In an opening sequence that immediately appeals to film noir fans, the camera gradually moves up and back from a night-time street-scene in L.A. before gently swooping down towards a posh residence in the Hollywood Hills where a pianist can be seen through a patio window. The camera then proceeds to visually pass through the window, dropping its audience straight into the movie's very dramatic prologue. This impressive introduction displays the kind of moody atmosphere, noirish lighting and care in the composition of scenes that proves to be typical of all that follows. Shots of its main character (played by George Raft) seen from a low-angle talking to his boss, from a higher angle climbing up a shadowy flight of stairs and later, searching through a photographer's studio, are just a few examples of these qualities.The movie's visual style and atmosphere also prove to be perfect for this well-paced murder mystery that features violence, humour and a number of characters who seem to know a lot more than they're prepared to admit."Nocturne" begins in the luxurious home of successful composer Keith Vincent (Edward Ashley) who's sitting at his piano, working on his latest composition whilst also talking to a mystery lady who's sitting silently on a sofa some distance away from him with her face hidden in shadow. Vincent is explaining his decision to end their relationship whilst also talking about his previous conquests whose photos he keeps displayed on one of his walls. He has composed musical pieces dedicated to each of his ex-lovers and the one he's presently working on is for the mystery lady. When he's still in conversation, a gunshot rings out and Vincent falls to the floor.When the police arrive, the officer in charge deduces from the available evidence that Vincent's death was a suicide but Homicide Detective Joe Warne (George Raft) isn't convinced. He thinks it's more likely that the dead womanizer was killed by one of the ladies he'd dumped and so, when he finds that the manuscript that Vincent had been working on at the time of his death had "For Dolores" hand-written on it, he assumes that this might be a useful lead. It transpires, however, that Vincent called all his women by the same name. No-one thinks that there's any substance to Joe's suspicions but his sympathetic Captain allows him some time to make some investigations. After tracing the nine ladies whose photos adorned Vincent's wall, Joe draws a blank and is taken off the case.Joe's hunch becomes an obsession which leads to him ignoring his superiors' instructions and continuing his investigation. He discovers that there was a tenth lady whose photo had been removed from Vincent's wall and she turns out to be small-time actress Frances Ransom (Lynn Bari). Things get progressively more difficult for Joe as he gets suspended from his job and finds himself falling for his prime suspect. Through knowing Frances, he also meets her sister Carol (Virginia Huston), pianist Ned "Fingers" Ford (Joseph Pevney) and Erik Torp (Bern Hoffman) who all work at the "Keyboard Club". None of these characters appear to be entirely straight-forward but when Joe eventually finds the clue he needs to prove his theory; it comes from the most unexpected source.Although "Nocturne" doesn't currently enjoy a high profile and isn't regarded as being in the top echelon of film noir movies, it was nevertheless, a great commercial success when it was first released and part of its appeal must have been attributable to the quality of its script which contains plenty of entertaining wisecracks. One that stands out comes from Vincent's housemaid who says of her employer that "he was a lady-killer but don't get any ideas. I'm no lady".George Raft does well as he gets thrown about violently by the big, muscle-bound Torp and indulges in some witty exchanges with Lynn Bari and the actors in the supporting roles maintain their good standards pf performance throughout.

Tough and dogged detective George Raft investigates a composer's death. It was ruled a suicide but Raft doesn't buy it. Despite being ordered off the case, he continues to look into it and tracks down some of the women the composer had "relationships" with.George Raft gets a lot of flack for being stiff or playing the same role over and over, but I happen to like most of his movies that I've seen. He had no pretenses about being a Shakespearean actor. He knew what he was good at playing and worked with it quite well. His earlier WB successes in gangster movies and the like were always fun. Here he's playing a film noir detective, which isn't too far removed from those older roles come to think of it. He's quick with a snappy comeback and doesn't back down from anybody. It's a part Raft plays with ease but that shouldn't be taken as a put-down, as is often the case. Several tough female roles in this one. Lynn Bari and Virginia Huston (in her film debut) get the juiciest parts but honorable mentions should go to Myrna Dell as a wisecracking maid and Mabel Paige as Raft's mom, who helps him with his investigation.Good script with some punchy noir lines, interesting characters, and a good ending. A nice fight scene, too. By the way, the film's title refers to the song the composer writes for his latest conquest. The guy wrote songs for all the women he screwed. They had a classier kind of douchebag in the old days, I guess.

Raft is a police detective investigating an apparent suicide. A reprobate composer of pop songs is found with "a bullet in his noggin," a revolver in his hand, and power marks all over him. The cops are satisfied but Raft is compelled to wonder, as Lieutenant Columbo would have, why the composer sent his butler out for some bicarbonate of soda, and why he stopped writing his next song in mid-note, or rather mid-shot. Raft pushes the investigation too far, smashing up a couple of rooms and flattening one or two surly characters, and hustling one of the composer's recent lady friends until, as it must to all responsible cops, the time comes when he must forfeit his badge and gun.The dialog has a couple of neat touches, along the lines of: "I heard you were busting up some furniture but from the looks of you I'd say the furniture won." And when Raft appears in bandages, his shirt blotched with blood, after a fight with some pituitary case, someone remarks, "I see you've been painting the town red." Raft: "The other way around." Raft looks good, with his cast-iron features and neat fedora. Lynn Bari, the girl in the picture, is one of those many B-list actresses that never got very far -- Mara Corday, Faith Domergue. No great loss to cinematic art.The film itself is routine. Raft encounters one suspect after another, the pursuit punctuated by bouts of violence. Half-way through I figured the killer was either the piano player or the blond -- otherwise why were they getting so much screen time in unimportant roles? But I was only half right, or two times right, depending on the theory of numbers you subscribe to.

Nocturne is certainly not in the 1st rank of 40's film noir movies but nevertheless has a few things going for it.....the photography, some funny lines ("one more crack like that and I'll wrap the piano around your neck"), and for me, Lynn Bari. I always thought she was ( like Hillary Brooke, Lenore Aubert, Brenda Joyce, and a few others of the 40's) an underrated, very beautiful and sophisticated actress ( of a type that no longer exists in films). Of course no-one is going to confuse George Raft with Lawrence Olivier but the rest of the cast, particularly Joe Pevney (also good in "Body and Soul") does a professional job.and makes the film worthwhile.