There's little pretense in "Nightfalls;" it's made on a small budget and is only intended as a somewhat artful entertainment. And, in this, it succeeds.
Perhaps what's most remarkable about the film is its several expressions of affection. Remember that? If it's non-existent on TV, it's also extremely rare in movies that don't fit the romantic comedy genre, where it can occasionally sneak in today, and was far more common in the 1930s and 1940s.
Here it gets play in the budding relationship between Vanning (Aldo Rey) and Marie Gardner (Ann Bancroft), but also in the marriage of Ben (James Gregory) and Laura (Jocelyn Brando). It also seems to appear in the longtime friendship between Vanning and his old doctor buddy, whose younger wife he's close friends with.
How does this exceptional quality show? Mainly in Rey's open & engaging smiles when he's in the presence of Bancroft. Although it's Bancroft who is actually conveying & delivering the most and brightest affection, it's most noteworthy in Vanning, simply because he's male. Is it his virility and gruff voice that allows this unusual expressiveness? No, I think it's rather that Rey is not your typical leading actor, nor is Tourneur your typical male director, and that affection is hardly foreign to their lives. In fact, it may be prized by both, unintentionally in the former and intentionally in the latter, which is why it's not excised from the script.
In the case of Ben & Laura, the affection seems inherent in what appears to be a much more equal relationship than is generally shown on screen, especially in the film noir genre. The typical devoted, clingy, and overwrought detective's wife is expelled. Laura is fully involved (from home) in his investigation and is updated daily on the latest clues and findings. It's refreshingly adult, and highly welcomed, as is the affection the two radiate.
But "Nightfall's" interest in affection doesn't end here--not without an example of its opposite in the two gangsters. The psycho-killer partner very convincingly pleads his profound attachment to his boss, but only as a deadly maneuver with his life on the line. This one-way, "sincerely" expressed affection is only effective because encapsulated and final, and because the top dog is "soft." But not all "suckers" lose, though, as "Nightfall" amply points out.
