A través de la noche

A wonderful, funny B movie with an A cast. Bogart made this one between THE MALTESE FALCON and CASABLANCA. Lorre and Veidt and Dame Judith Anderson are wonderfully villainous, and a couple of future superstars -- Phil Silvers and Jackie Gleason -- make their debuts as members of Bogart's gang. This has everything Warner Brothers films loved: a murky waterfront, an old abandoned warehouse, a sinister auction gallery run by foreigners, a swanky nightclub that seems to be inhabited exclusively by gangsters (the Good Guys) and Nazis (the Bad Guys). Puns galore. Probably audiences didn't want to see a comedy about the Third Reich back in 1942, but it gets better (and given the cast, historically more important) with age.

Not the typical Bogie film, but still with the typical Bogie... cracking wise and being a tough guy that is slower to catch on that usual. This is more of a romp with plenty of fun thrown in, almost akin to a Bob Hope style Ghost Busters or even a Bowery Boys serial. William Demarest plays a good supporting role for those of us that only remember him from "My Three Sons" replacement to Bill Frawley.

If you are a fan of the 30's and 40's style vernacular, you will enjoy this film more than most from the period as the lingo is fast and furious and many terms familiar with some new ones in there as well. Light humor, CORNY... but get a bucket of corn of your own to fight back with... and hiss the villain... Gee, I wonder if Bogie will come through in the end and get the pretty girl?!!?

A very funny war era movie. Bogart had played a gangster in comedies (Brother Orchid with Edward J. Robinson), but played it straight as a tough guy. This movie highlighted Bogart's great comedic timing which was also evident in harder edged movies from the same period: The Big Sleep, Casablanca, and the Maltese Falcon. All Through the Night makes a fun companion piece to these movies and like the others, has a great supporting cast.

A search for the murderer of their friendly neighborhood German baker and a nightclub bouncer leads New York City "sports promoter" (read: bookie) Gloves Donahue (Humphrey Bogart in one of his most entertaining roles) and his sidekicks Sunshine (William Demarest) and Barney (Frank McHugh, or as we affectionately call him, "Annabelle's Husband," in honor of the film's running gag about his character's newlywed status) to a nest of Fifth Columnists with sabotage on their minds, right in the middle of Manhattan! The high concept of this fast, funny, suspenseful Warners adventure is basically "Damon Runyon Meets The Nazis." I especially got a kick out of the breezy, sometimes punny dialogue (like "We'll get them by the seat of their Panzers" and "Hey, there's more here than meets the FBI!") and its delightful euphemisms for Bogie's line of work, such as "man about town and well-known figure in the sporting world." (My late dad was a bookie, so I should know! ;-) Bogart, Demarest, McHugh, and charming leading lady Kaaren Verne are joined by smooth villains Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, and Judith Anderson, and on the good guys' team, Jane Darwell (as Bogie's mom!), Edward Brophy, Barton MacLane, and even a young Phil Silvers and Jackie (C.) Gleason! Alas, Pearl Harbor was still too fresh in 1942 audiences' minds for them to appreciate a quasi-realistic World War 2 spy thriller with broadly humorous overtones. Luckily, ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT is available on home video and Turner Classic Movies so you modern movie lovers can enjoy this entertaining genre blend!

Actually, this movie is better than most, with a good deal of the credit going to the myriad cast of star-quality actors. I suspect it was part of the Hollywood WWII propaganda stable but the story still resonates today and, just maybe, provides a cautionary tale as well.

Interesting seeing a young and slim Jackie Gleason (billed as Jackie C. Gleason) and noting this was just one of seven movies he was in in 1942! Bogart had perfected his small-town crook role by the time this movie came out. He unwittingly gets involved in a Nazi spy ring and it all begins with his love of a cheesecake made by an old man who is found murdered. The chase for the killer(s) is on...

You cannot watch this movie without smiling at the antics of Frank McHugh, the character actor who endeared himself to many during the 30s and 40s.

Conrad Veidt is phenomenally evil as the Nazi spy and it's important to remember this man actually fled from Germany to reside in England and America, giving all of his monies and salaries to the British Government to fight the Nazi menace. He is always good in the Nazi genre but it surely must have galled him to play these roles on so many occasions when he despised the very people he portrayed. His interaction with the imperious Judith Anderson (later, Dame Judith Anderson) is actually a la film noir at its best.

Excellent cast brings this movie up a notch from the formulaic movies during WWII and this one is well worth watching.