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Night People

Play trailer Poster for Night People Released Mar 12, 1954 1h 33m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 45% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A U.S. soldier stationed in West Berlin after the end of World War II is kidnapped and held captive in East Berlin. Col. Steve Van Dyke (Gregory Peck) is leading the kidnapping investigation, which becomes more complex as he is forced to deal with deceit, conspiracies and double identities. As Van Dyke begins to discover the truth about the case, he finds himself in a perilous situation -- even his closest ally, his former lover Hoffy (Anita Björk), may not be who she says she is.
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Night People

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Bosley Crowther New York Times It may be the sheerest piece of fiction, and a reckless piece at that, but it is fun. Mar 12, 2020 Full Review Milton Luban The Hollywood Reporter An exciting, beautifully acted picture that is consistently absorbing. Mar 13, 2019 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy An intelligent Cold War thriller. Rated: 3/4 Nov 1, 2021 Full Review Joshua Starnes VitalThrills.com Night People reflects the men who made it; quiet, knowledgeable professionals who eschew melodrama and personality dysfunction in favor of just doing their jobs to the best of their ability. It's that very simplicity which makes it great. Rated: 8/10 Nov 13, 2020 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Unfortunately, Night People belongs to a long tradition of screenwriters segueing into directorial debuts. Overly chatty and rather conservative considering its subject matter, it is perhaps a film best reserved for fans of Gregory Peck. Rated: 2.5/5 Sep 8, 2020 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine A complicated but fascinating suspense thriller in CinemaScope, about East vs. West in present-day Berlin. Dec 16, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (3) audience reviews
Blu B The biggest offense here is the "climax" we spend an hour 20 minutes building up to. We don't even get to see the exchange, there is no drama, tension leading up to it at all. It's like just as you think finally here we go, he arrives safely back. And your just like...wtf...are you kidding me?!? That's it? We literally get nothing. The editing and pacing just aren't good because of it. It isn't worth sitting through all of that to get to basically nothing. Aside from that everything else is just very easy going throughout this. It kind of has a cozy feeling to the whole thing like something you put on at night in the background. The cinematography isn't good either. It's the most basic direction, same military building interiors, and just people talking the entire time. The biggest problem is this just nonstop talking and talking and more talking. It's not even you have to be familiar with the Cold War to watch this. Any key stuff that would lead to some drama is just explained in a sentence or two or in passing. If you turned the sound off on this, you would have no freakin idea what is happening or how he just arrives back safe. It makes enough sense I guess setting up the exchange and the drama that happens but it's all just explained to us never visually shown. The plot gets somewhat hard to follow because of how lacking this is visually. Almost nothing in this is visually based and the dialouge is so boring and the acting is just forgettable even by Peck. Everyone is wooden, no real chemistry, and stilted the entire time. This isn't moody or atmospheric at all either. It's very boring honestly but easygoing at the same time and never leads to anything. It just resolves and that's that. SkipThis. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/25 Full Review Steve D Despite some talent the story drags. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/23/24 Full Review Jack S An intelligent and suspenseful Cold War thriller. Peck is fine here as a military policeman investigating the kidnapping of an American soldier in Berlin. However, the plot becomes a bit confusing as the film progresses plus, Peck's character's investigative methods do seem rather reckless at times. One weak point: Bjork, as Peck's lover and associate, is lacking in the sort of charisma and intensity that would give their relationship (as well as the onscreen suspense) real spark. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Night People

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Movie Info

Synopsis A U.S. soldier stationed in West Berlin after the end of World War II is kidnapped and held captive in East Berlin. Col. Steve Van Dyke (Gregory Peck) is leading the kidnapping investigation, which becomes more complex as he is forced to deal with deceit, conspiracies and double identities. As Van Dyke begins to discover the truth about the case, he finds himself in a perilous situation -- even his closest ally, his former lover Hoffy (Anita Björk), may not be who she says she is.
Director
Nunnally Johnson
Producer
Nunnally Johnson
Screenwriter
Nunnally Johnson
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 12, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Runtime
1h 33m
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