Night After Night
Encyclopedia
Night After Night is a 1932 American drama film starring George Raft
, Constance Cummings
, and Mae West
in her first movie role. Others in the cast include Wynne Gibson
, Alison Skipworth
, Roscoe Karns
, Louis Calhern
, and Bradley Page.
Directed by Archie Mayo
, it was adapted for the screen by Vincent Lawrence and Kathryn Scola, based on the Cosmopolitan
magazine
story Single Night by Louis Bromfield
, with West allowed to contribute to her lines of dialogue
.
Although Night After Night is not a comedy
, it has many comedic moments, especially with the comic relief of West, who plays a supporting role in her screen debut. West portrays a fictionalized version of Texas Guinan
and the film remains primarily remembered as the launching pad for her career. Raft campaigned to cast his friend and former employer Guinan herself but the studio opted for West since she was nine years younger. Raft believed that the part would have launched a major film career for Guinan, which proved to be the case for West instead. (West was reportedly a fan of Guinan and incorporated some of the flamboyant Guinan's ideas into her own acts).
. Joe decides to instead pursue his old flame Iris Dawn (Gibson) just as Miss Healy begins to genuinely fall in love with him.
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
, Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
, and Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
in her first movie role. Others in the cast include Wynne Gibson
Wynne Gibson
Wynne Gibson was an American actress of the 1930s.Early in her career she had a small part in a film but had no special interest in appearing before the camera. It was the stage that interested her and she began her stage career in chorus and was soon playing leads...
, Alison Skipworth
Alison Skipworth
Alison Skipworth was an English stage and screen actress. She was born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom in London....
, Roscoe Karns
Roscoe Karns
Roscoe Karns was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964.He played the title role in the popular DuMont Television Network series Rocky King, Inside Detective from 1950 to 1954...
, Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern was an American stage and screen actor.- Early life :Louis Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up...
, and Bradley Page.
Directed by Archie Mayo
Archie Mayo
Archie Mayo was a movie director and stage actor who moved to Hollywood in 1915 and began working as a director in 1917....
, it was adapted for the screen by Vincent Lawrence and Kathryn Scola, based on the Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
story Single Night by Louis Bromfield
Louis Bromfield
Louis Bromfield was an American author and conservationist who gained international recognition winning the Pulitzer Prize and pioneering innovative scientific farming concepts.-Biography:...
, with West allowed to contribute to her lines of dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
.
Although Night After Night is not a comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, it has many comedic moments, especially with the comic relief of West, who plays a supporting role in her screen debut. West portrays a fictionalized version of Texas Guinan
Texas Guinan
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
and the film remains primarily remembered as the launching pad for her career. Raft campaigned to cast his friend and former employer Guinan herself but the studio opted for West since she was nine years younger. Raft believed that the part would have launched a major film career for Guinan, which proved to be the case for West instead. (West was reportedly a fan of Guinan and incorporated some of the flamboyant Guinan's ideas into her own acts).
Plot
Joe Anton (Raft) is a speakeasy owner who falls in love with socialite Miss Healy (Cummings). He takes lessons in high-class mannerisms from Mrs. Jellyman (Skipworth). Joe does not know that Miss Healy only pays attention to him because he lives in the fancy apartment that her family lost in the Wall Street Crash of 1929Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
. Joe decides to instead pursue his old flame Iris Dawn (Gibson) just as Miss Healy begins to genuinely fall in love with him.
Cast
- George RaftGeorge RaftGeorge Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
as Joe Anton - Constance CummingsConstance CummingsConstance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
as Miss Jerry Healy - Wynne GibsonWynne GibsonWynne Gibson was an American actress of the 1930s.Early in her career she had a small part in a film but had no special interest in appearing before the camera. It was the stage that interested her and she began her stage career in chorus and was soon playing leads...
as Iris Dawn - Mae WestMae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
as Maudie Triplett - Alison SkipworthAlison SkipworthAlison Skipworth was an English stage and screen actress. She was born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom in London....
as Miss Mabel Jellyman - Roscoe KarnsRoscoe KarnsRoscoe Karns was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964.He played the title role in the popular DuMont Television Network series Rocky King, Inside Detective from 1950 to 1954...
as Leo - Louis CalhernLouis CalhernLouis Calhern was an American stage and screen actor.- Early life :Louis Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up...
as Dick Bolton - Bradley Page as Frankie Guard
- Al HillAl Hill (actor)Al Hill was an American film character actor who appeared in over 320 films between 1927 and 1954, including the 1951 film The Girl on the Bridge.Hill died in 1954 on his 62nd birthday.-References:...
as Blainey - Harry Wallace as Jerky
- George Templeton as Patsy
- Marty Martyn as Malloy
- Tom KennedyTom KennedyJames Edward Narz , known professionally as Tom Kennedy, is an American television presenter best known for his work in game shows. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was the younger brother of host Jack Narz who was brother-in-law of host Bill Cullen...
as Tom (The Bartender)