Happy Ever After

It's quite unusual to see David Niven play what amounts to the baddie, but he does it quite enjoyably here in this story of rural Irish shenanigans. When the death-defying "Gen. O'Leary" (AE Matthews) goes hunting and finally fails with the defying bit, his estate falls to great-nephew "Jasper" (Niven) who arrives determined to shake things up. No more country balls, fêtes, community functions - all of that is to go the way of the dodo. The new squire is a pompous ass who's only interested in cash! With many of the locals now facing bankruptcy, it seems that only "Serena" (Yvonne De Carlo) will give him a second look. She likes his money. He likes his money - and to spend it on her, so the pair look like a match made in heaven. With the villagers facing ruination it might just be that their only recourse is to the legendary ghost of the mansion. Might it be able to thwart the venal ambitions of their new landlord? It's a whimsical adventure this with a decent effort from the star and from De Carlo, who gel quite well together as the story trots along for an admittedly overlong ninety minutes. It's quite wittily written now and again, though also a little prone to stereotyping too, and with engaging contributions from the always reliable Barry Fitzgerald and Liam Redmond, it makes for an amiable vehicle for a charismatic star going through the motions. Not great, no, but amiable enough.

This 1954 British-made comedy is set in Rathbarney (Ireland) - so the opening credits read. Its population is 507½, including, in parentheses, "the ghost, two oldest inhabitants, three leprechauns and a number of begorrahs." The best known of the cast are David Niven as Jasper O'Leary, Barry Fitzgerald as Thady O'Heggarty, and Yvonne De Carlo as Serena McGlusky.

Jasper turns the local town upside down when he fails to live up to the traditions and goodwill that his great uncle, General O'Leary had maintained as the master of the O'Leary estate. The good general, played by A.E. Matthews, dies after catching pneumonia from falling over a jump into a puddle when his horse bolted. The good general was 82 years old, and apparently his horse was older in horse years. George Cole and Joseph Tomelty head a list of supporting actors that provide most of the comedy. De Carlo plays a gold-digger whom Jasper has eyes for and who would be very willing to accept him in marriage.

This is a very funny film, one of the few in which Niven plays a despicable character. He's an actual cad here, but that's essential for the comedy that is provided mostly by the towns folk. Well, a few well-intentioned lads from the pub. The last half of the film is laugh-out-loud funny. Various groups of the lads try to bump off Jasper and keep foiling one another.

This film was produced and directed by Italian filmmaker Mario Zampi. He made fewer than 20 films and directed only 15 of which half a dozen were comedies. But three of those comedies have the leading comedy actors of the day and are among the best of British comedies of all time. They include, "Laughter in Paradise" of 1951, "Your Past is Showing" of 1957 and "Too Many Crooks" of 1959. They are filled with hilarious antics and very funny dialog throughout.

"Tonight's the Night," (aka, "Happy Ever After") isn't at the level of those three films, but it is a very funny and enjoyable comedy that most people should enjoy.

Here's my favorite line from the film. Serena, "Well, you're broke, and I've only got that three and four pence my husband left me. What are we going to live on?" Jasper, "I'll think of someone."

I have to agree with the consensus here that this a comic gem of its type. In its depiction of Irish country life it reminded me a lot of "The Quiet Man," right down to Barry Fitzgerald playing essentially the same character as in that flick, though its production values are not as high and it does not achieve the exalted rank John Ford attained with that movie. Still it's a sparkling comedy with a lot of cracklingly excellent dialogue. The viewer who commented that Niven shows his "dark side" is a bit off the mark, as this is hardly a movie about character development and Niven's character is basically a cartoon, very reminiscent of his Phileas Fogg in "Around the World in 80 Days." He may be nasty but it's hard to dislike him entirely. Yvonne deCarlo does excellent work here. She's great with accents; she's as convincing as an Irish woman here as she was as an Algerian in "The Captain's Paradise." Though the movie is not an Ealing Studios production, it has all the hallmarks of the best of that great studio's comedies in the post-WWII period. Be sure to catch this if you get the chance (thanks, TCM!).

Really love this movie. David Niven just sparkles and has some of the best lines of his illustrious career, especially the ending one. Supporting cast is superlative too. Everyone really seemed to enjoy making the movie. In addition the perfect song to set the mood. Please, someone put it one DVD or VHS.

On TV I found this titled TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT. It's right up there with The Quiet Man and The Titfield Thunderbolt. And the cast perform exactly how you want to. Magnificent.