The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950)

Directed and written by Paul Sloane, The Sun Sets at Dawn is a compact, emotionally charged film noir crime drama that unfolds over the course of a single night. Produced by Holiday Films and distributed by Eagle-Lion Films, the movie explores themes of justice, faith, and last-minute salvation—all set against the grim backdrop of a prison execution.

Plot Summary
A young man known only as “The Boy” (Patrick Waltz, billed as Philip Shawn) awaits execution in a state prison’s newly installed electric chair—the first of its kind in the state. Though he insists he’s innocent, the clock ticks toward dawn, and his fate seems sealed.

His girlfriend (Sally Parr) waits in anguish at the warden’s house, while the prison staff and a crowd of reporters gather nearby, more fascinated by the novelty of the electric chair than the human tragedy unfolding. Meanwhile, a group of journalists begin to suspect that the crime’s method matches that of “Parrot” Farucco, a notorious criminal believed to have died years earlier.

In a twist of fate, Farucco is spotted at a roadside diner and apprehended just as the execution is about to proceed. He confesses, saving the boy at the last possible moment—suggesting that divine intervention may have played a role in the miracle.

Cast Highlights

• Sally Parr as The Girl
• Patrick Waltz (as Philip Shawn) as The Boy
• Walter Reed as The Chaplain
• Lee Frederick as Farucco / Blackie
• Houseley Stevenson as Pops
• Howard St. John as The Warden
• Louise Lorimer, Percy Helton, Sam Edwards, and King Donovan as reporters

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia

• Director Paul Sloane hadn’t worked in over a decade before making this film, and it would be one of his last
• The film was produced on a shoestring budget by a division often referred to as “Starvation Alley off Poverty Row”
• The electric chair was a central symbol, representing both technological progress and moral ambiguity
• The film’s structure—compressed time, multiple perspectives, and off-screen climax—was praised for its imaginative narrative despite limited resources