Night into Morning

Night Into Morning is a 1951 American drama film directed by Fletcher Markle and starring Ray Milland, John Hodiak and Nancy Davis.^[2][3]

Night Into Morning
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Fletcher Markle
Written by	Karl Tunberg Leonard Spigelgass
Produced by	Edwin H. Knopf
Starring	Ray Milland John Hodiak Nancy Davis Lewis Stone Jean Hagen
Cinematography	George J. Folsey
Edited by	George White Robert Watts
Music by	Carmen Dragon
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Metro Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	June 8, 1951 (1951-06-08)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$777,000[1]
Box office	$819,000[1]

Plot

Everything is going very well for college professor Phillip Ainley, who has a loving wife and son and an offer to teach at Yale. But his world turns upside-down when Katherine Mead, his secretary, rushes to tell him that there's been a deadly explosion at the professor's home.

His wife and child are killed. Ainley, devastated, becomes morose and turns to drink, causing Mead, a war widow, and best friend Tom Lawry, her betrothed, to consider these telltale signs that the professor could be suicidal.

A popular athlete on campus has failed an exam and might not graduate, so his girlfriend Dottie appeals to the professor to give him a second chance. A drunken Ainley tells her remaining unmarried might spare them both future heartbreak. He then crashes a car, terrifying the girl and resulting in his arrest.

Character witnesses convince the judge to place Ainley on probation. The professor permits the athlete to take a second exam, then gives him a passing grade. Ainley gets his affairs in order and goes to a hotel, where he plans to take his life. Only a last-minute intervention by Mead saves him, the widow reminding Ainley that she found a new love and new life, just as her first true love would have wanted.

Cast

• Ray Milland as Phillip Ainley
• John Hodiak as Tom Lawry
• Nancy Davis as Katherine Mead
• Lewis Stone as Dr. Horace Snyder
• Jean Hagen as Girl Next Door
• Rosemary De Camp as Annie Ainley
• Dawn Addams as Dotty Phelps
• Jonathan Cott as Chuck Holderson
• Celia Lovsky as Mrs. Niemoller
• Gordon Gebert as Russ Kirby
• Harry Antrim as Mr. Andersen
• Katherine Warren as Mrs. Andersen
• Mary Lawrence as Waitress
• Herb Vigran as Bartender
• Otto Waldis as Dr. Franz Niemoller
• John Maxwell as Dr. Huntington
• John Jeffery as Timmy Ainley

Uncredited (in order of appearance)

Robert Foulk	Police officer preventing Ainley from rushing into burning house
Wheaton Chambers	Cleric delivering eulogy at funeral of Ainley's wife and son
Matt Moore	Professor Joe Goodman in faculty lounge
John Eldredge	Professor in faculty lounge
Whit Bissell	Salesman assisting Ainley in picking gravestones for his wife and son
Margaret Bert	Woman choosing her lunch in the college cafeteria
Frank McGrath	Angry driver at accident scene
Howard M. Mitchell	Guard in jail where Ainley is held for drunk driving
Percy Helton	Philosophical drunk in jail cell with Ainley
Richard Hale	Judge lecturing Ainley after his arrest for drunk driving
Torben Meyer	Butcher
Mario Siletti	Tony the barber who tells Ainley that he also spent time in jail in the old country
Christopher Knopf	Photography store clerk from whom Ainley picks up developed photos
Wilton Graff	Attorney explaining to Ainley the details of setting up last will

Reception

According to MGM records, the movie earned $556,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $263,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss to the studio of $312,000.^[1]