The Night of Nights

Last updated

The Night of Nights
Directed by Lewis Milestone
Written by David Ogden Stewart
Produced by George M. Arthur
Starring Pat O'Brien
Olympe Bradna
Roland Young
Reginald Gardiner
George E. Stone
Cinematography Leo Tover
Edited by Doane Harrison
Hugh Bennett
Music by Victor Young
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures (1939 Theatrical)
MCA/Universal Pictures (1958 Television)
Release date
  • December 1, 1939 (1939-12-01)(U.S.)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Night of Nights is a 1939 black-and-white drama film written by Donald Ogden Stewart and directed by Lewis Milestone for Paramount Pictures that starred Pat O'Brien, Olympe Bradna, and Roland Young. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

The film received positive contemporary reviews from publications such as The New York Times . [1] Director Milestone went on to other successful productions after the film came out, including Ocean's 11 and Pork Chop Hill .

Plot

Dan O'Farrell is a brilliant Broadway theater playwright, actor, and producer who has left the business. When he was younger, he and his partner Barry Keith-Trimble were preparing for the opening night of O'Farell's play Laughter by getting drunk. When it was time to perform, they were so intoxicated they ended up brawling on stage and fell into the orchestra pit. The two left the theater and continued drinking, until they learn that they have been suspended. At the same time, O'Farrell learns that his wife, actress Alyce Martelle, is pregnant and has left him for ruining her performance in Laughter as Toni. Despondent, he in left the business and went into seclusion.

Years later, his daughter Marie locates him and inspires him to return to Broadway. He decides to restage Laughter with its original cast, but with Marie substituting for Alyce in the part of Toni. Hoping to make a glorious return with a show that would be a hit with critics and the public alike, O'Farrell enlists the aid of friends to embark on a full-fledged comeback.

Cast

Reception

Frank S. Nugent wrote for The New York Times that the work of actors Pat O'Brien and Roland Young, had "been a labor of love and the film has profited accordingly." In noting that the plot centered on "the theatre and some of the curious folk who inhabit it", the newspaper's review stated that the film had an acceptable sentimentality and shared that the story was "an uncommonly interesting study of a man's mind, subtly written and directed, presented with honesty and commendable sincerity by Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Young and Olympe Bradna, and well worth any one's attention." The only objection in the review was that the stage play Laughter, the piece being produced within the film by O'Brien's character of Dan O'Farrell, "seemed to be the most awful tripe." [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Here Comes the Navy</i> 1934 film by Lloyd Bacon

Here Comes the Navy is a 1934 American romantic comedy film written by Earl Baldwin and Ben Markson and directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Gloria Stuart and Frank McHugh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broderick Crawford</span> American actor (1911–1986)

William Broderick Crawford was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Willie Stark in the film All the King's Men (1949), which earned him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Often cast in tough-guy or slob roles, he later achieved recognition for his starring role as Dan Mathews in the crime television series Highway Patrol (1955–1959).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Stuart</span> American actress and painter (1910–2010)

Gloria Frances Stuart was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was known for her roles in Pre-Code films, and garnered renewed fame late in life for her portrayal of Rose Dawson Calvert in James Cameron's epic romance Titanic (1997), one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Her performance in the film won her a Screen Actors Guild Award and earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglass Dumbrille</span> Canadian-American actor (1889–1974)

Douglass Rupert Dumbrille was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Moore</span> American actor

Owen Moore was an Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937.

<i>That Was Then... This Is Now</i> 1985 film by Christopher Cain

That Was Then... This Is Now is a 1985 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The film was directed by Christopher Cain, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and stars Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Jenkins</span> American actor (1900–1974)

Allen Curtis Jenkins was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to baby-boomer audiences as the voice of Officer Charlie Dibble in the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon series Top Cat (1961–62).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat O'Brien (actor)</span> American actor (1899–1983)

William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press. One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959). He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood star James Cagney. O'Brien also appeared on stage and television.

<i>Souls at Sea</i> 1937 film by Henry Hathaway

Souls at Sea is a 1937 American historical adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper and George Raft. Based on a story by Ted Lesser, the film is about a first mate on a slave ship who frees the slaves on the ship after a mutiny overthrows the ship's captain. The title of this film was spoofed in the Laurel and Hardy comedy film Saps at Sea (1940). The supporting cast features Frances Dee, Harry Carey, Joseph Schildkraut, Robert Cummings, George Zucco, Tully Marshall, Monte Blue, and an uncredited Alan Ladd and Edward Van Sloan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Holman</span> American actor (1862–1947)

Harry James Holman was an American actor. He appeared in approximately 130 films from 1923 to 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar O'Shea</span> Canadian-American actor

Oscar O'Shea was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953.

<i>The Last Train from Madrid</i> 1937 film by James P. Hogan

The Last Train from Madrid is a 1937 American war drama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres and Gilbert Roland. It is set during the Spanish Civil War. The film was one of the few contemporary Hollywood films made about the war.

<i>The Star Maker</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Roy Del Ruth

The Star Maker is a 1939 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, written by Frank Butler, Don Hartman and Arthur Caesar, and starring Bing Crosby, Louise Campbell, Linda Ware, Ned Sparks, Laura Hope Crews, Janet Waldo and Walter Damrosch. Filming started in Hollywood on April 17, 1939 and was finished in June. The film was released on August 25, 1939, by Paramount Pictures, and had its New York premiere on August 30, 1939. It was the only film in which Crosby played a happily married man.

<i>King of Chinatown</i> 1939 American film

King of Chinatown is a 1939 American crime film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Lillie Hayward and Irving Reis. The film stars Anna May Wong, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, Sidney Toler, Philip Ahn, Anthony Quinn and Bernadene Hayes. The film was released on March 17, 1939, by Paramount Pictures.

Three Cheers for Love is a 1936 American musical film directed by Ray McCarey, written by George Marion, Jr., and starring Eleanore Whitney, Robert Cummings, William Frawley, Elizabeth Patterson, Roscoe Karns and John Halliday. It was released on June 26, by Paramount Pictures.

Stars Over Broadway is a 1935 American musical film directed by William Keighley, written by Jerry Wald, Julius J. Epstein, & Pat C. Flick, and starring Pat O'Brien, Jane Froman, James Melton, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, and Eddie Conrad. It was released by Warner Bros. on November 23, 1935.

<i>Indianapolis Speedway</i> (film) 1939 film by Lloyd Bacon

Indianapolis Speedway is a 1939 American drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Sig Herzig and Wally Kline.The film stars Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien, John Payne, Gale Page, Frank McHugh and Grace Stafford. The film was released by Warner Bros. on August 5, 1939.

<i>Calling All Marines</i> 1939 film by John H. Auer

Calling All Marines is a 1939 American action film directed by John H. Auer and written by Earl Felton. The film stars Don "Red" Barry, Helen Mack, Warren Hymer, Robert Kent, Cy Kendall and Leon Ames. The film was released on September 20, 1939, by Republic Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Morris (actor)</span> American actor (1907–1941)

Adrian Michael Morris was an American actor of stage and film, and a younger brother of Chester Morris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Burgess</span> American actress

Betty Burgess was a singer, dancer, and actress in the United States. She married Duncan Laing in 1951 and then George Zaharias in January 1960. She co-starred in the 1935 film Coronado and the 1938 film I Demand Payment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frank S. Nugent (December 28, 1939). "Review: The Night of Nights (1939)". The New York Times . Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ Jesuits (1938). America. Vol. 62. America Press. p. 391.
  3. ↑ Focus on film, Issues 1-12. Tantivy Press. 1970. p. 56.
  4. ↑ Joseph R. Millichap (1981). Lewis Milestone . Filmmakers Series. Twayne Publishers. pp.  93. ISBN   0-8057-9281-3.
  5. ↑ Roger Dooley (1984). From Scarface to Scarlett: American films in the 1930s . Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. pp.  504. ISBN   0-15-633998-6.
  6. ↑ John Douglas Eames (1985). The Paramount story. Crown. p. 150. ISBN   0-517-55348-1.
  7. ↑ James Robert Parish, Gregory W. Mank (1980). The Hollywood reliables. Arlington House. pp. 114, 139.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.