The Midnight Story has Tony Curtis starring as a young motorcycle cop who was
raised in an orphanage and the priest who ran it is knifed to death at the midnight hour. As this priest was the single most important figure in his life
Curtis wants to get reassigned to homicide to help catch the killer. But he doesn't
get reassigned so Curtis quits the San Francisco PD and goes to work on his own. Someone in that
Fisherman's Wharf community did the deed and he'll find who it is.
His suspicions fall on Gilbert Roland playing his usual happy go lucky self as
one of the fisherman, but Roland is a man who is hiding something obviously.
Curtis's efforts to ingratiate himself with Roland work only too well. He gets a
job with him and even boards with his family. He grows to like him and even
more important he falls for Marisa Pavan who is Roland's cousin who also boards with him.
Coming right before Tony's breakthrough role in Sweet Smell Of Success, The
Midnight Story is a small indication of what Curtis was capable of. He turns in
a fine job as the troubled and conflicted cop who wants more than anything to
believe Roland is not capable of killing a priest. The real star of the film though is Roland. This part is one of the best he ever did on film.
Some other outstanding performances are Argentina Brunetti as Roland's sister, Ted DeCorsia and Jay C. Flippen as Curtis's police superiors and one that
is brief but memorable is Peggy Maley as a potential witness who could finger
someone else for the murder. Her scene with Curtis, DeCorsia, Flippen, and
Russ Conway as the cops questioning here is quite memorable.
In his memoir Tony Curtis said he liked this film very much. So will you if you
see it.
