Tonight or Never (1931)

A young opera singer finds her career stalled because of her cold and passionless performances, until she finds romance with a handsome admirer.

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Fanny Hatton (adaptation), Frederic Hatton (adaptation),

Stars:

Gloria Swanson, Melvyn Douglas, Alison Skipworth

Cast

Cast overview:
Gloria Swanson	...	Nella Vago
Melvyn Douglas	...	Jim Fletcher
Alison Skipworth	...	Marchesa Bianca San Giovanni
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Rudig
Robert Greig	...	Conrad
Warburton Gamble	...	Count Albert von Gronac
Greta Meyer	...	Emma
Boris Karloff	...	Waiter

Storyline

A young opera singer finds her career stalled because of her cold and passionless performances, until she finds romance with a handsome admirer.

---

Plot Keywords:

based on play | based on novel

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 1934 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Cette nuit ou jamais

Filming Locations:

United Artists Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The, Feature Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Melvyn Douglas.

---

Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Gloria Swanson (1961)

User Reviews

Elegant early talkie, suffers from stage origins.

Gloria Swanson proves easily here what a good talkie actress she could have been. She is funny and charming, and dressed superbly by Coco Chanel. Melvyn Douglas works well with her, but there is way too much chatter in this adaptation from a hit stage play. The screen-writers didn't seem to realise the kind of expansion they needed to give the piece to make it cinema rather than a filmed stage play. Still, in the lovingly restored print from UCLA that is on the DVD, the film looks great - as does glorious Gloria!