Maybe it requires an open mind, about the performers here and about B movies generally, but I thoroughly enjoyed "Night Spot," plus I thoroughly admire it.
For reasons I do not know, Allan Lane seems to get a bad rap, usually. His funeral, for example, was very sparsely attended. I'm guessing that was not because of his acting. In this non-Western, he was likable and believable. Maybe more, in fact than in his Westerns roles.
He plays a musician who becomes a police officer and who gets assigned, despite being a rookie, to an undercover role at a night club, the theme at TCM on 25 January 2023.
Some call her "the Queen of the Bs," but she had the looks and, more important, the talent to have been a star of the As. She's been one of my favorites since I first saw her: Joan Woodbury seemed to be able to play almost any female role.
Here, the story has her character, Marge Dexter, wanting to escape from her humdrum daily life in an insurance office and becoming a night club singer. Marge arrives at the club just in time to be mistaken for an ex-con the club owners were expecting so she gets hired immediately.
Even the villains show some personality in "Night Spot," and all the players are believable, even Parkyakarkus, who is not too silly -- in fact, his low-key approach to this role was just right.
Lee Patrick had a smaller role, but a strong one, and the directing and photography all added more layers of quality.
With no hesitation, I urge you to surprise yourself and give a look at "Night Spot."
For reasons I do not know, Allan Lane seems to get a bad rap, usually. His funeral, for example, was very sparsely attended. I'm guessing that was not because of his acting. In this non-Western, he was likable and believable. Maybe more, in fact than in his Westerns roles.
He plays a musician who becomes a police officer and who gets assigned, despite being a rookie, to an undercover role at a night club, the theme at TCM on 25 January 2023.
Some call her "the Queen of the Bs," but she had the looks and, more important, the talent to have been a star of the As. She's been one of my favorites since I first saw her: Joan Woodbury seemed to be able to play almost any female role.
Here, the story has her character, Marge Dexter, wanting to escape from her humdrum daily life in an insurance office and becoming a night club singer. Marge arrives at the club just in time to be mistaken for an ex-con the club owners were expecting so she gets hired immediately.
Even the villains show some personality in "Night Spot," and all the players are believable, even Parkyakarkus, who is not too silly -- in fact, his low-key approach to this role was just right.
Lee Patrick had a smaller role, but a strong one, and the directing and photography all added more layers of quality.
With no hesitation, I urge you to surprise yourself and give a look at "Night Spot."