Between Midnight and Dawn

Between Midnight and Dawn is a 1950 American film noir crime film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien and Gale Storm. It is notable as one of the earliest Hollywood policiers to focus on beat cops rather than detectives and other high-ranking officers.

Plot
Childhood friends Rocky Barnes and Dan Purvis are Los Angeles prowl car cops on night duty. Barnes is easygoing while Purvis is a cynic who views all lawbreakers as scum. Both men are attracted to radio communicator Kate Mallory but she is reluctant to get involved with policemen, her cop father having been killed in the line of duty. After several pushes from her mother, she eventually falls for Barnes.

While Barnes and Purvis are shown patrolling the streets and responding to crime small and organized, it is their arrest of murderous racketeer Ritchie Garris that is most consequential. After his arrest Garris swears vengeance on the duo, and quickly carries out his threat by escaping from prison, and shooting Barnes in the face several times.

After months of hiding from the police, Garris finally believes it is safe to collect to his girlfriend Terry Romaine and then flee to Mexico. The police, however, have been surveilling Romaine's apartment and quickly close in on Garris. In a desperate attempt for his freedom, he takes a neighbor girl hostage, forcing a daring one-man raid from Purvis. While his smoke bomb separates the child from the killer, it also disorients Purvis allowing Garris to get the jump on him. At the last minute Romaine jumps in front of Garris' bullet, saving Purvis' life and forcing the officer to rethink his cynicism.

Cast

 * Mark Stevens as Rocky Barnes
 * Edmond O'Brien as Daniel Purvis
 * Gale Storm as Katherine Mallory
 * Donald Buka as Ritchie Garris
 * Gale Robbins as Terry Romaine
 * Anthony Ross as Lt. Masterson
 * Roland Winters as Leo Cusick
 * Tito Vuolo as Romano
 * Grazia Narciso as Mrs. Romano
 * Madge Blake as Mrs. Mallory
 * Lora Lee Michel as Kathy