"This Is The Night" is noteworthy primarily because it marks Cary Grant's feature debut, but can stand on its own as a prime example of Pre-Code comedy. Some of the subject matter and situations must have been regarded as naughty for its time, but as with many of Hollywood's Pre-code movies it is pretty tame by today's standards.It is quite funny, but you have to give it a chance to warm up, as it takes a few minutes to get underway. The humor is very subtle and probably wouldn't go over well with modern audiences (see Adam Sandler). It comes with some unique quirks, like Cary Grant delivering a few lines in song, but once into the picture some old pros take over. Roland Young and Charles Ruggles, two veterans of the stage, have some of the best exchanges of situational dialogue and are aided by Thelma Todd, a comedienne who had a bright future but who was murdered around the time of the film's release. Her murder was never solved. Cary Grant plays it straight and Lili Damita is everyone's love interest but is the weakest member of the cast. It is very much like a filmed play, with just a few indoor sets, and there are only six cast members. The blue-tinted nighttime scenes were a nice, unexpected touch.In short, it is well worth your time but give it a chance to get past the slow beginning. It is actually a quick 80 minutes.

This Is the Night (1932) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Hilarious pre-code from Paramount has Roland Young playing Gerald Gray, a man dating a married woman (Thelma Todd). Things take a turn for the worse when the couple return to her home to find her husband (Cary Grant) there and in order to stay out of trouble the man's best friend (Charles Ruggles) tells the husband that the friend is actually married and the happy couple are on their way to Venice. The husband, not a bit fooled, decides to go along on the trip so the friend must find a fake wife (Lili Damita) to go along with the plan. This is a remake of a 1926 film and it's based on the play Naughty Cinderella. The naughty is certainly correct because this Paramount comedy has quite a few pre-code elements that would soon find themselves banned. Needless to say, having a film centered around a married woman dating other men was certainly a no no but it makes for one great laugh after another. After viewing the film I was really shocked to see that it wasn't more popular because the familiar cast is terrific and we get so many sexual jokes that it really stands out. The dialogue certainly implies many dirty jokes including one bit about "B.J." as well as our two lead actresses showing some skin. Of course we don't get any actual nudity but there's a very charming scene of Damita proving she can be naughty by taking her clothes off and coming off like a vixen. There's also a running joke with Todd constantly getting her clothes ripped off in a variety of ways. Both women have their legs constantly being shown as well as every other bit of skin they can get on camera. These elements certainly give the film a fresh touch and a pretty sexual one as well. Then we have the terrific performances that make the film memorable. Damita, who I had just seen in FRIENDS AND LOVERS, is must better here and in fact turns in a hilarious performance. I was really shocked to see how great she was here because her comic timing is right on the mark and she also plays the more dramatic, romantic moments just as well. Her coming timing really makes her character come to life and her previously mentioned seduction scene was priceless. Ruggles nearly steals the film as the silly assistant who gets this whole thing started. Todd delivers one of the best performances I've seen from her as her timing is great and just check out the wonderful scene where her married character gets jealous by her lover's fake wife. Young is also right on the mark and his chemistry with Damita is great. Then we have Cary Grant in his first role. I was surprised to see how natural he was but he plays the jerkish husband to perfection. I think the film starts to wear thin during the final act when every ones love starts to pour out but everything leading up to this is quite priceless. The performances, sexuality and laughs make this a must-see for fans of classic cinema.

Claire (Thelma Todd) and Gerald (Roland Young) are carrying on a rather heated affair, but just as they are about to go away together to Venice, Claire's javelin-throwing husband Stephen (Cary Grant) returns home. In order to dispel his distrust, Gerald hires a woman to pose as his wife. Germaine (Lili Damita) is a hungry young French actress who poses as a more experienced woman named Chou Chou. She vamps Gerald incessantly while Stephen is around, and she is so successful that she makes Claire insanely jealous.This sing-songy film is a delight to watch. It is fast-paced, comedic, and filled with a stellar cast, but it is not well known today. Film collectors find it interesting because it marks Cary Grant's first screen appearance and because it is one of the few films of Lili Damita, a popular but heavily-accented French star. Her career fizzled quite quickly, but not before she appeared with stars like Gary Cooper and Laurence Olivier.Fans of the pre-code era will enjoy this one quite a lot, as it is peppered with naughty jokes ("I was living in Cin--, I was Naughty.") and a running gag about Todd losing her clothes.

A slight-but-enjoyable romantic farce, THIS IS THE NIGHT is an entertaining little film that should earn a place in cinematic history simply because it contains the feature film debut of Cary Grant, who soon become arguably the most famous movie star of all time. Although he is regulated to playing a largely secondary character, Grant's incomparable screen presence makes him a standout from the very start. Playing an Olympic athlete, Grant makes his entrance into the world of cinema with a light step and a sharp wit - singing about apartment keys, no less! It's a memorable debut, and there are numerous other moments throughout the picture in which Grant demonstrates much of the early promise that would soon flower into full-throttle, megawatt star power in just a few short years.As for the rest of the film, it is a reasonably solid comedy of adulterous affairs, with some surprisingly risqué elements that were permitted in the days before the Production Code was heavily enforced due to pressure from the National Legion of Decency in l933. The film begins delightfully as a light comedic ballet, with director Frank Turtle providing some truly madcap slapstick and even recitative singing that sets the viewer up for a knockabout farce. Unfortunately, this progressively free-wheeling atmosphere is largely abandoned in the film's last half, which plays out in a more or less predictable manner. The film still holds up perfectly well, however, until the too-conservative ending, which is a big disappointment after over 70 minutes of uninhibited fun.On the plus side, the film is very well cast, and the actors manage to keep the picture engaging even after the initial momentum of the exhilarating first-half is long gone. Although she makes somewhat of an delayed entrance, Lili Damita brings both pluck and intelligence to the female lead, Roland Young makes the transformation of his somewhat unsympathetic character highly believable, and both Grant and Charles Ruggles offer top-notch support. The lovely Thelma Todd also makes the most of a rather bland role, and her talent for making a relatively thankless character seem genuinely inspired serves as a bittersweet reminder of yet another comedic great that was taken from us way too soon. In the end, THIS IS THE NIGHT is far too inconsistent to ever be considered a great movie, but it sure is a lot of fun!