Film Snail

Yield to the Night
Yield to the Night

6.9

Yield to the Night

NR·1956·99m

Summary

Locked in her cell, a murderer reflects on the events that have led her to death row.

Crew

Director

J. Lee Thompson

Novel, Screenplay

Joan Henry

Scenario Writer

Frederick Gotfurt

Screenplay

John Cresswell

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

February 26, 2023

7

This is a super vehicle for Diana Dors as the imprisoned "Mary". We know right from the start that she gunned down "Lucy" outside her mews cottage, and that her appeal has failed. Death row looms as she sits in her cell, accompanied at all times by two prison officers, awaiting a reprieve that may, or may not, come. Whilst she waits, we wait - and we learn a little about just what drove her to commit this cold-blooded crime. You see, she fell in love with the rather weak "Jim" (Michael Craig) and when she discovered that he was in love with someone else, she struggled to cope. Always hoping that he would choose her. When tragedy strikes, her course of revenge is set and... Most of the backstory is delivered to us as dreams; when she is awake and killing time in her room she begins to befriend "MacFarlane" (Yvonne Mitchell) - a outwardly hard-nosed woman but one in whom "Mary" begins to realise she can trust as she wrestles with her conscience, and visits from her estranged husband, her mother and her younger brother - all of whom she would rather not see. J. Lee Thompson starts this off simply and then allows Miss Dors to show us how to deliver a strong, characterful, performance. This is well paced, perhaps a little over-scored but a well delivered drama that proves compelling to watch and shows this star had plenty of serious actor strings to her bow. Well worth a watch, this film.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

death penalty
based on novel or book
cheating
narration
death row
death sentence
women's prison
prison guard
flashback
film noir
murder
british noir
cell
death by hanging
shooting