Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)

When phony stage mentalist Triton mysteriously acquires supernatural powers of precognition, he becomes frightened and abandons his act to live of anonymity.

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

Barré Lyndon (screenplay), Jonathan Latimer (screenplay),

Stars:

Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, John Lund

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Edward G. Robinson	...	John Triton
Gail Russell	...	Jean Courtland
John Lund	...	Elliott Carson
Virginia Bruce	...	Jenny Courtland
William Demarest	...	Lieut. Shawn
Richard Webb	...	Peter Vinson
Jerome Cowan	...	Whitney Courtland
Onslow Stevens	...	Dr. Walters (as Onslow Stevenson)
John Alexander	...	Mr. Gilman
Roman Bohnen	...	Melville Weston
Luis Van Rooten	...	Mr. Myers
Henry Guttman	...	Butler
Mary Adams	...	Miss Hendricks
Douglas Spencer	...	Dr. Ramsdell

Storyline

When heiress Jean Courtland attempts suicide, her fiancée Elliott Carson probes her relationship to John Triton. In flashback, we see how stage mentalist Triton starts having terrifying flashes of true precognition. His partner, Whitney Courtland, uses Triton's talent to make money; but Triton's inability to prevent what he foresees, causes him to break up the act and become a hermit. Years later, Triton has new visions and desperately tries to prevent tragedies in the Courtland family. Can his warnings succeed against suspicion, unbelief, and inexorable fate?

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Plot Keywords:

precognition | flashback | heiress | warning | fate | 

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Taglines:

Never Have the Stars Looked Down on an Adventure Like This!

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 1948 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

A Noite Tem Mil Olhos

Filming Locations:

3rd Street Tunnel Stairway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adapted for radio in the 40s as an episode of "Screen Directors' Playhouse," an NBC radio show that featured condensed audio versions of contemporary films. 'Edward G. Robinson' and most of the original cast reprised their roles for radio.

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Quotes

John Triton aka 'The Mental Wizard': I'd become a sort of a reverse zombie. I was living in a world already dead, and I alone knowing it.

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Connections

Referenced in Pieces (1982)

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Soundtracks

"Nobody Knows the Trouble I Feel"
(uncredited)
Traditional Negro spiritual
Played by Jerome Cowan on piano

User Reviews

a long time favorite

I saw this on New York television as an impressionable thirteen year old in the early sixties. It's been on my top ten list of favorites ever since. Not only the expected intelligent, riveting performance from Robinson, but a touching, foreboding one from the luminous and tragic Gail Russell. This is my favorite Russell performance, followed by The Uninvited and Moonrise. What a waste that her life and talent was snuffed out at 36!