Blues in the Night
While playing in a bar in St. Louis, jazz pianist Jigger Pine meets aspiring clarinetist Nickie Haroyen who tries to convince him to put together a jazz band. After a drunk patron starts a fight, Nickie and Jigger are thrown in jail with Jigger's drummer and bassist. They hear a prisoner singing a blues song and are inspired to set out for New Orleans where they hope to learn how to perfect an authentic bluesy sound. There they meet fast-talking trumpeter Leo and his wife Character who is a talented singer. Together, the quintet rides the rails, honing their technique in dive bars across the country.
One day while sheltering in a boxcar they meet a mysterious stranger named Del who first robs them and then, impressed by their camaraderie, offers them a job in a New Jersey roadhouse called The Jungle. The group discovers that the roadhouse is actually owned by Del's former partners in crime, aspiring singer Kay, accomplice Sam and her crippled sidekick Brad. Del has escaped from jail to retrieve his share of a robbery the three committed, but when Kay tells him they have spent all the money, he decides to take over The Jungle and transform it into an illegal gambling club. Kay tries to rekindle her past romance with Del, but he rejects her and she turns her attention to Leo. Although the band is happy playing their brand of jazz each night at the club, Character is worried about Leo and Kay. Jigger reveals to Leo that Character is pregnant and he decides to give up Kay. She soon sets her sights on Jigger who is secretly in love with her. When Sam tries to get her to alert the police to Del's whereabouts, she tells Del and Sam is killed by Del's henchmen. Del orders her to leave The Jungle so she convinces Jigger to quit the band and go to New York City to join a commercial, mainstream jazz band.
Although successful, Jigger is unhappy in his new life, feeling he is not playing authentic jazz. Kay finally grows bored of life with Jigger and leaves him when he tells her he is quitting the band. He descends into alcoholism and has a mental breakdown. His friends find him and help nurse him back to health, hiding the fact that Character's baby has died. They return to The Jungle where Jigger begins playing again, but Kay shows up without any money looking for help. She and Del have a quarrel which begins to turn violent but Jigger comes to her defense, fights with Del. During that struggle, Kay gets Del's gun shoots and kills him. Jigger decides to protect Kay and help her escape from the police, but Brad hears their plans and realizes that Kay is leaving forever. The band shows up and try to talk Jigger out of leaving with Kay, revealing that Character lost the baby. They compare Jigger's mental problems with Brad being a cripple, stating that Brad has no choice about how he will end up but Jigger does have a choice. Brad overhears the band. He joins Kay in Del's car where she was waiting for Jigger. Brad drives away with her into a violent storm, deliberately wrecking the car so they are both killed. The band resolves to leave The Jungle behind and they return to their life on the road, happy to again be playing their preferred version of jazz.
revenge, murder, violence