This Could Be the Night (1957)

Jean Simmons (a school teacher) takes a secretarial job in a nightclub. The two club owners quibble about a lot, including her. Unfortunately, she develops an interest for the partner who disapproves of her employment at the club.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Cornelia Baird Gross (short stories), Isobel Lennart

Stars:

Jean Simmons, Paul Douglas, Anthony Franciosa

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 - Chef
Rafael Campos	...	Hussein Mohammed
Zasu Pitts	...	Mrs. Katie Shea - Landlady
Tom Helmore	...	Stowe Devlin
Murvyn Vye	...	Waxie London
Vaughn Taylor	...	Ziggy Dawit - Columnist
Frank Ferguson	...	Mr. Shea - Landlord
William Joyce	...	Bruce Cameron (as William Ogden Joyce)
James Todd	...	Mr. Hallerby

Storyline

Jean Simmons (a school teacher) takes a secretarial job in a nightclub. The two club owners quibble about a lot, including her. Unfortunately, she develops an interest for the partner who disapproves of her employment at the club.

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Plot Keywords:

nightclub | reference to casanova | gangster | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1957 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Protection is a Tough Racket

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,569,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Anthony Franciosa.

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Quotes

Stowe Devlin: I don't know what's come into your life lately, but what it's doing to your disposition is a crime.
Tony Armotti: Well, it's my life, my club and my disposition.

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Connections

References Dames (1934)

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Soundtracks

This Could be the Night
Music by Nicholas Brodszky
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Sung by Julie Wilson (uncredited) with Ray Anthony (uncredited) and his Orchestra

User Reviews

A Joe Pasternak Movie

THIS COULD BE THE NIGHT is the sort of marshmallow fluff that producer Joe Pasternak excelled at, given that expensive gloss that late 1950s MGM movies aspired to. Jean Simmons is a primary school teacher who takes an evening job as a secretary/bookkeeper at the night club run by ex-bootlegger Paul Douglas and his partner, Tony Franciosa (in his first screen role). She's a sheltered creature whom everyone wants to protect, and Tony wants her out of the place, but blah blah blah for an entertaining 105 minutes. Pasternak knew how to hire the talent and bring in the tubs of schmaltz, and director Robert Wise could glop it on flawlessly. Chicken fat on Fluffernutter: no wonder Paul Douglas' character has heartburn.

It's rendered painless by the distraction of various nightclub entertainment numbers like Ray Antony's band, Julie Wilson's singing, Neile Adams as a stripper (who never gets down to less than a bustiere), who wants nothing more than to win a stove and cook pancakes for mother Joan Blondell. It's a Damon Runyon world without the fractured grammar, and carried purely on the charm of the leads. Franciosa seems miscast. Although everyone acts afraid of him, he never impresses me as someone who is actually dangerous, and the plot-driven attraction between him and Simmons never seems more than that. Still, the individual vignettes that make up the movie are amusing and sustain it throughout, even though I need some antacid.