship. So to him all women had the same name. Why he chose Delores is left to the viewer to decide. Again, the influence of Joan Harrison manifests itself. Hitchcock left much to the viewer's imagination. How did James Stewart get off the roof from which he was dangling in "Vertigo?"

If you have not seen "Nocturne," you are in for a treat, one of the lost treasures of the 1940's.

This estimable and well-paced mystery noir was produced by Joan Harrison, Alfred Hitchcock's long-time partner. Janathan Latimer;'s script is unusually rich in characters, suspects and dialogue.Director Edward L. Marin and composer Leigh Harline contributed mightily also to this tale of three strands of narrative deftly-interwoven. A playboy composer has been seducing and dismissing women, whose photographs he collects. When he is murdered, a detective, George Raft, investigates the case and is told it was a suicide, ordered to keep his hands off. He goes on with it, anyhow. The third strand is his suspicion of and then gradually falling anyhow for actress Lynn Bari, which leads him to a nightclub where Bari's sister works, and eventually, to the musical clue to the killer's identity. There are some very good performances in this stylish B/W surprise entry. Bern Hoffman and Joseph Pevney score very strongly as a loyal bully and a smart- mouthed pianist; others in the cast include Walter Sande and Queenie Smith as Raft's feisty and tough-minded mother. There are strong action scenes, including fights between athletic Raft and the very large Hoffman, and an unusual element as the police start harassing , then suspend, then hunt Raft who is convinced a murderer is at large. Minus the intelligently used help supplied by Raft's mother, this would make a very modern remake of a classic mystery story--so many suspects, plenty of time, but a man alone risking his life for justice. Myrna Dell, Mabel Paige, Mack Gray and Edwin Astley are also in the expert cast.

I found this movie in my local video shops "film Noir" section. It is considered so rare I had to plunk down a hundred dollars in deposit just to take it out the store. It was worth it! Lush characters, a wardrobe to die for, it's a charmer. There's a hardboiled detective, a sassy, sarcastic maid, a lovely starlet, and plot twists to die for! At times the banter is so sarcastic and cutting you just can't help but laugh, a pulp novel comes alive, and worth every penny! Though the mystery is a bit formulaic and at times you feel you are spinning your heels a little, there are more than enough moments to make up for it. My favorite moment is when the detectives mother, and another older lady try to figure out how the crime was made to look like a suicide, it's like having two Mrs Marples on screen, very funny!

(Some Spoilers) Popular Hollywood song writer Keith Vincent, Edward Ashley, is found dead with a bullet at his head at his luxury home in the Hollywood Hills. Checking out the scene the police come to the conclusion that Vincent killed himself after the forensics results come in showing powder burns on both his hand and head and no sign of a struggle but LAPD Det. Warner, George Raft, has other ideas about Vincent's death; he was murdered. It's apparent that Vincent was murdered when a piece of music he was composing was found on his piano unfinished. The piece was dedicated to some woman called Dolores. The fact that Vincent was, according to his live-in maid and houseboy, very upbeat the day he was found dead convinced Det. Warner that his death wasn't a suicide.

On the wall of Vincent's living-room there's a number of large photos of women who were in one way or another involved with Vincent and checking out who they are Warner finds out that Vincent had a habit of calling any woman that he knew Dolores! There was also a photo that was missing and that may have been that of the person who murdered Keith Vincent.

Going through the nightlife scene of post WWII L.A Det. Warner tracks down the killer who murdered Kieth Vincent but only after he gets his head broken and his ribs bruised. Warner also falls in love with the #1 suspect in Vincent murder the woman who's photo was mysterious missing from Vincent's living-room wall Frances Ransom, Lynn Bari. Det. Warner connects Vincent with both Frances' younger sister Carol Page, Virgina Huston, and the piano player at the nightclub "The Keyboard", where Carol is a singer and the star attraction, Ned "Fingers" Ford,Joseph Pevney, the club's pianist.

Det. Warner finds both Carol and "Fingers" very uncomfortable when he asks them about Vincent's unfinished piece of music and later "Finger's" admits to him that he in fact was a collaborator in a number of Vincent's songs. As Det. Warner gets closer to the truth about Vincent's death, or murder his life becomes endangered when he's attacked by one of the bouncer's or muscle-men Eric Torp, Ben Hoffman,who works at "The Keyboard" nightclub ending up in the hospital.

The photographer Charles Shawn, John Banner,who took the pictures of the Vincent women panics and tries to get in touch with Warner about the truth of why he was murdered and who did it. When Warner gets to his studio he finds Shawn dead hanging from the sky window apparently murdered but made to look, like with Vincent, as if he killed himself.

Going back to the "Keyboard" nightclub to get some more information out of both Carol and "Fingers, as well as Caorl's sister Frances, Det. Warner is confronted again by the large and brutish Torp. This time Det. Warner puts Torp away with a hot pot of coffee thrown in his face and a steel pipe smashed over his head. A color change threw Det. Warner off to who was responsible for Vincent's murder and with a new photo that Det. Warner uncovered at the Shawn Studio he now knows who's behind Vincent's death and even more why.

NOCTURNE is a little-known film noir about an offbeat detective investigating the apparent suicide of a piano player who finds himself drawn into a world of seductive femme fatales. To be fair, the plot is extremely ordinary and matter-of-fact, but the stylish direction and some winning performances help to lift it at times.

NOCTURNE peaks early with an absolutely brilliant opening sequence which has style to spare and which ends with a exceptional twist. Nothing that comes after can top that, sadly, but some witty, sharp-edged dialogue helps to propel the at-times-boring narrative along. The biggest downfall is the saggy middle, in which the detective interviews various women without getting anywhere, but it does pick up for the mildly exciting climax.

I really enjoyed George Raft's laconic turn as the protagonist; despite being a detective employed by the local police department, he feels like the typical gumshoe with a ready wisecrack for any situation. The female cast are attractive and alluring, and prove equally sharp-witted when the need arises. NOCTURNE's mid-section is just too sluggish to be able to rate this as a good film, but it's worth tracking down as a rarity that passes the time adequately enough.

From the initial scene chronicling the murder central to the plot of Nocturne as seen from the killer's vantage point, this movie has much to sustain the viewer's interest. Whenever a stock line or situation makes you feel this is a typical hardboiled cop flick, another plot twist or cinemotographic trick changes your mind. Portions of the movie shot after hours in a deserted photographic studio remind the viewer of Harrison's Hitchcockian associations with palpable suspense. George Raft shows surprising likeability as the lead, and Lynn Bari lends sparky support as one of the ranks of the victim's past conquests-or was she?-who just might hold a clue to the identity of the deadly Dolores. If you have a chance to see this film, grab it-although it was a successful and high grossing film at the time of its release in 1946, it is extremely difficult to rent, view, or purchase today. And the music, so evocative of the forties' nightclub allure, is great.

Composer Keith Vincent is writing a song on the piano by himself when he's shoot to death. The cops believe it to be a suicide. Detective Joe Warne is not sold and investigates on his own. The housemaid Susan Flanders claims to be sleeping in the other room with ear plugs and heard nothing. One cop suspects her to be a con woman named Annabelle from another case. Joe finds the words "For Dolores" written on the music sheet for Keith's new song Nocturne. The womanizing Keith seemed obsessed with Dolores and often calls his women by that name. Joe tracks down the women from their pictures on Keith's wall.

This is a solid noir police drama. It's got the hardboiled style and George Raft is fine as the lead. It would be nice to have a darker edge to his character. I'm unimpressed with the mystery. It seems like a parade of women. The story needs more time to work the clues and I don't know about the elderly mother playing around with his gun. It's a bit too comedic and almost slapstick. This was produced by long-time Hitchcock acolyte Joan Harrison and it certainly tries to have many of the Hitchcockian touches. Somehow, the edges are not as sharp and the flow is a little muddled. In a way, it's like a second tier work from the student of a master.

'Nocturne' immediately appealed to me, being a huge lifelong fan of classic film, a fan of the genre it fits under and liking the idea for the story. Any film that has a music-related title, nocturnes tending to be very beautiful and hauntingly melancholic pieces, also has me sold quite quickly. Am less of a fan of George Raft but it is dependent on the role and there was the worry as to whether he would be too lightweight for a role that sounded like it was of the hard-boiled type.

There is a lot to recommend here in 'Nocturne'. Pretty much all the numerous good things being great. It did keep me on my toes and entertained me at least, as well as being well made. Sadly, there are also a fair few drawbacks in 'Nocturne', and those drawbacks are hardly small. One in particular brings the film down by quite a bit. Being a fan of the genre and liking the concept, it was hard to not feel disappointed watching the film.

Will start with the good things. The glossy production values are beautiful and stylish to look at. The direction on the most part is very slick, especially in the final act. Being a big music enthusiast, being a semi-professional musician myself, it has always been very important for me to talk about the music for anything watched and reviewed. The music made a big impression on me here, especially the prominent but not too heavy handed use of the hauntingly beautiful, sometimes ominous and poignant-sounding nocturne theme itself.

It has a hard-boiled and taut edge to the script, which is also very witty in parts (especially from Myrna Dell and Mabel Paige). And most of the story absorbs a lot, wit an intriguing and neat set up, some clever red herrings and a fun and suspenseful final third. The supporting cast are very good, the standouts being amusing Paige and unsettling Joseph Pevney. Dell also steals all her scenes.

Raft is far less successful when it comes to the acting, do have to agree sadly with those that felt he was stiff and one-dimensional and lacked the intensity and charisma needed for a character this complex and edgy.

Some imperfections can be seen in the story too. Some of the middle act drags and feels routine and the film can get a little too complicated, especially when going into the final third. With a couple less red herrings perhaps and more development on some plot points (a few important ones not touched upon anywhere near enough), there would have been more clarity.

Concluding, worth the look and above average but there was a better in there somewhere that doesn't fully come out. 6/10

George Raft is on the right side of the law for once in this rather light-hearted crime film in which he plays a detective who encounters an interesting variety of colourful broads, of which the most colourful by far is his own mother, played by Mabel Paige.

No, seriously, he is ! The film starts out with a playboy composing a goodbye song for his latest cast off. You can only see her legs as she sits on a couch nearby. The guy even has pictures of past conquests covering the walls of his living room. You'd think that would give a girl a hint! But in mid composition you hear a shot ring out and the playboy is dead.

Enter the cops - and George Raft as homicide detective Joe Warne. The police find powder burns on the victim's hands and head, and with the gun nearby, the conclusion is suicide. But Joe is unconvinced. The victim had nothing going wrong in his life and apparently killed himself mid composition. So Joe goes looking for the murderer, but he is rather rough about it, knocking citizens into swimming pools and waking babies in the middle of the night with all of his fist to cuffs. And so first he is warned, and then he is fired from the force. And yet he persists in spite of the fact, to quote Frank Drebbin from "Police Squad" - "The next time I shoot somebody it could be illegal".

He just keeps impersonating an officer - so he could be arrested himself - to try to find a murderer that might not exist IF it was suicide like everybody else says, and he didn't even know the victim or his family either. An explanation is never given as to why he would risk livelihood and then jail. And yet the film works because it moves quickly from scene to scene, not spending time to linger, and keeps your interest with a crowd of colorful characters.

Some of the better - sometimes funny sometimes quirky - scenes : Raft taking dancing lessons and being told he'll never get the hang of it by an instructor. Raft was famous as a dancer before he became an actor; A suspect claims she is innocent and when her appeals to Joe's ego and then humanity don't work, she yells to somebody in another room to throw him out of her apartment. Nothing makes a girl look more guilty than keeping a beefy bouncer around in her back bedroom in the middle of the night.

Eddie Muller had this one on TCM's Noir Alley last week and, as usual, his comments that talk about what is bad about a film as well as what is good made me decide to take a second look.

Nocturne is an atmospheric, entertaining noir/mystery thriller starring taciturn George Raft as a suspended Los Angeles police detective obsessed with proving an apparent suicide was actually a murder. During the course of his investigation, he gets to check out a covey of beautiful dames, as the murder victim was a Lothario par excellence. Even with the list narrowed down, figuring out which babe is the real femme-fa-tale may be the key to the mystery. Was it beautiful, buxom Lynn Bari, leggy, glamorous singer Virginia Huston, or some other honey -- you can't even trust the cleaning lady in this one! Wise-cracking, live-in maid Myrna Dell may have been more and known more than she lets on. Never mind the detective lives with his mother. He probably couldn't have supported the old bingo babe in the style she wasn't accustomed with separate digs on his salary. Mamma's boy or not, he's tough enough for the physical and emotional poundings he will have to go though before he gets to the bottom of this convoluted mystery.

Nocturne is stylishly directed and sensuously filmed by all-purpose director Edwin L. Marin and veteran cinematographer Harry J. Wild with classic noir atmosphere so thick they could have bottled it. Top screen writer and sometimes mystery novelist Jonathan Latimer provides crackling, tough dialog while managing all the taut twists and turns of the Frank Fenton/Rowland Brown story. Marin was equally at home directing mystery thrillers like this, Ann Sothern's light comedies, or some of Randolph Scott's better westerns -- see my review of Fort Worth (1951). Nocturne is one of several collaborations between Marin and Raft, and they seemed to bring out the best in each other. The dark, intense, scene with Raft at the window curtains of the photographer's house is a text book example of noir cinema.

Much ink -- far too much in fact -- has been spilled on this forum labeling George Raft a stiff, even a bad actor. All unfairly. Raft was a stone face to a certain extent all right, but that fit the characters he played -- and his fans liked. Nevertheless he said a lot with his eyes, inflections of his slightly nasal Lower-East Side Manhattan voice, and an enigmatic half-smile. Such a stoic style was admired in men of the 1940's, who regarded "wearing your emotions on your lapel" as unmanly, self-centered, and ill-mannered. This is of course a concept alien to the typically self-absorbed Baby Boomers and their strange hatchlings Gen-Xers, who spend practically every evening examining their navels then all the next day spilling their guts about it to whomever will listen.

George Raft was actually a pretty good actor. And Nocturne is an excellent noir/mystery -- atmospheric, thrilling, dramatically engaging, dark, mysterious, exotic, and ultimately satisfying. Top drawer entertainment from Old Hollywood's Golden Era.

Clearly the best part of the film: joe's character. he's a bad ass. he plays the piano. he punches people. he lives with his mom. he has awesome and very quotable lines, not only this one. he's almost like an anti hero, the guy who can't really connect with anyone in the precinct but at the same time the guy that smarts out the others. just by following him we have fun.

the plot is a bit intricate in terms of murder mystery. it doesn't disappoint but you need to follow it through well. there aren't huge dramatic arcs here, it's mostly an investigation on its own about a guy that everyone belies kill himself but joe doesn't. and he has clues, walks around, provoques people, get beaten up and goes to his mom for advice.

Some people might think raft is not the best actor. But at the same time i almost feel this has a spoof side into it: it's a pure noir film true: but joe seems to be having fun more than having many personal dramas or fell out of control. We always feel "safe" with him, we want him to give us more great dialogue lines with his. and raft personifies this perfectly. i did enjoy his acting because it seemed he had fun while doing this.

now besides him i don't think the movie gives space for huge dialoges from other actors. there are a few though. this is also not awesomly original or has very complex characters. it's a movie that follows a simple formula. but follows it well and it has a funny vibe into it. there's a great scene with joe's mom and another old lady...and i'll stick by it.

you know? i was thinking about giving this a seven because it's not that original and the movie goes with john asking things to people - pretty much it. the plot t's also too complex for its own good so it doesn't make the final reveal that amazing to uncover.

but his character is pretty cool and it made me had an idea for a film noir spoof where the detective seems to know all the rules of the genre and subverts them somehow with his humor - because i feel this has a piece of that. it's not exactly meta but it has some meta elements into it in my opinion - even if not on purpose. so, heck with it. i'm going give to this an 8, the same grade i gave to a bunch of classic film noirs. but this is a fun ride that doesn't take itself seriously and has a very cool character named joe warne. i would recommend it, while saying "well maybe it's not an universal taste" but it deserves a better average grade.

Rather dismal attempt by RKO to turn supporting star(and perennial heavy)George Raft into a leading man in the league of Bogart and Cagney. Raft doesn't have the dimensions to be a leading man, here playing a police detective getting into hot water with his superiors while trying to solve the murder of a famous, womanizing composer. The film looks pretty good despite a cramped budget, but it's so lethargic that when Raft comes across a hanging man, he doesn't even react. The plot is convoluted and cluttered up with potential killers that one loses interest in the outcome long before it arrives. As for Raft, he's as unconvincing planting a wet one on the dame as is he portraying a good guy who still lives with Mom(!). It's a second-string murder-mystery without the proper goods. *1/2 from ****

A spectacular aerial nightscape of Los Angeles opens Nocturne, finally gliding down over a cliffside house and zooming right into the living room. There, a playboy songwriter sits at the piano while giving the brush-off to the latest in his string of lady friends. (She's veiled in black, but get a load of her instep.) A shot rings out....

Nocturne has a great, hard look; coupled with a nice feel for its milieu (piano bars, courtyard apartments, photography and movie studios), it adds up to one of the more vivid L.A. movies, especially when the dry winds rattle the leaves and stir up the rubbish. If in the end Nocturne doesn't quite redeem its promise, it's not for want of trying.

Part of its problem lies in its star, George Raft, as the police detective assigned the case. A 40ish bachelor who lives with Mom (scene-stealing Mabel Paige), he has a sharp eye for willing women, including his suspects. No one ever mistook Raft for a great actor, but sometimes he fits, sometimes he doesn't. Here he's so-so, a smart-mouthed Dapper Dan who leaks not a clue as to why he's always in hot water for insubordination and excessive force (it would have been a terrific Dick Powell part).

Raft's sleuthing takes him through the dead man's stable of exes (all of whom, for reasons that stay unexplained, he used to call `Dolores'). Among them Raft meets up with a sister act: hard-boiled brunette Lynn Bari and sweet blonde Virginia Huston, who sings in a night spot where Joseph Pevney (later to direct Shakedown, Meet Danny Wilson and Female On The Beach) entertains from a rolling piano, muscled from table to table by big, dumb Bernard Hoffman. But Raft keeps following false leads and encountering dead ends....

One of the chief pleasures of film noir must also be counted among its drawbacks: all too often, there's a lot more style than sense. With Nocturne, that's hard to overlook, so it falls just short of being a classic installment in the noir cycle.

Even though the death of an epicene Cole Porter like composer played memorably by Edward Ashley at the beginning of Nocturne is ruled a suicide, Detective George Raft ain't buying it. The man has a wall full of headshot portraits of various women he's discarded over the years and anyone who loves them and leaves them like that is bound to make some enemies. The answer lies among those women, all of whom Ashley called Dolores.

George Raft was always best in noir and gangster films whether he was the good guy or the bad. He was limited in his range, but within that range no one was better.

A pair of sisters provide part of the answer. Both Lynn Bari and Virginia Huston were involved with Ashley at some point. But they're only part of the puzzle.

One of the best things about Nocturne is about how the killer had the police lab people draw the wrong conclusions about the murder. It's why they label Ashley's death a suicide.

If Nocturne were made today, Ashley's character would be openly gay and those pictures on the wall would be rent boys. Might make a great story for the Donald Strachey gay detective books and films that Chad Allen has starred in.

A very clever noir film, let's see a gay remake of this.