''The Night of Nights'' is a 1939

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

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 ...

written by

Donald Ogden Stewart Donald Ogden Stewart (November 30, 1894 – August 2, 1980) was an American writer and screenwriter best known for his sophisticated golden age comedies and melodramas such as '' The Philadelphia Story'' (based on the play by Philip Barry), '' T ...

and directed by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing ''Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Weste ...

for

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 ...

that starred

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

Olympe Bradna Antoinette Olympe Bradna (12 August 1920 – 5 November 2012) was a French dancer and actress, who emigrated to the United States where she lived for the rest of her life. Early years Bradna was born in a dressing room in the Olympic Theatre in ...

, and

Roland Young Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

. The film received positive contemporary reviews from publications such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Director

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

went on to other successful productions after the film came out, including ''

Ocean's 11 ''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. The film stars five of the Rat Pack ...

'' and '' Pork Chop Hill''.

Background

Milestone directed ''The Night of Nights'' nine years after winning the 1930

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...

for ''

All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (german: Im Westen nichts Neues, lit=Nothing New in the West) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma du ...

''.

Plot

Dan O'Farrell (

) is a brilliant

Broadway theater Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the List of ...

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

as Dan O'Farrell *

as Marie Alyce O'Farrell *

as Barry Keith-Trimble *

Reginald Gardiner William Reginald Gardiner (27 February 1903 – 7 July 1980) was an English actor on the stage, in films and on television. Early years Gardiner was born in Wimbledon, England, and he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Katz, ...

as J. Neville Prime *

George E. Stone George E. Stone (born Gerschon Lichtenstein; May 18, 1903 – May 26, 1967) was a Polish-born American character actor in films, radio, and television. Life and career Stone was born Gerschon Lichtenstein in Łódź, Congress Poland, into ...

as Sammy Kayn *

Murray Alper Murray Alper (January 11, 1904 – November 16, 1984) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous television series, films, and Broadway productions. Biography Born in New York City in 1904, Alper worked on Broadway from 1927 to 1940 in a nu ...

as Muggins *

Richard Denning Richard Denning (March 27, 1914 – October 11, 1998) was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including ''Unknown Island'' (1948), ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' (1954), '' Target Earth'' (1954), ''Day the ...

as Call Boy * Mary Gordon as Pencil Woman *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, between 1923 and 1962. Laidlaw was bor ...

as Roustabout in Play *

Frank Melton Frank Ervin Melton (March 19, 1949 – May 7, 2009) was the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, United States, from 4 July 2005 until his death on 7 May 2009. Melton, an African American, defeated the city's first black mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr ...

as Newcomb * Charles Miller as Wilton *

D'Arcy Corrigan D'Arcy Corrigan (2 January 1870 – 25 December 1945) was an Irish lawyer who became an American film character actor. Life and career D'Arcy Corrigan was born in County Cork, playing over 50 film roles from 1925–1945. His early career incl ...

as Actor * Pat O'Malley as Actor *

Kenneth Harlan Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor of the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types. Early life Harlan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of George W. Harlan and ac ...

as Actor *

Oscar O'Shea Oscar O'Shea (8 October 1881 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953. Early years O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Acting O'Shea was a comic actor who earne ...

as Mr. Conway *

Russ Powell Russ Powell (September 16, 1875 – November 28, 1950) was an American film actor. He appeared in 186 films between 1915 and 1943. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * ''The Fa ...

as Pop *

Aileen Pringle Aileen Pringle (born Aileen Bisbee; July 23, 1895 – December 16, 1989) was an American stage and film actress during the silent film era. Biography Early life Born into a prominent and wealthy San Francisco family and educated in Europe, ...

as Perfume *

Frank Shannon Francis Connolly Shannon (27 July 1874 – 1 February 1959) was an Irish people, Irish actor and writer. Career A Stage (theatre), stage actor and silent film pioneer, Shannon made his screen debut in 1913's ''The Artist's Joke''. He la ...

as Frank *

Wyndham Standing Charles Wyndham Standing''Silent Film Necrology'', 2nd Edition by Eugene Michael Vazzana, c. 2001 page 497 (23 August 1880 – 1 February 1963) was an English film actor. Early years Standing was born in London, England and died in Los An ...

as Naval Commander *

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

as Acrobat * James Fawcett as Acrobat * Baldwin Cooke as Waiter * Tom Dugan as Bartender * Joe Gilbert as Attendant *

Carol Holloway Carol Holloway (April 30, 1892 – January 3, 1979) was an American actress of the silent film era. She appeared in more than 110 films between 1914 and 1941. She was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts and died in California. Partial fi ...

as Maid

Reception

Frank S. Nugent wrote for ''

'' that the work of actors

and

, 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 Sentimentality originally indicated the reliance on feelings as a guide to truth, but in current usage the term commonly connotes a reliance on shallow, uncomplicated emotions at the expense of reason. Sentimentalism in philosophy is a view in ...

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."

References

External links

''The Night of Nights''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''The Night of Nights''
at

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night of Nights, The 1939 films Paramount Pictures films 1939 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by Victor Young Films directed by Lewis Milestone Films set in New York (state) Films with screenplays by Donald Ogden Stewart 1930s English-language films 1930s American films