A Night to Remember

I have really enjoyed watching this fun murder mystery with Loretta Young and Brian Ahern. Not high drama or suspense but more a of comedy murder mystery. From Hollywoods golden era and they just don't make them like this anymore. Loretta Young was always very watchable and this role is no exception. Brian Ahern had a comedic flair that comes through in this flick. The two of them are wonderful together and the husband and wife banter is delightful. The rest of the cast includes some of Hollywoods best character actors in solid support of the stars. It is just great fun to watch and these kind of films are, in my opinion, what made the Golden Era of motion pictures so great. Hope you all enjoy.

This is not to be confused with the 1958 film, the definitive film version of the 1912 Titanic disaster, of the same name. The two couldn't be more different in pretty much every way. Getting that quickly out of the way, there were a couple of reasons for wanting to see 1942's 'A Night to Remember'. Being somebody that loves it when films mix comedy and mystery, many classic examples of this, and somebody that finds Loretta Young more than watchable.

Something she absolutely is here, more than that even. There are films that do do quite a bit better at mixing comedy and mystery, to me 'A Night to Remember' doesn't execute either perfectly and is far from perfect as an overall film. 'A Night to Remember' is still worth watching, as it is a mostly entertaining, well photographed and intriguing film that has a good cast on paper that all deliver in their own way (even if all have done better).

A lot is done right in 'A Night to Remember'. It may not be a "lavish" film but there is nothing cheap-looking about the production values either. The photography is done with a good deal of style and there is a moodiness to the lighting. The music has atmosphere and didn't seem too light to me. The direction is not exactly exceptional or distinguished, but it's far from slack, it opens up the action enough and keeps things moving nicely.

Furthermore there are a fair share of very amusing parts, not of the witty kind but in an endearingly silly and not peurile sort of way. The dialogue raises a smile, is tight and is intriguing. There is a solid mystery that goes at a generally decent clip and is not obvious or simplistic thanks to some neat turns. It keeps one guessing and has some tension that balances solidly enough with the humour generally. Young has a lot of fun in her role and is a lot of fun herself, with a natural charm, determination and good comic timing. Brian Aherne has the more difficult role, and brings grit and charisma without taking it too seriously. They may not be William Powell and Myrna Loy in terms of chemistry, but they do make for a good pairing. The supporting cast are all good too, Gale Sondergaard deserved a lot more screen-time but she does wonders with what she has.

However, a few of the gags did fall flat as a result of being over-exposed to the point of tedium, being lacking in variety and being quite cheesy (like with the turtle). The ending did strike me as rather rushed and lacking in excitement.

Not all the pacing is quite there, with some of the material feeling over-stretched.

Overall, fun and worthwhile if not great. 7/10

A blend of murder mystery and humor, taking place nearly all within a creepy apartment complex, where most of the residents are up tight about something, and scary things tend to happen. My review title comes from another horror-comedy, released the year before, featuring the East Side Boys......Brian Aherne's character is a well established writer of murder mysteries, who, ironically, will soon be caught up in trying to solve a real murder mystery, which apparently took place in their apartment while they were out.....They should have expected trouble, moving into #13 Gay Street, Greenwich Village. They came some days before expected, thus the electricity in their apt. wasn't yet turned on. As they arrived in the dark, they needed candles to light their way, making the scene more scary. Several times a sizable terrapin , crawling on the floor, is the culprit, in a running gag. Another recurring gag has Aherne having great trouble opening a door, which others have no problem with. Each of the stars faint a couple of times, most notably when each thought the other was the murder victim.......You may find the screen play much contrived, and rather chaotic. But, I think the combo of horror and comedy is a winner, as shown by various other practitioners. Loretta is as gorgeous and sexy as I've ever seen her. Aherne much reminds me, in his speech, easy charm and looks, of Errol Flynn, and is great for his role. He also made a great Emperor Maximillian, in "Juarez". Thus, if you should find the screenplay too opaque, hopefully, the stars will keep you interested.

A couple years before this film debuted, Warner Brothers Studio made a similar (and significantly better) film called FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK. Like A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, the film is about a writer who investigates a murder. The Errol Flynn film was terrific--highly under-appreciated. However, this reworking of the story leaves a bit to be desired--though it's still worth watching.

The film begins with a married couple moving into a Greenwich Village apartment. The husband writes murder mysteries but wants to write a romance set in the Village, so his wife arranges to rent this basement apartment to give him inspiration. However, instead of encouraging him to write about romance or the Bohemian lifestyle, they are plunged into a murder mystery themselves when a dead man is discovered just outside their apartment. And, because it's a movie, the couple decide to investigate the mystery themselves.

The film is meant as a light comedy and although it's not a bad film, sometimes it seemed to try too hard to be funny--producing some rather forced laughs. For example, while the double-fainting gag made me laugh, it actually was a detriment to the story because the humor was rather low, to say the least. Also, the running gag involving the turtle really wore thin--it just wasn't funny the first time nor did it make sense--so naturally, they did it again and again.

Some things I did like were the husband's (Brian Ahern) repeatedly failed attempts to act manly. Also, while it was a dopey film, Loretta Young and Ahern at least gave it their best. Still, FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK succeeded because the important thing was the plot and dopey humor was not inserted illogically into the plot. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is worth seeing but don't expect any magic.

By the way, pay attention to the police inspector. It's Sydney Toler, who at the same time period he made this film he was also appearing in the Charlie Chan series.

I had never heard of this film until it popped up on Turner Classic Movies. So, I settled down one evening to view it and almost turned it off after the first 20 minutes. The plot...adequately described in other reviews here...is...well...sort of dumb with a number of inconsistencies. From my perspective, what makes this film worth watching, and what kept me watching are the performances and witty dialog. A somewhat wacky screwball comedy (of sorts) is not what I'm used to with Loretta Young, and I rather enjoyed her in this role. And, I'm not that familiar with Brian Aherne, but -- once you accept the absurdity of many plot aspects -- his performance is engaging. Much of the dialog between them can be described as "snappy", and perhaps a poor man's Nick and Nora. The dialog between Aherne and the cops -- who aren't as befuddled as Aherne suspects -- is often clever, too. You'll recognize a couple of the supporting actors, particularly Sidney Toler and Gale Sondergaard (rather restrained here and not half so evil as her roles often were), but I always enjoy watching Donald MacBridge -- the master of the "slow burn". Is this a great movie? No. But, given the limitations of the script, it's quite entertaining.