Night and Day (1946)

A fictionalized biopic of composer Cole Porter from his days at Yale in the 1910s through the height of his success to the 1940s.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Charles Hoffman (screen play), Leo Townsend (screen play)

Stars:

Cary Grant, Alexis Smith, Monty Woolley

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cary Grant	...	Cole Porter
Alexis Smith	...	Linda Lee Porter
Monty Woolley	...	Monty
Ginny Simms	...	Carole Hill
Jane Wyman	...	Gracie Harris
Eve Arden	...	Gabrielle
Victor Francen	...	Anatole Giron
Alan Hale	...	Leon Dowling
Dorothy Malone	...	Nancy
Tom D'Andrea	...	Tommy
Selena Royle	...	Kate Porter
Donald Woods	...	Ward Blackburn
Henry Stephenson	...	Omar Cole
Paul Cavanagh	...	Bart McClelland
Sig Ruman	...	Wilowski

Storyline

The fictionalized biography of composer Cole Porter from his days at Yale in the 1910s through the height of his success to the 1940s. The film's attempted biography matches many public myths surrounding Cole at the time, despite its lack of relationship with truth. For instance, truth and movie are different in regards to: his sex life (he was a gay man in a marriage of convenience with a divorcee friend), his relationship with his wife, Monty Wooley was a contemporary (not Professor), and his French military experience was a hoax.

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Plot Keywords:

1910s | year 1914 | actress playing herself | chorus girl | maternal grandfather | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Noche y día

Filming Locations:

Hill Grove Estate at 1051 Benedict Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the "You're the Top", Mel Tormé is the blond drummer on the bandstand.

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Goofs

At Christmas when Cole went home, his mother presents him with the sheet music to "An Old Fashioned Garden" that was published in 1919. Before this, a group of carolers sing "In the Still of the Night" which wasn't published until 1937.

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Quotes

Cole Porter: Thanks for all the flowers.
Monty Woolley: Yes, one can only send them to a man when he's flat on his back.

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Connections

Featured in Okay for Sound (1946)

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Soundtracks

In the Still of the Night
(1937) (uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Sung by Dorothy Malone
Later sung by Christmas Choral singers

User Reviews

Cary Grant in the life story of Cole Porter.

Thanks to the TCM channel, we can easily view old classics like this. Although nicely shot in Technicolor, the print is just a shade pastel, and looks better with the TV's color cranked up just a little bit. The movie starts in 1914, with Porter at Yale and already writing songs, even though he was a law student. However, at Christmas break, after he told his mother that he wasn't going back, he was going to focus on writing music instead, 'Oh, I could be a lawyer, but not a very good one. When I look at a lawbook I think of a song. When I read a legal case, I hear a melody.' Like almost any biographical movie, certain parts are fictionalized, and many things have to be left out. But this movie gives us the pleasure of many Cole Porter classics and a glimpse into the man behind the songs. A good movie for anyone who is a fan of Porter's, or American musical history in general.

Cary Grant was 41/42 when this was filmed, so it is a bit of a stretch imagining him, in the beginning, as a college student. This movie came out the same year (1946) as 'Notorious', and one year before one of my favorite Cary Grant movies, where he plays an angel in 'The Bishop's Wife (1947).'