I recently came across a photo of actors Richard Boone and little person Michael Dunn (of WILD WILD WEST fame) as down and out detectives in the TV movie GOODNIGHT MY LOVE. I first saw it when it aired in 1974 as part of ABC’s MOVIE OF THE WEEK concept which began in 1969 and helped to finally lift ABC out of its perennial third place finish in the Nielsen ratings.
The movie is set in 1946 and is a deliberate nod to the private eye film noirs of that era with one major difference, it’s in color. Even the title is a deliberate homage to one of the classics of the genre, Raymond Chandler’s FAREWELL MY LOVELY which had been made as MURDER MY SWEET in 1944 and would be remade one year after GOODNIGHT under its original title.
The obligatory blonde femme fatale is played by Barabara Bain, fresh from MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and just before SPACE: 1999. The Sydney Greenstreet “heavy” role is portrayed by Victor Buono who physically resembles Greenstreet complete with white suit and sardonic dialogue. His character’s name is Julius Limeway and he’s usually seen sitting in a booth consuming escargot (snails)
Our story opens with a courier being bumped off and his briefcase stolen. Next we meet detectives Boone & Dunn who are so broke that they can’t even afford a cheeseburger for lunch. In walks Bain who offers them a lot of money to find her boyfriend (who stole the briefcase which they don’t know). They quickly find him but only after he’s been tossed out a hotel window. The briefcase is missing.
A visit to Buono’s swanky nightclub reveals that the stolen briefcase was his and it contained $400,000. Then the search is on to find it. Where does Bain fit in and is she telling the truth about all this? Three guesses and the first two don’t count. The rest of GOODNIGHT concerns eventually locating the briefcase with a few doublecrosses occurring along the way and a surprise ending.
GOODNIGHT MY LOVE packs a lot into its 74 minutes and is more polished than most of the TV movies from the early 1970s. Boone and Dunn have great chemistry together and some of their dialogue is priceless. Their scene at a racetrack is a highlight. Barbara Bain evolves from damsel in distress to tough cookie effectively and Buono relishes every moment of his bad guy role. GOODNIGHT is currently available on YouTube.
Writer-director Peter Hyams began his career as a correspondent for CBS news in Chicago (1964-1970). He then turned to making documentaries before moving to Hollywood and writing screenplays. GOODNIGHT MY LOVE was his second directorial effort. He would later write, direct, and photograph all his movies. His box office hits include CAPRICORN ONE (1978), OUTLAND (1981),and TIMECOP (1984).
The Capsule Critic 