Spoiler (SORT OF). How can you NOT like a "J.D." movie with Harvey Lembeck as a likable tough character, and Don Gordon as a dangerous one? (The one character warns his sister that the other one carries a REAL gun, not a zip gun like HE carries!) And it's so strange to see Lembeck play a serious character of that kind, quite some time before playing "Eric Von Zippper" in the Beach Movies. I first saw it very early (not for IT, but still early), and really felt sorry for the girl Vera, nicknamed "Ugly" by everyone else. Some time ago, I found a copy from a video trader, though unfortunately the film it was taken from had a lot of "jumps." At the end is a curtain call, where the "Ugly" actress (named Jaclynne Greene) is shown without her somewhat heavy make-up. Also, the announcer describes Don Gordon in a bantering way as something like "not really such a bad guy."

This is one of those films that few people have ever heard of. It is a shame, because GIRLS IN THE NIGHT, while not a masterpiece, is certainly an entertaining and well-made little film. Actually a film noir, GIRLS IN THE NIGHT tells the story of a young would-be hood, Chuck (Harvey Lembeck,) who is wrongly accused of robbery, and, if memory serves, also murder. Lembeck, (long before he became the comic biker "Erich Von Zipper" in those Beach Party movies) puts in a fine dramatic performance. The film is stolen, however, by Jaclynne Greene as Vera, a character in love with Chuck. Vera is nicknamed "Ugly" and photographed in harsh lighting to emphasize her street toughness. A good look at Greene, however, shows that she is far from ugly. She gives a credible, sensitive portrait of a wildly misunderstood womanOne more thing: The title of this film is misleading. From the name of the film one would think that this would be a cheaply-made story about B-girls. It is not. Rather, it is a tale of desperation, a tale of frustration about young people trapped in an environment that simply will not let them go

I saw this so called "B" film on the same bill as City Across the River in the early 1950's and I enjoyed both films. I liked the performances of the players particularly that of promising newcomer Jaclynne Greene who played the part of Vera. She really chewed up the scenery as a plain Jane (they called her "Ugly") and she was fond of one of the thugs. Of course they get into trouble when a murder takes place. Although the plot is thin it is fun watching these players ramble through the darkly lit city streets in what I consider a camp classic. I often wonder what happend to Jaclynne Greene and her career? I also wish that this Universal-International film was on video as I would like to see it again.