This Could Be the Night (1957)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Cornelia Baird Gross (short stories)
Isobel Lennart (writer)

Release Date:

21 March 1958 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Reference To Casanova | Nightclub | Gangster

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Jean Simmons	...	Anne Leeds
Paul Douglas	...	Rocco
Anthony Franciosa	...	Tony Armotti
Julie Wilson	...	Ivy Corlane
Neile Adams	...	Patsy St. Clair
Joan Blondell	...	Crystal St. Clair
J. Carrol Naish	...	Leon
Rafael Campos	...	Hussein Mohammed
Zasu Pitts	...	Mrs. Katie Shea
Tom Helmore	...	Stowe Devlin
Murvyn Vye	...	Waxie London
Vaughn Taylor	...	Ziggy Dawit
Frank Ferguson	...	Mr. Shea
William Ogden Joyce	...	Bruce Cameron
James Todd	...	Mr. Hallerby

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Coming from Broadway, Anthony Franciosa made his debut in this film in a leading role.

Quotes:

Crystal St. Clair: I'm a girl. An old girl, mind you, but a girl nonetheless. There's certain things we don't tell guys.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Just You, Just Me

Charming and sexy

"This Could be the Night" is a charming fish-out-of-water story about a straight-laced girl who becomes a part-time secretary at a seedy nightclub in New York. Jean Simmons plays Anne, the self-possessed college grad who's trying to expand her horizons by taking a job where she's surrounded by "characters." The club staff quickly find out that she's a "nice girl" -- that is, a virgin -- and tacitly conspire to keep her that way. No-one takes this task more seriously than Tony, one of the owners, and a well-known lothario. Naturally he's falling for her and is determined to keep her out of every man's clutches, especially his own.

The chemistry between Simmons and Fransciosa sizzles and all the characters' tiptoeing around the word "virgin" definitely gives the movie more sexual overtones than you would expect. The club staff are a likeable bunch -- from busboy Hassan, whose father won't let him change his name until he passes algebra, to strip-dancer Patsy, who really wants to be a cook. The dialogue is snappy and intelligent and the characters stay true to the end.