Do you want to see ‘Nightfall’?

Add to Netflix

Nightfall (1956)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

100

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 8
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 369

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

Commercial artist James Vanning (Aldo Ray) and his friend, Dr. Edward Gurston (Frank Albertson), are on a hunting and fishing trip in Wyoming when they stop to help two men whose car has crashed. The pair, John (Brian Keith) and Red (Rudy Bond), turn out to be escaped bank robbers, on the run with 350,000 dollars in stolen cash after a clean getaway, and they don't plan on leaving any witnesses -- Gurston is shot dead by Red, using Vanning's hunting rifle, but Vanning survives by accident,

Unrated, 1 hr. 18 min.

Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

Directed By: Jacques Tourneur

Written By: David Goodis, Stirling Silliphant

In Theaters: Jan 23, 1957 Limited

On DVD: Jul 6, 2010

Columbia Pictures

Cast

Aldo Ray
James Vanning
Brian Keith
John
Anne Bancroft
Marie Gardner
Jocelyn Brando
Laura Fraser
James Gregory
Ben Fraser Insurance In...
Frank Albertson
Dr. Edward Gurston
Rudy Bond
Red
George Cisar
Bus Driver
Lillian Culver
Woman
Maya Van Horn
Woman
Rub�n Orlando Beltr�n
Spanish Couple
Mana Belmar
Spanish Woman
J. Walter Smith
Shoeshine Boy
Monty Ash
Clerk
Robert Cherry
Man
Eddie MacLean
Taxi Driver
Gene Roth
Bartender
Winifred Waring
Fashion Narrator
Arline Anderson
Hostess
Pat Jones

Critic Reviews for Nightfall

All Critics (9) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (0) | DVD (2)

Not only a nifty late noir but a model of economical filmmaking -- well-sketched atmosphere, deft characterizations, and a 78-minute running time.

June 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Village Voice

| Comment

J. Hoberman

Village Voice

Top Critic

Crisply directed, scripted with gems of hardboiled lines and superbly paced, it's a film of darkness and light that ends up in the snowy mountains of Wyoming...

August 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Parallax View

| Comment

Sean Axmaker

Parallax View

The kind of pedigreed pulp that gets left off greatest-genre-hits lists yet still inspires motormouthed overpraising from directorial enthusiasts.

June 9, 2010 Full Review Source: Time Out New York

| Comment

David Fear

Time Out New York

In spite of that tantalizing potential, Nightfall will always just be a promising B picture.

June 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Simon Abrams

Slant Magazine

Uneven thriller with some fine set pieces and beautiful photography.

August 9, 2007 Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television

| Comment

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

A minor film compared to Out of the Past, perhaps, but no less gripping.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Tom Milne

Time Out

Review Another impressive addition to Tourneur's filmography, and yet another noir with a cynical glint in its exquisite eye.

March 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

Splendid adaptation by Stirling Silliphant of David Goodis's 1947 novel.

March 23, 2005 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Nightfall

View All

Average noir with some bright spots. Aldo Ray is a interesting actor, but has a tendency to smile too much in this film. He has a great look, but comes across as more of a teddy bear than a bad ass. Keith and Bond are great bad guys who dislike each other, but want to know where their money is hidden. Bancroft is just

June 22, 2010