The Sun Sets at Dawn

Despite attempts to obtain clemency by both the prison warden and convicted murderer Bill's girlfriend, the young man is scheduled to be executed in an electric chair. Only hours before the scheduled electrocution, the despondent girl waits in the warden's office for one last chance to see her boyfriend, but Bill refuses the visit, not wanting to cause the girl any more pain. In his cell, Bill cannot finish a prayer for mercy with the chaplain because he claims he is not guilty of any sin. He then tells the chaplain that he has always been an observer of life and never been chosen for any great honor. When he joined the Army hoping to become a hero, he was assigned a desk job. He later became a reporter, but was given only gossip column assignments. While Bill continues to talk about his past failures, the lights in the cell flicker as technicians test the new electric chair. At Pops' place, the nearby diner, motel and post office, restless news reporters discuss how they will cover the state's first electrocution as they wait for a bus to the prison. The reporters all agree that the name of the alleged criminal will quickly be forgotten, despite the importance of the event. One reporter phones his home office to report his story lead, "always on the grim gray dawn of an execution, it seems as if instead of rising, the sun sets." When a cub reporter from the Herald asks the others for advice on how to structure his story, they reconstruct the murder for him: Bill is found at the scene of the crime with the murder weapon in his hand and the victim, mob leader Tim Farrel, lying dead on the floor with six shots in him. Although the cub reporter is confused about whether Bill is guilty or innocent, an older reporter advises him not to judge the condemned man and just report the news. Meanwhile at the prison, Bill decides he would like to tell the chaplain the truth about the murder as a "rehearsal for God:" Bill is a frustrated reporter relegated to gossip column assignments, when he decides to single handedly break a mob racket run by Farrel. He manages to be hired as an errand boy for Farrel and hopes to write a story that would destroy the mob. Bill then states that on the day of the murder he was at Farrel's apartment, and heard six shots and witnessed Farrel dying. Bill then says that he was knocked out before he could discover the identity of the murderer. When he came to, the police found him with the murder weapon in his hand. Bill insists he is innocent and the chaplain tells Bill that he believes him. Back at Pops's place, one reporter sees an old wanted poster for gangster "Parrot" Ferruco, whose trademark was murdering with six shots. The reporter comments that he might assume Parrot killed Farrel, but Parrot was found dead three years ago. Pops remembers that when he put up the poster three years ago, the prison postal driver, an inmate named "Forty-Six," claimed that Parrot had framed him. Soon after, when Forty-Six arrives to pick up the mail, a reporter asks him about Parrot, but Forty-Six refuses to reply. When three armed men from Crow Line trucking company enter the store, Pops tells to a reporter that many Crow Line trucks have been hijacked by the mob. Back at the prison, the chaplain, upon Bill's request, encourages the girl to remember the good times she shared with Bill. The girl then forces herself to be strong for him. After the reporters are seated in the observers' chairs, Bill is brought into the execution room and strapped to the chair. At the same time, Pops discusses the execution with Crow Line owner Blackie, but Blackie seems disinterested. Visibly agitated by Blackie's presence, Forty-Six then grabs Parrot's picture and tries to convince police officers sitting nearby that Blackie is actually Parrot, as he has Parrot's mannerisms and may have had surgery to change his identity. When the police do not believe him, Forty-Six shows the picture to Blackie, who realizes that Forty-Six recognizes him and shoots him. The police then arrest Blackie and drive him to the prison, where his fingerprints are taken. Meanwhile, the execution has been postponed because the chair malfunctioned. Only minutes before the execution is again scheduled to take place, the warden identifies the prints as Parrot's. Blackie then admits that he is Parrot and killed Farrel for hijacking his trucks. The warden immediately shuts down the electricity for the entire building, hoping that he has beat his deputy to turning on the chair. Soon after, the deputy returns to the warden's office and tells him that Bill is fine. Upon hearing the good news, the chaplain remarks that God "always listens," and escorts Bill to where the girl is waiting for him.