Between Midnight And Dawn (1950)

Two cops (Edmond O'Brien, Mark Stevens) are on night duty patrolling in prowl cars. They're after a racketeer (Donald Buka in a dreadful performance) but they can't pin anything on him. When he kills a rival gangster (Roland Winters), they finally get him but he won't go down easy. Directed by Gordon Douglas (TONY ROME), this noir programmer never moves beyond its B movie roots. Gordon Douglas isn't a director known for his style and the generic plot as written offers no new perspectives. In fact, the cop protagonists are pretty annoying so they never win us over. Douglas manages to whip up a fairly intense finale but even there, the child (Lora Lee Michel) that the racketeer uses as a shield is so irritating that you can't get too concerned about her either. Fortunately, the good girl (Gale Storm) and the bad girl (Gale Robbins) are appealing and provide a nice contrast. With Anthony Ross and Madge Blake.