I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Did you people see the same film I saw?

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

The fifties were pretty alcohol-soaked. World War II had both scarred the collective psyche and ended the Great Depression. The Korea had turned the Cold War hot. Alcohol was the self-medication of choice. It was also just fun, and fun was what filled the leisure that American prosperity had brought the masses.Yet, this was no longer the era of Nick and Nora Charles or Robert Benchley, when being drunk was cute or comic. So, when imbibing America needed a cautionary tale, Ray Milland was the right protagonist, as he proved in The Lost Weekend. Night into Morning isn't about alcoholism per se but about the response to a horrible tragedy. Lost Weekend was about alcoholism as a lifestyle. Night into Morning is about a binge that is carrying Milland over a precipice. The casting is flawless. Milland, like Holden, has this seemingly easy way of acting. By being himself, he is the part. I like Nancy Davis better with every new viewing. What I used to regard as wooden, I now see as measured, kind of like the great Anne Revere. Here she's quite believable as a voice of reason, a voice on our behalf, responding to Milland's woes as we should. And then there's John Hodiak. What can I say? He died so young that everything he was in becomes precious. And this may be one of his best performances, as Milland's best friend and colleague. Hodiak may have been pushed aside when the big stars returned from WWII, but for me he still chews up the scenery. The looks, the voice. It just occurred to me that had Hodiak survived he might well have settled into a Lloyd Nolan career. Dawn Adams gets good screen time as the girlfriend of the lug whom Professor Milland is going to flunk. The bit parts are not neglected. Whit Bissel has a great little turn as a headstone salesman. The cocktail waitress/student appealed to me a lot, and it turns out that Mary Lawrence playing her was 32 at the time!Aside for the casting, the production is first-rate. There was a trend in the era for location shooting. In this case, Berkeley gets to play the college town, with a long sequence with Davis and Hodiak on campus, and a scene from the Tower. There's also a bang-up crash scene, though by necessity back at the studio.There are a couple of problems that preclude perfection. There's a a connection with elderly neighbors that doesn't go anywhere. It was great to see Jean Hagan, but her part should have been developed more, in place of the useless footage of the elderly neighbors. Night into Morning ends with what, to today's ears, seems a corny send-off, "Go with God". As a product of its time, it's not so corny. War hangover, the Holocaust, The Bomb, atheist Communism ginned up by McCarthyism, and the rat race. Plus ordinary misfortune that's always hitting someone, somewhere -- sooner or later you or me. Or just plain ennui. It seems that movies like Lost Weekend, Night into Morning, The Man in the Grey flannel Suit, are appealing to contemporary audiences to use faith and friendship instead of fixes. It's no coincidence that at the same time AA was getting noticed for sending this message.

While not one of the truly greats -- such as Tracy or Grant -- Ray Milland had a number of film performances that were excellent, though he is not well-remembered today, and thus has become rather underrated. There's no real criticism of Milland here, although there are times that the script dialog lets him down. Nevertheless, this is a very good...though not great film.The supporting cast here is quite impressive. John Hodiak was a fine actor who didn't live long enough to fully prove his worth on the big screen; he's very good her as the supportive friend. Nancy Davis (later Reagan) is better than her usual limited screen performance here; in my view she could have had a rather good film career as a supporting actress, but didn't quite have the looks; here she plays a friend who lost a husband herself. Lewis Stone plays the head of the college department where Milland works; it's far less than a supporting actor of his caliber deserved.The story has a college professor's wife and son blown up and killed, and it then traces his descent through alcoholism and suicide. Do people act like that> I have no way of knowing, but I have an idea the answer is yes.This film seems a bit more realistic than many that might cover the same type of topic. I think what makes it better than average is that it also looks at how others around the drunk are suffering because of his behavior. The closing scene with Milland's college class is a bit corny, but aside from that, this is a pretty decent film...not a great film...but certainly worth watching at least once.

When I first saw this with my wife, she said that Dore Shary liked to produce films to enlighten. This one should be released immediately on commercial video. A college professor (Ray Milland) loses his wife (Rosemary DeCamp) and son in a fire.He gradually starts to come apart at the seams. His actions: insomnia, drinking, mood swings, are realistically shown. Along the way, we see Nancy Davis' character, and learn that she went through the same thing. This movie contains so much, that one must watch it many times to absorb it all. How Miss Davis' character moves from attempted suicide to happiness is a story in itself.Her fiancée, as he described himself "A thick-headed Swede" is handled perfectly. Just in time, the professor is saved from committing suicide. He then moves in with his friends. The movie ends with him telling his students to "go with God". There is no happy ending. The worst may be over, though there will be many rough times ahead. At least now our protagonist knows what he is facing.WHAT A MOVIE.

Well this is a little movie about human tragedy, and surprisingly, it´s almost free from sentimental cliches. But that doesn´t mean that it is very concrete in its conviction (after all it was made in the early 50´s)The main character is played by Ray Milland (I know nothing about this guy). He is an professor that one day loses his home and family. He hides the tragedy deep inside and sternly carries on with his work - at his friends concerns. But now the feelings gets too overwhelming and he starts drinking and becomes suicidal. But as the title says, this film has a happy ending.What make this pretty dull movie worth watching, is the great performance from Milland. He acts his roll with great dignity, and although his age, he is quite convincing in it (specially in the "attempted suicide scene") . He stands clearly miles away from the sentimental intellectual drunkard acting of likes such as Van Hefling or Van Johnson etc.