Yield to the Night

True "Blonde bombshells" of a starring nature come along only once or twice in a decade, and the number from, say, 1930 to 1960 is not all that many: Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors, Jayne Mansfield, Kim Novak, and that about does it. Of these, Harlow died too young and as an actress was memorable mainly in comedy, Turner turned into a very good actress as the years passed, Monroe was greatly loved but her true acting talent beyond her natural charisma was not really all that great, and Novak was passable. Mansfield was Mansfield. Diana Dors, however, despite her 'blonde bombshell' reputation and being probably the least beautiful of that group (one could hardly call her even very pretty) was a very legitimate actress, out of RADA, and gave excellent acting performances right from the start of her film career. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to notice at the time, which may have been her own fault for letting that reputation get out of hand. This is the very best I have seen her, and her outing here as the doomed murderess is about as good a lead female performance as any to be seen in English films of the 1950s. It is truly amazing that both her performance and this film are not better known. Maybe the Hollywood-made I WANT TO LIVE of two years later ended up stealing this film's thunder, as they both cover the imprisonment and pending death of the protagonist. But only a portion of Susan Hayward's performance takes place inside prison walls, whereas in this film, outside the opening and some flashbacks, the entire story takes place in less than 20 days in a holding cell, perhaps 20 x 25 feet in size, and goes outside it only when the prisoner is allowed out for exercise in a high-walled yard. That there are always two warders taking shifts in the holding cell with Dors, tending to her every need but also imposing a strict regimen upon her, somehow adds to the total claustrophobia of the film, and it is irrepressibly morbid from beginning to end. But it is also terrific! Although the major burden falls on Dors, every performance in the film save one is exceptional, that one being Michael Craig's as her suicidal boyfriend. Craig is a good actor, but he was the wrong choice here, as he simply never really seems like the kind of guy who could be brought to suicide by unrequited love. Lawrence Harvey might have been perfect for it. But the great Yvonne Mitchell, as the youngest warder, is superb. It seems as though, from beginning to end, she has but one expression, which never changes, on her face, yet we see the feelings she is hiding underneath at every moment, and ultimately learn that those feelings are not confined to only the prisoner's situation. Some reviews have mentioned this film as an indictment of capital punishment, but I don't see it that way, and only once in the entire film is anything said in that direction: One of the warders says that we mustn't forget the person Dors murdered, and another one answers that "...another death will not bring her back". Unlike in the Hayward film, we know right from the beginning that Dors is guilty of this crime, and although to the very end she never repents the murder, we still feel sympathy for her (I felt a lot more for her than for the Hayward character), surely a reaction engendered by the excellent screenplay, Dors' superb performance, and J. Lee Thompson's inventive direction. Given the budget and the acting talent on view here, I do not see how this film could have possibly been any better, and it should prove a major discovery to anyone now seeing it for the first time.

.......and,regrettably I feel you have to have been there to appreciate it. Lots or R.P.,a few cheery( or miserable in this case) cockneys and women mostly portrayed as either neurotic (the prisoner) or cold - blooded(the screws). And the men aren't much different. The murder victim is scarcely worthy of Miss Dors' grand passion,her so - called friends utterly trivial. It was the age of Suez,the Hungarian Uprising and the gradual decline of the post - war certainties that had kept the country afloat on a flimsy raft of patriotism and colonial mentality. Some things were taken as self - evident....you killed someone and the State could and sometimes would kill you in return. Knowing that, it might be thought that you had to be mad to kill someone,yet insanity was a legitimate defence against a murder charge;an early Catch 22. Most ordinary people were pretty much in favour of capital punishmnent in 1956 despite claims to the contrary.. True there was a growing opposition to it from vaguely Left - Wing groups and the contemporary equivalent of "Guardianistas",and of course "Creatives" have always embraced minority causes thus films like "Yield to the night" and later "I want to live" (interestingly Miss Dors speaks that very line towards the end) could be made and could be successful at the box - office and influential towards public opinion. Some years ago Miss Dors was cruelly referred to as "Forgotten but not gone." Not true - not by my generation who collected her photos from "Picturegoer" and asked aunts and uncles for her L.P. "Swinging' Dors". Here she superbly underplays the condemned woman who probably nowadays would get five years for manslaughter and go on to write a best - seller about it. Sadly that was not the case 60 years ago and she is duly hanged in a suitably stiff upper lipped British manner,leaving her last cigarette burning in the ashtray. Apart from the star, the best performance in the film for me is Miss Marjorie Rhodes as a determinedly cheerful P.O. who clearly is fighting a natural compassion. The excellent Miss Y.Mitchell is emotionless even when overcome with emotion which I don't know is worthy of praise or not. Certainly the role did her no harm and she was all over our telly for years. Once again I thank Talking Pictures TV for digging out a fine old film and dusting it down so a new generation can see how good the British Film Industry was back in the day.

Found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, a young woman lives out her last days under the watchful eyes of a small group of prison wardens. From its edgy opening sequence as the camera furtively tracks Dors' determined and resolute steps towards the killing, to the devastating final image of a smouldering cigarette we suspect will still be burning after the executioner has pulled his leaver, Yield To The Night is an extraordinary exploration of the reasons and repercussions surrounding a premeditated murder in mid-fifties Britain. At its heart is a performance which, over 50 years later still resonates with depth and naturalism. Even as we have witnessed her coldly and repeatedly shoot another woman to death, under the expert direction of J. Lee Thompson, Dors enables us to feel sorrow for the killer Mary Hilton and even if we can't condone the deliberate taking of her victim's life, we can at least realise that Hilton is also somehow a victim of circumstance. Dors doesn't put a foot wrong from beginning to end and the fact that she didn't receive domestic and international award nominations for her performance is in my opinion as puzzling as it is unforgivable, especially when one considers what were the celebrated performances of the time (Virginia McKenna, Audrey Hepburn and Dorothy Alison were BAFTA nominated that year). Could it be that the British and subsequently Amercian studio systems were unwilling to accept Dors as the intelligent and talented actress she so obviously was? Certainly the marketing and promotion of Yield To The Night in the US supports this premise - retitled Blonde Sinner, with lurid posters ridiculously emphasising Dors' sex symbol qualities and carrying the ludicrous and tacky tag-line "The Man-By-Man Story of a Lost Soul". Flaws? Yes - as written, Jim Lancaster, whilst handsome and initially charming just doesn't allow the viewer to believe he could be the reason for Mary's actions. Undoubtedly less to do with Michael Craig's performance than with the character being undeveloped in general. However, overall Yield To The Night is a powerful film that will linger long after the final credits have rolled, and now it is finally available in DVD should become essential viewing for all British cinema fans.

Moviecut—Blonde Sinner

What a wonderful performance from Diana Dors playing a women condemned to die after killing her rival. Dors along with the staff awaiting her sad and untimely demise suffer the painful agony waiting for her exit on the gallows of Holloway Prison. The film is dated and somewhat staged but Fors is stunning and does make you wonder if she had any dramatic contemporaries either British or American. Her performance and the film will stay long in the memory

At the beginning of the film, you see Mary Hilton (Diana Dors) mercilessly unloading her gun into a woman. Why exactly she did this, you have no idea...nor who the victim was. The story soon switched to Death Row in a British prison and only a bit later are there flashbacks to let you have so idea of what you're missing in the story of this woman. I do know that nothing in the story made me feel sorry for her...and Mary's narration sometimes seemed to cast herself as a victim, of sorts. However, although the aim of the film appears to be to get the audience to care, as various prison folk talk about how bad the death penalty is or express a lot of empathy towards her. In fact, I would go so far as to say I wanted to see Mary hang for her actions and lack of regard for her murder....and so the film doesn't achieve its aim, at least for me. So, although the film excels at realism in some ways, it ultimately fails in getting the audience to care.

I came to this film with pretty superficial view of Diana Dors. I couldn't have been more wrong. She gives a career best performance. On so many levels it stands head and shoulders above mid 50s Brit cinema. Truly international standard. Great ensemble acting; strong direction; and some lovely cinematography. It was clearly a powerful piece in its time - dramatically as well as a piece of social agitprop. It's still worthy of your attention more than 60 years on. What a shame this part didn't lead to the acting opportunities Diana deserved.

The film starts with Diana Dors shooting a young woman to death. The remainder of the film looks back on why she did this, but spends most of the time looking at the minuteae of the last days of her life in prison before she is due to be hanged. Very good performances all around, particularly from Dors. Whilst the background to the killing is well handled it is the waiting for her probable execution and how those around her deal with this that is the more absorbing part of the film. Quite realistic in its depiction of time awaiting death and often unsettling.

This film proved that Diane Dorrs was a superb serious actress. The obvious comparison to the tragic case of Ruth Ellis 12 months earlier only served to make a good film even better. The whole cast gave their heart and soul to it. A must for people who have not yet viewed it.

In the best tradition of black and white, this film starts with a bang. After a pair of shapely legs get out of a classic 56 T-Bird in England somewhere, a gun shot is fired, without ever seeing who did it. The idea of making an anti- capital punishment movie in the mid-fifties right after the McCarthy era was ahead of it's time. Never preachy or blatantly left winged, this great unknown sleeper carries on the classic female incarcerated films of THE SNAKE PIT to the era of fins. Even the female prison guards show compassion, and the movie never uses bitch-slapping gimmicks for thrill effects. A quiet study that still touches the heart. Diana Dors shines in a smart role choice that added to her credits away from her necessary frothy pointed bra-B flicks. No wonder people loved her right up to her death.