Nocturne Reviews

A popular composer is found shot to death, and police lieutenant Raft is assigned to investigate. He believes the deceased has been slain by one of the ten cast-off women in his life, but his superiors surprisingly conclude that the dead man ended his own life. Raft refutes the suicide theory and pushes on with his investigation until he so annoys his superiors that he is suspended from the force. Now obsessed with finding the killer, Raft goes after Bari, his main suspect, and he discovers that he is attracted to her. In the end, Bari inadvertently leads Raft to her sister, Huston, who is also the mysterious singer in the composer's life known only as "Dolores." Huston, Raft learns, is involved with her accompanist, Pevney, who turns out to be the real killer. Pianist Pevney provides Raft with the final clue to his identity as the murderer by playing the titled "Nocturne" which had been composed by the victim. Though the script is slight and drags in spots, Marin's direction and Wild's traveling shots and effective shadows and contrasts present a dark and brooding picture that is definitely film noir. Not a classic by any means, but an offbeat production that is more than a curiosity thanks to Raft's mask-like performance. This was producer Harrison's first production for RKO; she had been a writer for Alfred Hitchcock on several films, and she put to good use his brilliant ideas. Marin happily incorporated Harrison's ideas into NOCTURNE which turned out to be a moneymaker, earning $568,000 the first time around.