Nightfall

Directed by Jacques Tourneur, Nightfall follows Aldo Ray’s James Vanning as he’s stalked and terrorized by two sinister thieves (Brian Keith’s John and Rudy Bond’s Red). Tourneur, armed with a script by Stirling Silliphant, delivers a tight, mostly engrossing film noir that benefits substantially from its appealingly mysterious atmosphere, as, in terms of the latter, screenwriter Stirling Silliphant employs a series of flashbacks to slowly-but-surely flesh out the narrative and explain what’s really going on here (and what’s at stake). There’s little doubt, as well, that Nightfall’s increasingly engrossing vibe is enhanced by the top-notch efforts of a uniformly superb cast, with Ray’s commanding central performance often eclipsed by the scene-stealing work of both Keith and Bond. (Bond, in particular, offers up a memorable and seriously creepy turn as John’s malevolent right-hand man.) And while the whole thing ultimately (and admittedly) does feel a little slight, Nightfall predominantly comes off as a superior endeavor that remains compulsively watchable for the duration of its appropriately brisk running time.

*** out of ****