Between Midnight And Dawn refers to the graveyard shift that patrol car cops Edmond O'Brien and Mark Stevens are on where for some dead time a lot of action is happening. Most of it generated by a vicious local hood played by Donald Buka. O'Brien and Stevens really have it in for him, but that's nothing compared to how Buka feels about these two always cramping his style.

When some out of towners try to muscle in on Buka's rackets that starts a gang war. Most gang bosses have people on the payroll to take care of the dirty work, but Buka likes to get in on the action himself. That proves to be his undoing.

While all this is going on O'Brien and Stevens have a good natured rivalry for Gale Storm going on. Of course one of them does get her, but that's far from the whole story.

O'Brien and Stevens are fine as the cops, but Donald Buka probably got his career role as the vicious hood who is their nemesis. Some kudos should also go to Gale Robbins as the nightclub singer who is Buka's girlfriend. She finds out too late what a bad taste in men she has.

Between Midnight And Dawn is one good cop drama from Columbia Pictures that still holds up well for today.

Two patrol cops, one a light-hearted rookie (Mark Stevens),the other a cynical veteran (Edmund O'Brien),are old army buddies who fall for a pretty new secretary (Gale Storm) in their division and together escort her out for a night on the town. She is determined not to fall in love with a cop, having watched her mother ("Batman's" Madge Blake) go through losing her cop husband in the line of duty, but sweet mama interferes to the point of renting the second half of their duplex home to the two, frustrating Gale who wanted to steer clear of the two entirely outside of the office.

Dominating the sugar-coated situation comedy of this plot line is the determination to bring down a local crime kingpin (Donald Buka) who has resorted to violence in order to prevent his organization from being taken over by an even more ruthless mobster. This leads to one of the two cops being brutally murdered and the determination of the killer to escape from prison and seek revenge with the help of his nightclub singer girlfriend (Gale Robbins). This leads to a tense stand-off at the end involving Buka, Robbins and a screaming little girl whom Buka uses as a shield in order to get away. The mood changes drastically from the brief foray into light-hearted slapstick to gritty street drama, and the violence is actually quite graphic. It's not a great film, but certain sequences will have you on the edge of your seats.

Dan (Edmond O'Brien) and Rocky (Mark Stevens) are cops who are working the night shift. They are partners and darned good policemen. Their personalities are a bit different--Dan is very intense and Rocky is more laid back and a ladies' man. When they meet up with a pretty new policewoman (Gale Storm),Rocky soon falls for her and vice-versa. In fact, they plan on marrying. However, a nasty racketeer, Ritchie Garris, ends up spelling doom for the young couple's plans--and Dan is determined to capture this thug once and for all.

There's really nothing that spectacular about this cop film. Instead, it excels at focusing on seemingly normal cops and showing them in a somewhat non-Hollywood manner. While Dan is a bit stereotypical as the tough cop, Rocky and the rest of the film violate the usual expectations for police films. It's very watchable, well made and very well acted. not exactly film noir, though, as it's a cop film and the crooks are secondary.