''The Night of January 16th'' is a 1941 American film directed by William Clemens, based on a 1934

play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

. The story follows Steve Van Ruyle ( Robert Preston) and Kit Lane ( Ellen Drew) as they investigate the apparent murder of Lane's boss, in an attempt to clear her as a suspect.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

optioned the film rights to the play in 1934 and hired Rand to work on the screenplay, but they did not move forward and the option lapsed. The rights were later resold, first to

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

, then to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. Paramount brought in a new team of writers, and Rand played no role in the final production.

Plot

Steve Van Ruyle ( Robert Preston) is a sailor who inherits a position on the board of a company headed by Bjorn Faulkner ( Nils Asther). The board discovers $20 million has disappeared from the company's funds, and demands answers from Faulkner. That night Faulkner meets with a man called Anton Haraba, and is apparently thrown from his penthouse balcony to his death. Faulkner's secretary, Kit Lane ( Ellen Drew), enters the penthouse moments later, leading police to arrest her for Faulkner's murder. Van Ruyle decides to investigate the crime. Suspecting that Lane and Faulkner were embezzling the money together, he pays her bail so he can question her about the situation. They find Faulkner's diary, and the entries lead Van Ruyle to believe Lane is innocent. The district attorney ( Paul Stanton) disagrees, and Lane goes to trial. Van Ruyle attempts to prove Lane's innocence with fake evidence, but his ruse is discovered. The two flee with evidence from Faulkner's apartment, which they use to track down the mysterious Haraba. They trace him to a hotel in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, where they discover that "Haraba" is a pseudonym being used by Faulkner, who has faked his own death. When Faulkner takes Lane captive, Van Ruyle rushes with police to Faulkner's room to rescue her. Faulkner is arrested, and Van Ruyle and Lane decide to get married.

Cast

* Robert Preston as Steve Van Ruyle * Ellen Drew as Kit Lane * Nils Asther as Bjorn Faulkner * Clarence Kolb as Tilton * Willard Robertson as Inspector Donegan * Cecil Kellaway as Oscar, the Drunk * Donald Douglas as Attorney Polk * Paul Stanton as the District Attorney *

Margaret Hayes Margaret Hayes (born Florette Regina Ottenheimer; December 5, 1913 – January 26, 1977) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Early years Hayes was born in Baltimore, Maryland (some sources say Pottsville, Pennsylvania) into a ...

as Nancy Wakefield

Production

The movie rights to the play were initially purchased by

(MGM) in October 1934 as a possible vehicle for Loretta Young. They hired Rand to write a screenplay, but the project was scrapped. After MGM's option expired, Al Woods, who was producing the play on Broadway, considered making a movie version through a production company of his own. Instead, in 1938

bought the rights for $10,000, a fee split between Woods and Rand. RKO looked at Claudette Colbert and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

as possibilities to star, but they also gave up on the adaptation. The rights were resold to

in July 1939 for $35,000. Rand did not participate in the production at Paramount. Three other writers ( Delmer Daves, Robert Pirosh, and Eve Greene) were brought in to prepare a new screenplay. Paramount planned for the film to star

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

and

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which l ...

, who was to be loaned out by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, where he was on contract. Ameche refused to take the part, which delayed the start of the production, causing Stanwyck to drop out. As a result, Ameche was suspended for two weeks by 20th Century Fox and sued by Paramount for $170,000 in damages. Paramount considered Paulette Goddard and

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

for the roles before finally casting Drew and Asther. The production used the working titles ''Private Secretary'' and ''Secrets of a Secretary'', but the movie was released in 1941 as ''The Night of January 16th'', following the title of the play. The play took place entirely in a courtroom, and its best-known feature was that it used a jury selected from members of the audience, who would decide the defendant's guilt or innocence at the end. This feature was impossible to reproduce in a movie, so the new screenplay altered the plot significantly, focusing on Steve Van Ruyle, a character that did not exist in the play. Unlike the play where Faulkner is already dead, in the movie he appears as a living character who is then apparently murdered. The name of the prime suspect, Faulkner's assistant, was changed from Karen Andre to Kit Lane, and the action is not focused on the courtroom. Rand claimed only a single line from her original dialog appeared in the movie, which she dismissed as a "cheap, trashy vulgarity".

Reception

The film received little attention when it was released, and most of the reviews were negative. A review in '' Variety'' praised Drew's performance, but described the direction as "heavyhanded" and the plot as involving "an unbelievable set of coincidences".

References

Works cited

* * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Night of January 16th, The 1941 films 1941 crime drama films American crime drama films American films based on plays Films based on works by Ayn Rand Films directed by William Clemens Melodrama films Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films