Highly Overrated But Still Good

Fresh and Exciting

Don't Believe the Hype

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Although Germany surrendered a few months earlier a group of Nazis have ensconced themselves in Shanghai and are working on a "cosmic ray gun" which is supposedly a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb which was just dropped Nagasaki. At first they had planned to give the Japanese their documents but realizing that Japan could not hold out much longer they have decided to stall for time in order to eventually return to Germany with it and start World War III. However, they need to make sure their stall tactics work and so they seize several Caucasian women who attend Shanghai University and force them to work as "hostesses" for German and Japanese officers. Essentially then, this is a film that bears some resemblance to a "Women-in-Prison" (WIP) picture but being produced in 1948 it skillfully avoids some of the risqué scenes generally found in movies of this type preferring a more subtle approach. Unfortunately, it pretends to be based on historical events and then completely turns history on its head. Likewise, having certain women representing a specific country was a bit too corny in my opinion. But then again, this movie was produced in 1948 and playing up to patriotism was typical for this time. In any case, other than "Li Leng" (Frances Chung) there weren't really any characters who seemed to stand out. In short, while as a WIP film it may have been ahead of its time, it still wasn't that solid and I rate it as slightly below average.

This Republican programmer is set in Shanghai during the days between the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese surrender – although it was actually filmed in a Mexican hotel. Although the Nazis surrendered a few months before, a few of them are still marching around in full uniform, abducting virginal teenage girls on their way to church from the street and forcing them to serve as 'hostesses' at the German Officers Club. The Nazis are already plotting their return with a dastardly 'cosmic ray' which will definitely win them the third world war in ways the script neglects to explain. The Japs want the Nazis secret weapon but the Nazis don't want to give it to them and keep bombarding them with kidnapped women and alcohol in an attempt to make them forget all about it.With a title like Women in the Night and a Poverty Row studio providing the finance it's hardly a surprise that this effort is pretty poor, even though it might have been camp fun in the hands of more capable filmmakers. This could almost have been a template for all those whip-wielding Nazi chick exploitation efforts of the 70s. The chief German officer – the one who isn't the spy with an undisguised American accent – has a thin scar on his left cheek and a monocle glued to his right eye socket. When an underling attempts to stamp out a flaming portrait of Hitler he is scolded by the officer with a fierce, 'you are stamping on ze Fuehrer!' He also has a couple of women working for him who are engaged in a lesbian relationship, although this being the 40s the fact is only hinted at in a couple of lines of dialogue.

This piece of cheapo, post war Nazi & 'Nip' bashing must hold some sort of record for the most on screen verbiage before the first spoken line of dialogue in motion picture history.First we have a scrolling prologue (four screens full) - Followed by an establishing shot of the 'Bureau of Records', followed by a stock footage interior, and a zoom in on a drawer labelled "Case Histories Crimes Against Women", a tilt down to another drawer: "Confidential". A hand pulls open the drawer and starts to flip through the files giving us a chance to read their titles and some of the contents: (three shots showing eleven separate bits of paper to read). The last piece of paper is turned over to reveal a still photo of some women and a German soldier. Lap dissolve to stock footage of somewhere labelled: "Shanghai". Dissolve to yet another on-screen, full-screen message: "In the Final Days of the war...blah blah blah". Cut to another filing drawer, a hand pulls out yet another typewritten card to read: "Crimes against Hospital Nurses Location: Shanghai". Lap dissolve to a sign "University Hospital"... Dear god! I'm loosing the will to live here... Another dissolve to a sign saying "Nurses Quarters", another dissolve to a crucifix. The entire audience spells out 'I N R I' to themselves they are, by now, so used to reading anything that's on the screen.In all it's four and a half minutes! before anyone says anything meaningful - and then it's to read out a list of the character's names as they step forward one by one. Heaven help us! Not more establishing!There are seven writers credited with the script on this; I guess none of them had an eraser.

Les Adams's lengthy summary of this production and its plot would suggest he has seen the film.I beg to differ on a few minor points: The hostesses are not all Anglos though there is one from Angleterre. The U.S.,Mexico,France,China and maybe Australia are also represented. The secret wife of William Henry is not Tala Birell, but Virginia Christine. Tala Birell ,the "Shanghai Mata Hari", received top-billing performing superior to the part. The production was filmed over a thirty day period at the Playa Ensenada Hotel in Mexico utilizing some very attractive interior decor. There are a few outdoor scene but they are minor. The plot is not so sordid but the lesbian relationship between the character's played by Jeans Brooks and Bernadene Hayes is clearly indicated. My 16mm print of this film,formerly owned by William K.Everson, is retitled CAPTURED.Film Classics sold off the rights to the film within two years. WOMEN IN THE NIGHT is a great favortte of Elliot Lavine, esteemed San Francisco programmer,formerly with the Roxie Cinema. He has show the film several times at the Roxie and at the Los Angeles Film School. Surviving cast member Iris Flores (Ride the Pink Horse), who played the Mexican hostess, attended the Los Angeles screening with her extended family several years ago, and I understand it was a warmly enjoyed event.