User reviews

What I like most about Night of the Following day is its sublime way in introduces France. The entire film is low-key, which is not quite seen nowadays in cinema. Plus there was Marlon Brando. Brando looks great in this film. His style of dress looks like he's modeling for some design that counts on black colors to the exclusion of all others. In one scene he's wearing an olive trench coat at an airport. Somehow I could not believe that this swank and bronzed and blonde-haired movie star could abet in the same crime as his associates. The only worth-while scenes are the ones Brando's in. Only because you don't know where they're going to end. Richard Boone, Rita Moreno, and the actor who plays her brother are all thinly written characters. Rita Moreno's character snorts heroin, her brother is an ineffectual non-entity who doesn't care whether he's killed as a result of committing this crime, and Richard Boone's character has sadistic tendencies. That's all the audience knows about these three characters. We even know less about Brando's character. But Brando can transcend the material in this shallow film because of his eerie star-quality. Night of the Following Day is indeed an ambitious film. Adapting a novel is ambitious in itself. A plot revolving around a volatile foursome kidnapping an heiress and hiding her out in a house somewhere in France sounds great on paper. But the audience must be engaged and somewhat let in on something. This film keeps the audience at a cool distance.

This picture is worth time to see, but only if you've willing to invest the time to put in the effort to pay close attention. It is not a good choice as a movie to keep on in the background. The kidnapping goes wrong almost immediately, not from law enforcement personnel, but from within. We see the changing relationships between the kidnappers as the hours with their victim go on.

Added note: Try to rent the video. When NBC showed the movie on commercial television, the network added additional scenes featuring the brother of the victim working a police inspector. These scenes are not outtakes from the original movie that NBC restored, but new scenes that NBC filmed and added to make clearer the kidnappers' fate. They are unnecessary and rather insulting to the audience that the network felt they needed to "improve" the movie.

Released in 1968, "The Night of the Following Day" is a realistic crime drama featuring Brando as one of four professional criminals who kidnap a girl (a teenage Pamela Franklin) and hold up at a beach house in France. Richard Boone stars as the fiendish member, while Jess Hahn plays a likable loser, the brother of the pathetically drug addicted Rita Moreno.

At the time of this picture Brando was 44 years old and never looked better physically -- very trim and blond. Brando didn't start getting fat until the later-70's when he was well into his 50's. In other words, people need to quit envisioning Brando as some fat dude; most of his life he wasn't. Most men in their mid-40's would kill to look as good as Brando did at the this age.

BOTTOM LINE: Coming from the mid-60s when realism was fashionable this crime thriller is more of a crime drama, but suspense slowly builds to a compelling final act, which shows that crime doesn't pay, but people are redeemable if they qualify. There's also an unexpected twist that was fresh at the time, but is now eye-rolling.

The film was shot during generally cloudy conditions in France and runs a short but sweet 93 minutes.

GRADE: B-

A solid cast does well under capable direction by Hubert Cornfield, in this tale (scripted by Cornfield and Robert Phippeny, based on Lionel White's novel "The Snatch") of a kidnapping that ultimately goes awry, due to the nature of the players involved. A "chauffeur" (Marlon Brando) isn't so sure he wants to participate, especially when unreliable drug addict Vi (Rita Moreno) and dangerous creep "the leer" (Richard Boone) cause problems for him; his old chum Wally (Jess Hahn) convinces him to stick around. While this film does move slowly at times, Cornfield does a fine job in showing a part of Paris and the French countryside we don't always see; the exotic setting certainly doesn't hurt at all in the telling of this story. Lovely cinematography by Willy Kurant ensures a good look for the picture, while Stanley Myers supplies a very interesting, jazzy sort of music score. It's a nicely plotted tale, with entertaining twists and turns along the way, with some scenes of explicit violence and some of implied violence. The acting by the principals (you'll notice this isn't a particularly large cast) really is the glue that holds the whole thing together, with Brando getting a chance to emote in one scene but mostly playing it agreeably subtle. Moreno is very convincing (and sexy) in the role of the troubled Vi, and Hahn is quite likable in the role of a guy who you can see hasn't had much success in life and for whom you can root easily enough. Cute Pamela Franklin is extremely sympathetic in the role of the abused kidnap victim. However, Boone dominates the proceedings playing the kind of guy who will get under your skin before too long. Gerard Buhr is engaging as the friendly gendarme and Al Lettieri can be seen in the small role of the pilot. The atmosphere of the beach setting also plays no small part in the overall mood of the film. The ending may come off as unsatisfying to some viewers, but one thing to remember is that this kind of ending wasn't so much of a cliché 40 plus years ago when this was made. It does create a very sinister feeling, especially with that smile on Brando's face. (The actor, however, strongly disagreed on how things should end and it took some doing in order to come up with a final frame Cornfield could live with.) Not a bad bet for thriller fans, it's fairly chilling entertainment. Seven out of 10.

Seldom has a movie so wildly vacillated between being suspenseful and being irritating. It's about a kidnapping which goes wrong. In it, a chauffeur in Paris with a criminal record (Marlon Brando) reluctantly agrees to take part in the kidnapping for ransom of a young British heiress (Pamela Franklin), which is being masterminded by his good friend, a washed-up pickpocket (Jess Hahn). The girl will be held hostage at the English Channel home of a heroin-addicted stewardess (Rita Moreno), who is both Hahn's sister and Brando's girlfriend. Added to this motley group is a sadistic pimp (Richard Boone), whom Hahn brought in but Brando doesn't trust. The kidnapping goes well enough, but complications set in. A neighbor of the beach house is a French policeman. But even more importantly, the characters become increasingly mistrustful of each other while the captive is menaced by Boone, who is clearly a psychopathic predator. Of course, there is the inevitable climax when things go wrong at the last minute. The film alternates between crime drama and psychological drama, with a lot of chat and only a few action scenes. The talented actors and the nice scenery help make the film watchable until the end, in spite of the pretentious script. But then the entire story is undercut by one of the most stupid endings one could imagine, which could not possibly be more out of place. I had only grudgingly sat through this film because of the cast, only to have the rug yanked out from under me. It left me feeling betrayed.

This film stars Marlon Brando as a leader of a gang who kidnap a girl with a rich father and hold her for ransom. As soon as they kidnap her, things start to go wrong and one of the gang members tries to double-cross them. Richard Boone plays the meanest of the bunch and Brando tries to keep everything together.

The film begins with a young lady being kidnapped by two men (Marlon Brando and Richard Boone). It's an oddly muted kidnapping, as you really don't hear any dialog until about 12 minutes into the film. Then, at first, Boone appears like a pretty nice kidnapper--though later, he seems to be a bit of a sadist. In addition, Brando's girlfriend (Rita Moreno) is caught by him getting stoned. When Brando sees these two problems, he wants out--he wants to release the girl and forget about everything. However, his friend is able to convince him to stick it out--against his better judgment.

It's amazing watching this film, as apart from a VERY emotive scene involving Brando having what appears to be a temper tantrum, the folks in the film seem as if they are all on an painkillers--LOTS of them. Too subdued and too slow-paced, this is a hard film to like. Even with the nice ending (and it was pretty tense), the film was STILL very emotionally subdued. Overall, not a bad movie but it EASILY could have been so much better. The film needs life. And, its ending was one of the WORST I've seen in a long time, and I watch A LOT of films.

The Night Before The Following Day is one of Marlon Brando's most over-looked films. Looking as fit and trim as he was in Streetcar Named Desire, Brando gives an emotionally charged performance as Bud (Brando's nickname in real life!), the leader of a gang of ruthless kidnappers. Brando's acting is at its best in an amazing scene in which he has an intense conversation with Jess Hahn about his misgivings regarding the success of their kidnapping.

The supporting cast is remarkable. Richard Boone as a sadistic murderer, gives his finest career performance. His villain is the most chilling in movie-screen history. Jess Hahn, as hard-luck Wally, steals the show. He has the look and build of a man who has been dealt the worst of bad luck. Rita Moreno as Wally's drug-addicted sister and Brando's girl-friend, is at her rawest. And a young Pamela Franklin as the kidnap victim shines in a truly abusive role.

Raw acting, graphic brutality, realistic action, a surprise ending, and out-standing acting performances makes The Night Before The Following Day a Marlon Brando classic.

Between his glory days of the early-to-mid-1950s and his reemergence as a major Hollywood player in "The Godfather", Marlon Brando seemingly dropped out of sight in the last half of the 1960s, appearing in a variety of unsuccessful and mainly forgotten films that are seldom discussed or seen today. This movie happens to be one of those films. While it will never achieve the status of a lost classic, I found it to be an interesting effort in spite of its inherent flaws. Contrary to what one might expect from a movie with such a stellar cast, each character is left undeveloped to a large extent, making it difficult to emotionally identify with either victim or villain. The film's storyline and atmosphere are rather spare and understated, leaving long moments of silent inactivity that seem to be self-consciously artsy at times, yet do not truly diminish the gradually building suspense of the plot's resolution. A misguided attempt at a twist ending serves more to confuse things than provide a satisfying conclusion, but this does not ruin what was overall an enjoyable film, if one is able to get past its sometimes methodical and uneventful pace and instead allow the story to unwind in its own sweet time.

Although the acting is by all means above average, this movie suffers from lack of tension and suspense.The characters' actions are sometimes incomprehensible and the ending is too disappointing. Was this kind of ending supposed to be a novelty back in 1969? I don't think so.... Anyway, the Night of the following day is no garbage but it's no good either.

5

Among Marlon Brando's brilliant filmography,"night of the following day" remains one of his most mysterious .I saw the movie twice (it was a continuous programme) when it was theatrically released and since,I have never talked about it with anybody afterward.

Yesterday ,when I finally saw it again after all those years,I realized I totally missed the point the first time:I had not understood the ending.It was a time unexpected twists were not that much common .Of course Fritz Lang's "Woman in the window" had already been made but I hardly knew Lang's name.

But if the ending eluded me ,blame it on the script too.To make sense,the whole story should have been seen through Pamela Franklin's eyes!Her part is underwritten ,she hasn't even got a name.Anyway,Brando's smile on the last picture is really spooky and makes me think of many films of today.

Cornfield's main asset is the perfection of his cast:apart from the two names I mention above,Richard Boone,Jess Hahn and Rita Moreno are first-class actors.Hats off to the latter who manages quite well in French: all the scenes with the cop are suspenseful ("Je vous ai fait peur?"=Did I scare you?)Cornfield's use of France is devoid of the usual clichés:no accordion tune,no Eiffel Tower,and,on the Champ Elysées ,we can't even see the Arc of Triumph.On the other hand,his depiction of the little bistros (French pubs) is accurate and the (Normandy?) beach where most of the action takes place is a good location.The house is wrapped in silence disturbed only by the sea.There's something bizarre which almost explains the eerie ending.

This story of kidnapping has been told and told and told.And however Hubert Cornfield 's movie is unlike all the other ones.Marlon Brando assumes an indifferent air,which increases the strange atmosphere .Towards the ending,everything is happening at once and we sometimes wonder whether the criminals' plans are that much good (in the bistro,they make blunder after another).

French director Robert Hossein certainly appreciated Cornfield's movie since he made "Point de chute" starring singer Johnny Hallyday which bore more than a distant resemblance to "night of...".Like Franklin,the victim has no name either !

Hubert Cornfield infatuation with France took the form of a ...French movie in 1976 "les Grands Moyens" from an Exbrayat's novel which sank without a trace.

This kidnap drama from Hubert Cornfield wasn't a hit despite having Marlon Brando leading the cast but it has since become something of a cult movie. He's one of the kidnappers; the others are Richard Boone, Rita Moreno and Jess Hahn and Pamela Franklin is the victim and the setting is France or rather a house by the beach where a lot of the action takes place. This is the one in which Brando sports a blonde hair-do and plays a beatnik very badly. Boone is the sadist in the group and is very good while Rita Moreno almost walks off with the film. Franklin acts as if she's been heavily sedated throughout and Cornfield directs as if he's never actually seen a thriller. The source material was a novel by Lionel White and the whole thing is very bizarre, too bizarre in fact to be just written off as a failure. There's also a kind of jazzy and inappropriate score by Stanley Myers and Annie Ross does get to sing a bit of a song on the soundtrack.

I haven't watched any other films directed by Cornfield, but if they are all blessed with this subtle pacing, I'm going to consider it. The only other adaptation of a Lionel White story I've seen was The Killing, and obviously Kubrick is not easy to equal, meanwhile, this is actually quite well-done. There's an underlying vague tension throughout this, and a feeling of unpredictability that pays off. This is not for those who need something to happen often, or for flicks to move speedily. The atmosphere is pretty good, and the gradual build-up is marvelous. This has rather great acting, Brando and Moreno in particular. The minimal cast works exceptionally well, and aids the sense of isolation. I'm not sure what to think of the ending... I've read several theories, and I suppose in the end, what you want to believe it means is up to the individual. In any case, apart from it, this is an entertaining movie, and worth watching. There is infrequent strong language and disturbing content, if this is seldom terribly graphic. Apart from text features, the DVD comes with trailers for no less than 17(!) other releases, apart from this one(for a total of 18). I recommend this to fans of crime-thrillers and/or those who made it, provided you aren't too squeamish. 7/10

Those of you who thought Marlon Brando was particularly attractive as a blond in The Young Lions will want to check out the obscure European drama The Night of the Following Day. Completely slimmed down to his pre-Streetcar days, clad in a tight black t-shirt that shows off his toned muscles, he looks quite scrumptious.

The acting in this movie is a little subpar. Pamela Franklin probably spoke less than ten words throughout the movie; her entire screen presence consisted of either staring off into space with wide, perfectly lined eyes, or bursting into very loud, very irritating sobs. Rita Moreno also liked to stare off into space with wide eyes. She wasn't believable for a minute that she was a drug addict, a co-kidnapper, or afraid of the policeman who continued to show up at the wrong time. In fact, in a scene where she verbally fights with Marlon Brando, her acting was so amateur, I thought to myself, "That was the take they kept." It turns out, she was proud of that scene because it helped her with unfinished business of their relationship from earlier in the decade. He helped get her the part because he felt guilty and sorry for her, so now we know why she wasn't fired during rehearsals. Marlon wasn't given much to do besides look good, so Richard Boone was the one who was able to shine with his acting skills. In the first ten minutes of the movie, he gave me goosebumps with his creepy bad-guy persona. The rest of the movie he just got creepier.

If you like mysterious, creepy flicks that don't have too much violence, you can check this one out. It has a very European feel to it, with lots of scenes without dialogue and many long shots of the scenery that don't advance the story. It's supposedly famous for being lousy, but I found it entertaining.

This is one of weirdest of film projects Marlon Brando ever got himself involved in. I'm still trying to figure out the point of it all.

The Night of the Following Day was shot in France and it involves rich, young, and pretty Pamela Franklin being kidnapped and held for ransom. As is the usual the initial snatch goes off like clockwork, but the plan after that just doesn't come off.

Jess Hahn, American expatriate actor, is the leader of the group that includes his sister Rita Moreno, Marlon Brando, and Richard Boone. Moreno is a junkie, a little trip with some nose candy and Brando and Hahn are left waiting at Orly Airport. An obliging POLICEMAN actually gives them a lift.

In the meantime Richard Boone who's never bad even in the worst films is getting some lascivious desires about Franklin. Brando's got reason to be concerned about him.

Al Lettieri plays a small role as a pilot who's also part of the plan and his work here led Brando to push for him with Francis Ford Coppola to give him a breakthrough role as Virgil Sollozo in The Godfather.

I think the American players did this one for a hefty paycheck and a trip to Paris. There have been worse reasons for doing a film.

As for its meaning, don't want to give anything away, but think Dallas as you're watching it.

The Night of the Following Day(1969) is the sordid tale of four professional criminals who kidnap an 18 year old rich girl(Pamela Franklin) and hold her for ransom at a beach home off the coast of France.Marlon Brando,(looking fit and sporting a blonde wig), Rita Moreno, Jess Hahn and Richard Boone are the kidnapers. This is not a pleasant movie and the original un-cut version has several unsettling scenes mostly involving the hulking, pyschopathic Boone, complete with full length coat and homburg. Brando is interesting as Bud, showing us at times why he is one of americas greatest actors. Boone is just plain frightening as Leer, a menacing whacko out for the double cross. Dont waste your time looking at any edited versions of this film, they will make no sense at all, but if can find the un-cut version, this movie will make your skin crawl

This film has microseconds (seemingly) of action. The remainder of the film is a plodding mind-study that is b-o-r-i-n-g. There is far too much thought and analysis and not enough action. Watch it some night when you can't sleep. You'll soon be snoring loudly. I wouldn't waste too much time on this tripe.