RanchoTuVu A young British heiress (Patricia Franklin) is kidnapped at an airport in Paris in this rather tough existentialist crime drama featuring Marlon Brando as the nominal leader of the gang of morally flexible criminals that include his drug addicted girlfriend played by Rita Moreno, her pickpocket brother (Jess Hahn) and Richard Boone at his most menacing as a pimp named Leer. They hold her in an isolated house on a desolate looking beach but discover a French police officer who likes to fish coincidentally happens to live nearby. The entire affair is heavy going with a group who thinks they can pull off this caper and avoid the underlying violence. Interesting tension develops between bad Boone and not-so-bad Brando, with Jess Hahn sort of stealing the show as a kind of non- violent pickpocket desperate just to get the money. In addition it's a pretty far way from where Rita Moreno was in West Side Story.

Wuchak Released in 1968, "The Night of the Following Day" is a realistic crime drama featuring Brando as one of four professional criminals who kidnap a girl (a teenage Pamela Franklin) and hold up at a beach house in France. Richard Boone stars as the fiendish member, while Jess Hahn plays a likable loser, the brother of the pathetically drug addicted Rita Moreno.At the time of this picture Brando was 44 years old and never looked better physically -- very trim and blond. Brando didn't start getting fat until the later-70's when he was well into his 50's. In other words, people need to quit envisioning Brando as some fat dude; most of his life he wasn't. Most men in their mid-40's would kill to look as good as Brando did at the this age.BOTTOM LINE: Coming from the mid-60s when realism was fashionable this crime thriller is more of a crime drama, but suspense slowly builds to a compelling final act, which shows that crime doesn't pay, but people are redeemable if they qualify. There's also an unexpected twist that was fresh at the time, but is now eye-rolling.The film was shot during generally cloudy conditions in France and runs a short but sweet 93 minutes.GRADE: B-

Scott LeBrun A solid cast does well under capable direction by Hubert Cornfield, in this tale (scripted by Cornfield and Robert Phippeny, based on Lionel White's novel "The Snatch") of a kidnapping that ultimately goes awry, due to the nature of the players involved. A "chauffeur" (Marlon Brando) isn't so sure he wants to participate, especially when unreliable drug addict Vi (Rita Moreno) and dangerous creep "the leer" (Richard Boone) cause problems for him; his old chum Wally (Jess Hahn) convinces him to stick around. While this film does move slowly at times, Cornfield does a fine job in showing a part of Paris and the French countryside we don't always see; the exotic setting certainly doesn't hurt at all in the telling of this story. Lovely cinematography by Willy Kurant ensures a good look for the picture, while Stanley Myers supplies a very interesting, jazzy sort of music score. It's a nicely plotted tale, with entertaining twists and turns along the way, with some scenes of explicit violence and some of implied violence. The acting by the principals (you'll notice this isn't a particularly large cast) really is the glue that holds the whole thing together, with Brando getting a chance to emote in one scene but mostly playing it agreeably subtle. Moreno is very convincing (and sexy) in the role of the troubled Vi, and Hahn is quite likable in the role of a guy who you can see hasn't had much success in life and for whom you can root easily enough. Cute Pamela Franklin is extremely sympathetic in the role of the abused kidnap victim. However, Boone dominates the proceedings playing the kind of guy who will get under your skin before too long. Gerard Buhr is engaging as the friendly gendarme and Al Lettieri can be seen in the small role of the pilot. The atmosphere of the beach setting also plays no small part in the overall mood of the film. The ending may come off as unsatisfying to some viewers, but one thing to remember is that this kind of ending wasn't so much of a cliché 40 plus years ago when this was made. It does create a very sinister feeling, especially with that smile on Brando's face. (The actor, however, strongly disagreed on how things should end and it took some doing in order to come up with a final frame Cornfield could live with.) Not a bad bet for thriller fans, it's fairly chilling entertainment. Seven out of 10.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews I haven't watched any other films directed by Cornfield, but if they are all blessed with this subtle pacing, I'm going to consider it. The only other adaptation of a Lionel White story I've seen was The Killing, and obviously Kubrick is not easy to equal, meanwhile, this is actually quite well-done. There's an underlying vague tension throughout this, and a feeling of unpredictability that pays off. This is not for those who need something to happen often, or for flicks to move speedily. The atmosphere is pretty good, and the gradual build-up is marvelous. This has rather great acting, Brando and Moreno in particular. The minimal cast works exceptionally well, and aids the sense of isolation. I'm not sure what to think of the ending... I've read several theories, and I suppose in the end, what you want to believe it means is up to the individual. In any case, apart from it, this is an entertaining movie, and worth watching. There is infrequent strong language and disturbing content, if this is seldom terribly graphic. Apart from text features, the DVD comes with trailers for no less than 17(!) other releases, apart from this one(for a total of 18). I recommend this to fans of crime-thrillers and/or those who made it, provided you aren't too squeamish. 7/10