After Tonight

Like Dietrich (Dishonored) and Garbo (Mata Hari) before her, Constance Bennett finally got a chance to play a fascinating spy in "After Tonight". This was Constance's last picture under her RKO contract. At the time of it's release the film was a failure and RKO laid the blame at the feet of Constance Bennett. Isn't it always better to lay the blame at the feet of the departing star? However, looking at it now, Miss Bennett is one of the saving graces of the picture. Her performance is actually quite good and the production is well put together. The direction is a little sluggish at times and Gilbert Roland (who would marry Constance in 1940) is a little wooden. The ending comes as no surprise, but it was exactly what female audiences of the time expected from "women's pictures". They would attend a matinée, watch the heroine suffer through six or seven reels and then be presented with a happy ending. (How things have changed.) While not great, this movie is not that bad. The movie belongs to Constance Bennett and anyone who is a fan of hers should add this to their watch list if they have not already done so.

I would rate this film as a competent time killer, something that Depression audiences went to see to forget about their troubles for an hour or so and which we small screen home viewers can watch to slip out of contemporary reality and give our brains a break. Constance Bennett occupies space attractively and goes through the motions of "acting" in her role as a coolheaded (and well dressed) spy operating behind Austro-Hungarian lines for the Russians in World War I. It's fun and intriguing to watch her collect and pass on her secret messages, all the while growing ever closer romantically to a spy-hunting Austrian military official (Gilbert Roland). An extremely contrived ending perfectly suits this confection.

Constance Bennett was sublime in this. This film, unlike some others in which she starred, made it easy to see why she was a star. The plot is intriguing, if not overwhelmingly original, and the film is made very well. The theme song of the film, which Bennett sings (well), is memorable and sweet. Bennett is a glamour queen throughout and acts skillfully and pleasingly. The direction is overall excellent, the film moves at a brisk pace, and the sets and situations are not too stagy. It compares remarkably well to another spy melodrama of the period, Garbo's MATA HARI, and of the two, Bennett surprisingly comes out the winner (no disservice to the great Garbo intended, just some praise to the underrated and forgotten Bennett).

WWI has broken out. Everybody is desperate to buy train tickets out of Luxembourg, but they are only accepting gold or silver. A woman (Constance Bennett) is trying to get to Vienna, but she can't even change her money. Capt. Rudolf 'Rudy' Ritter (Gilbert Roland) comes to her rescue. The train is stopped short and she disappears before they even exchange names. Rudy is in the Austrian Ministry of War which is desperate to find Russian spies. His mystery lady turns out to be a spy pretending to be a nurse. Rudy is sent to root out persistent leaks in her sector.

This is fine. I like the premise of Rudy falling for a mystery lady on a train who turns out to be his target. I like less the coincidence of Rudy being sent to her location. If he's a good detective, I want him to search her specifically. He's in love and he should go look for her. Both actors are doing fine for their roles. I would like more intensity as it nears the climax. The ending turns into a funny bit about her name. I'm not looking for that, but it's fine.

The idea of a spy falling in love with one of the enemy is a literary cliché and has been used in the movies since the silent era. It is full of dramatic possibilities, but always faces the difficulty of resolving in the end the contest between loyalty and love. In this film, the problems are compounded by having Mexican-American Gilbert Roland portraying the Austrian counterintelligence agent with his Spanish accent intact, up against the all-American Constance Bennett as a Russian spy during what appears to be WW1. The two gradually fall in love without knowing each other's true identity. Despite the obvious drawbacks, all involved carry it off very well.

There are really two ending. The first, when they finally confront each other and reveal their true identities is dramatic, exciting and with a final surprising twist. The second is far-fetched and less satisfying. If you eliminate the final 5 minutes, the film is well-worth watching.