''Lady for a Night'' is a 1942 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

and

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

. The World War II B-17 bomber the ''Memphis Belle'' is named after a steamboat in this film. It is also known as ''The Lady from New Orleans'', ''Memphis Belle'' and ''Lady of New Orleans''. The

social climber A ''parvenu'' is a person who is a relative newcomer to a high-ranking socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb ''parvenir'' (to reach, to arrive, to manage to do something). Orig ...

female owner of a casino

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

gains the ownership of

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

, and negotiates her marriage to the previous owner in order to gain entry in the upper class. Her new in-laws resent her, and she survives a

poisoning A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not to ...

attempt. When her husband is murdered instead, the widow is framed for his murder.

Plot

Social climber Jenny Blake owns the casino

''Memphis Belle'', together with the influential Jack Morgan. Most of the customers are from the upper class, but they have little respect for Jenny and her - in their opinion - vulgar occupation. Jack is secretly in love with Jenny. To show her what it really is she aspires to, he arranges for her to be made queen of the Mardi Gras festivities. This angers the upper crust of society, and she is mocked in public. However, she does not give up. She decides to use one of the old plantation owners, Alan Alderson, to fulfill her dream. Alan is burdened with debt and manages to lose his

, "The Shadows", gambling at the casino. Jenny offers to forgive his debts if he marries her. Alan agrees, and Jenny secures a respectable position in society. Jack is devastated by Jenny's marriage, and does not try to save the ''Memphis Belle'' when it catches fire. Everyone in Alan's family has a hard time accepting Jenny, except his aunt Katherine, who is suffering from mental illness. Jack goes on to sabotage the relationship between Jenny and Alan. He is helped by Alan's aunt Julia. Julia starts off with insinuations that Jenny has an improper relation with Jack and goes on to try to ruin a ball Jenny is hosting. Jack saves Jenny and the ball by using his political influence to make the guests attend, even though Julia has tried to keep them away. Jenny is almost killed when Julia goes on to let her ride in a carriage pulled by a blind horse. Jenny retaliates by ordering Julia to leave the plantation. The infuriated Julia then mixes a poisoned drink meant for Jenny, but Alan beats her to it and dies from drinking it. Jenny is accused of murdering her husband and put on trial. Aunt Katherine is the only person who knows that Julia mixed the drink, but she is forced by her sister to testify against Jenny in court. Jenny is convicted of murder, but Katherine soon confesses that it was Julia who mixed the drink, and a few years earlier also killed Katherine's fiancé in a fit of jealousy. Jenny is cleared of all charges. She meets Jack and they start working together again. She finally gives up her dream to climb the social ladder and accepts Jack's proposal to marry him.

Cast

as Jenny "Jen" Blake Alderson *

as Jackson Morgan * Ray Middleton as Alan Alderson *

Philip Merivale Philip Merivale (2 November 1886 – 12 March 1946) was an English film and stage actor and screenwriter. Life and career Merivale was born in Rehutia, Manickpur, India, to railway engineer Walter Merivale (1855–1902) and Emma Magda ...

as Stephen Alderson *

Blanche Yurka Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka, June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway debu ...

as Julia Anderson *

Edith Barrett Edith Barrett (born Edith Barrett Williams; January 19, 1907 – February 22, 1977) was an American actress. She was a romantic star on Broadway and in the Little Theatre Movement in New England summer stock from the mid-1920s to the late 1930s ...

as Katherine Alderson *

Leonid Kinskey Leonid Kinskey (1893/1894 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as "Sascha" in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky. Life and career Kinskey ...

as Boris, Jack's Bodyguard * Hattie Noel as Chloe, Jenny's Maid *

Montagu Love Montagu Love (15 March 1877 – 17 May 1943) was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor. Early years Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Love was the son of Harry Love and Fanny Louisa Love, née Poad; his father was listed as accountant ...

as Judge *

Carmel Myers Carmel Myers (April 9, 1899 – November 9, 1980) was an American actress who achieved her greatest successes in silent film. Early life Myers was born in San Francisco, the daughter of Isidore Myers, a Russian-Jewish rabbi who was born in ...

as Mrs. Dickson, the Mayor's Wife *

Dorothy Burgess Dorothy Burgess (March 4, 1907 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and motion-picture actress. Family, education Born in Los Angeles in 1907, Burgess was a niece of Fay Bainter. On her father's side, she was related to David C. Montgome ...

as Flo *

Guy Usher James Guy Usher (May 9, 1883 – June 16, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1932 and 1943. Born in Mason City, Iowa, Usher acted on stage before venturing into films. Billed as James Guy Usher, h ...

as Governor * Ivan Miller as Mayor Dickson * Patricia Knox as Mabel *

Lew Payton Lew Payton (June 27, 1874 – May 27, 1945) was an African American film actor, stage performer, and writer known for several films and stage productions including '' Chocolate Dandies'' with Josephine Baker, '' Smash Your Baggage'' (1932), ''Je ...

as Napoleon, Alderson's Servant

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady For A Night 1942 films 1942 romantic drama films 1940s historical drama films 1940s historical romance films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films American historical drama films American historical romance films Films directed by Leigh Jason Films scored by David Buttolph Films set in the 1870s Films set in Memphis, Tennessee Films about gambling Republic Pictures films 1940s English-language films Films with screenplays by Garrett Fort Films set on boats Films set on farms Films about marriage Films about murder Poisoning in film 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links