Chinatown at Midnight
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Seymour Friedman
Hurd Hatfield
Jean Willes
Tom Powers
Ray Walker
Charles Russell
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Interior decorator Lisa Marcel asks Clifford Ward, who is infatuated with her, to steal a white jade vase from G. L. Wing's shop in Chinatown. Ward steals the vase, but when Wing's son Joe attempts to trigger an alarm, Ward kills him and his fiancée, Betty Chang, who was telephoning for help. Removing the receiver from the wounded woman's hand, Ward, speaking in Chinese, reports the robbery and escapes, using a tourist group for cover. The next morning, the police visit the Chinatown telephone exchange and question telephone operator Hazel Fong, who received the call. After Betty dies from her injuries, Hazel becomes the only one who can identify the killer. The police publish a picture of the stolen vase, and one of Lisa's clients discloses that it is in her newly decorated home. To prevent Lisa from implicating him, Ward kills her. The police arrive at Lisa's shop and spot Ward making his escape. During the ensuing chase, Ward sheds his jacket and tie and hides in a soup kitchen line. The next morning, a rubbish collector finds the discarded jacket and gun. An examination of the gun proves that the same person killed Lisa, Betty and Joe. The gun, which was stolen from a pawn shop, provides no further clues, but the police are able to discover Ward's address using the laundry mark in his jacket. The police find stolen articles in Ward's apartment, along with the tape he used to practice Chinese. When they discover a variety of language recordings, they realize that Ward spoke different languages during robberies to mislead witnesses. When Ward spots the police at his apartment, he registers at a cheap hotel. Meanwhile, the police play the recording of Ward's voice for Hazel, who confirms that it is the same man who reported the robbery in Wing's store. At his hotel, Ward suffers a bout of malaria and discovers that he does not have his medication. A drug store clerk refuses to sell him the necessary medicine without a prescription but agrees to give him the medicine if his doctor telephones with an order. Ward, pretending to be a doctor, phones the clerk, and once again, Helen places the call. When she recognizes Ward's voice, she traces the call and informs the police. Ward hears the sirens and runs out of the drugstore, and after a chase over the rooftops of Chinatown, he is fatally wounded.
Director
Seymour Friedman
Cast
Hurd Hatfield
Jean Willes
Tom Powers
Ray Walker
Charles Russell
Jacqueline De Wit
Maylia
Ross Elliott
Benson Fong
Barbara Jean Wong
Victor Sen Yung
Josephine Whittell
Crew
Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Edwin Bryant
Frank Burt
Carter Dehaven Jr.
Henry Freulich
Sam Katzman
Herbert Leonard
Robert Libott
Paul Palmentola
Frank [a.] Tuttle
Josh Westmoreland
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's working title was Chinatown After Midnight. The film uses a narrator to create a documentary-like style. Some sources incorrectly identify actor Victor Sen Yung as Victor San Yen.
