Intended as the first in a series of films, Night Editor turned out to be a one-shot, which is too bad; however, it must be admitted that the weakest part of Editor is the framing sequence, which is the only section that would have tied in to the proposed series anyway. The main body of Editor is a taut, gripping film noir thriller that features one of the most compelling, fascinating femme fatale in a genre that is littered with them. Janis Carter is nothing short of sensational, giving a definition to "icy blonde" that would make Alfred Hitchcock break out in a cold sweat. Her erotic intensity when confronted with a dead body early in the film is wonderfully disturbing, and the manner in which she exercises her cool control is mesmerizing. Opposite her, William Gargan doesn't stand a chance, and he's a bit of a weak link in the film. The character has to be manipulated and give in to his fatal flaw, but Gargan's performance lacks a badly needed steely undercurrent; it's better to watch an iron man bend and break than a straw man. Still, his work is by no means fatal. Henry Levin's tight direction and Hal Smith's equally tight screenplay overcome this, aided by Burnett Guffey's evocative camerawork. The film is stunted a bit by the low budget, but it doesn't let the lack of money keep it from being memorable.