Her Big Night (1926) User Reviews

Local Girl Makes Good

[rogerskarsten · 13 July 2004]

Laura La Plante shines in this delightful comedy of mistaken identity. As the shop-girl Florence, whose remarkable resemblance to silent film star Daphne Dix could result in a handsome windfall to support her boyfriend's career aspirations, La Plante plays both roles with charm, grace, and delightful exasperation at the complications which inevitably ensue. The two characters also appear together in a couple of well-edited split-screen scenes.

The rest of the cast is top-notch and equally memorable in their roles. Einar Hanson as Florence's boyfriend; Zasu Pitts as her roommate; and especially the incomparable Mark Swain and Tully Marshall as the owner of Daphne's movie studio and a muckraking scandalmonger, respectively. They lend outstanding support to this comedy film that keeps its perfectly-paced momentum to the very end.

An almost perfect comedy.

[eldorado · 25 November 1998]

An unalloyed comedy delight. Laura La Plante kicks up her heels as Frances, a shopgirl who closely resembles big movie star Daphne Dix, and as the impetuous movie star herself. One night when the star is frolicking aboard a millionaire's yacht when she should be attending the big premiere of her latest film, her studio's press agent spots Frances and offers her $1,000 to pose as Miss Dix at the premiere and throw a few kisses to her loyal fans. The deception works, but it also leads to several humorous complications that keep this frothy comedy bubbling until the final fade-out.

An almost perfect comedy

[daneldorado · 13 September 2011]

An unalloyed comedy delight. Laura La Plante kicks up her heels as Frances, a shopgirl who closely resembles big movie star Daphne Dix, and as the impetuous movie star herself. One night when the star is frolicking aboard a millionaire's yacht when she should be attending the big premiere of her latest film, her studio's press agent spots Frances and offers her a thousand dollars to pose as Miss Dix at the premiere and throw a few kisses to her loyal fans. The deception works, but it also leads to several humorous complications that keep this frothy comedy bubbling until the final fade-out.

Two outstanding scenes: In one, Miss Dix's husband (John Roche) spots Frances -- as Daphne -- with another male friend. Thinking it's his own wife and that she's cheating, Roche puts Frances over his knee and spanks her. A friend comes to explain the error, but too late to save Frances' hide.

In the closing scene, we can see Frances and Daphne together -- although they are played by the same actress, Laura LaPlante. They have become friends through the turbulent events of that night, and say goodbye with a kiss. Hey, it's Laura LaPlante, kissing HERSELF! Even in 1926, they got this type of scene perfect... and during the friendly kiss, the scene fades to black and the film ends triumphantly.

Dan Navarro (daneldorado93yahoo.com)