Une nuit romanesque

It was interesting to see silent film star Lillian Gish in her first talking picture and Marie Dressler was always worth watching. Also love older films and there are many good examples of this type of film. Was not expecting a lot though from 'One Romantic Night' admittedly and am saying this with regret. Reviews have always been indifferent at best, with many respected critics and users not liking it at all and play to film adaptations at that time didn't always fare well.

'One Romantic Night' fails in this respect and is among the worst examples. Gish is much better served in silent films and it is best probably to stick to watching them, don't make 'One Romantic Night' your introduction to her. She and Dressler, who has also been better, don't fare too badly actually compared to everything else. It is the male cast and all the problems that too many play to film adaptations at that time had (all present here) that bring it down. As well as how its troubled production is all over it. Best to be seen as a curio and if you want to see every Gish film she did.

Gish may not be right for her role age-wise, but she looks luminous and gives a heartfelt and not too histrionic performance. Dressler also gives a committed performance without over-compensating and likewise with delightful OP Heggie.

While the sets may betray stage origins, they at least look sumptuous, and likewise with the costumes.

Not much praise otherwise sadly. Rod La Rocque is as stiff as a board and makes planks of wood more animated in comparison. Conrad Nagel is too mannered and smug. The multiple directing changes that 'One Romantic Night' suffered from is too obvious in the finished product, very erratic, and the photography captures Gish well but is too static which adds further to the staginess.

Staginess that is apparent in the stilted scripting, the very sluggish pacing and a story that creaks badly. Even back then it felt at least a decade out of date, is so stop and start and is overwrought.

Has its good points but too much doesn't work at all. 3/10

One Romantic Night (1930)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Screen legend Lillian Gish made her talkie debut in this rather static (?) comedy about a love triangle. In the film she plays a princess who is promised to a man (Rod La Rocque) but of course she's in love with another (Conrad Nagel). This film was filmed once before in 1925 and again later with Grace Kelly but I haven't seen either of those to make a far comparison. I'm certainly hoping that either one is better than this film because sadly this film is quite poor. I love Gish and always have but this film here is pretty poor from start to finish and even her lovely grace can't save it. In fact, I'd say she's part of the problem because she's way too old (37 at the time) to be playing the part, which is clearly mean for someone in their early twenties, if not younger. Having her squeeze into a role like this is certainly unfair and especially considering this was also her first talkie. Her talking sequences are really bland, which took me by surprise. I thought she would have handled the jump a lot better than she did because she had a lovely voice but it seems she's trying way too hard to push her voice. Just watch her in a number of scenes where she actually looks like she's trying to "push" her voice. She wouldn't make another film for three years and apparently hated making this movie, its director and had an overall negative opinion on the film but after seeing this you could understand why. Both La Rocque and Nagel are rather stiff and bland as well. Supporting players Marie Dressler and O.O. Heggie fair somewhat better but they can't save the film either. The entire film is poorly directed and I'd question whether anyone knew if they were making a comedy or drama because I honestly couldn't tell. Things are that flat from start to finish so there's really no one to recommend this to unless, like myself, you're a Gish fan and want to say you've seen her first talkie.

Very rare film based on Molnar's THE SWAN (an alternate title), ONE ROMANTIC NIGHT tells the story of a princess who must choose between a romantic tutor (Conrad Nagel) or a rascally prince (Rod La Rocque). Getting in the way and making things difficult is the princess' mother (Marie Dressler).

A terrific cast makes this watchable (although my copy is bad), but the story is rather dull. Gish (in her talkie debut) looks and sounds great; Dressler of course steals every scene she's in. Nagel is OK, and La Rocque is handsome but somewhat prissy.

At age 37, Gish was probably too old for the part of the princess, but it's the kind of character that fit her screen persona. Gish herself did not like the film and considered it slow and dull. She also didn't like the director, whose work she was unfamiliar with. She had not made a film since 1928's silent THE WIND and wouldn't make another film for 3 years. La Rocque, Nagel, and Dressler had all made talkies before this film.

Oddly, this story was filmed again in the 50s as THE SWAN and starring Grace Kelly and Alec Guinness.

Pre-World-War-Two Hollywood got a lot of mileage out of Hungarian plays, in this case one by Ferenc Molnar which had been filmed previously and would be filmed again. These plays had one thing in common – people impersonating other people or pretending to be something other than what they really were in order achieve a status-seeking goal. Here, a princess (Lillian Gish), at the urging of her ambitious mother (Marie Dressler), keeps company with her younger brothers' tutor (Conrad Nagel) in order to make a prince (Rod La Rocque) jealous so that he will propose to her. This is the kind of story that might have been the backbone for an operetta directed by the likes of Lubitsch. But this film plays it straight and without the visual wit that Lubitsch brought to his projects. It begins promisingly as foppish, decadent LaRocque is dragged away by his handlers from a wild party to pay a visit to Gish and Dressler. But as soon as he arrives at his destination the film degenerates into one boring setup after another in which various combinations of people talk a lot about whether they are in love or not or which suitor will win Gish. Occasionally a voice is raised, a kiss is planted on lips or hands, or Dressler pulls nervously on her hanky.

In talkies, La Rocque fared best as a villain (as in THE LOCKED DOOR) but as the prince it's hard to tell whether his character is meant to be bad or good. He has a fey way with line readings that brings to mind the chronologically later Vincent Price. Although he looks magnificent in military garb, he lacks the natural joie de vivre that Maurice Chevalier brought to similar roles and he seems to be mocking himself. Nagel is, as always, dashing and sympathetic but at certain moments pompous. Dressler restrains herself commendably; in general she contributes much needed punch as well as dashes of humor. The ethereally beautiful Gish is every inch the princess in a flawless performance; the role she plays, unfortunately, is so tepid that her efforts hardly matter. She was 36 years old when this was shot but Karl Struss's soft focus cinematography helps.

This film begins rather slowly, but gets more interesting as one progresses through the film. The Swan, later retitled One Romantic Night, was the talkie debut of silent film giant Lillian Gish. The criticism that Gish was too old for this part are baseless because Gish still looked quite young at this point (she certainly didn't look 37). She was also very dolled up and beautiful, looking every bit like a princess. Her talkie debut was great. She spoke well, she had great facial and bodily expressions, and she captivated the audience during her scenes just as she did in her silent films. This role was also a welcome change for Gish fans used to seeing her play the vulnerable, frail, nice girl roles, as she was strong, defiant, and independent in this role. Marie Dressler was great too. She owned her lines expressively without overdoing it, and it was nice to see her in a nobility role, much different than her previous roles. Rod La Rocque and Conrad Nagel could be stiff at times, but there were scenes where they shined as well. The two teenage boys had small roles, but performed them very well. Overall, the film has a rather slow start, and at some point the acting seems quite "stagey," but overall it is an enjoyable film, and it's very worth watching for Lillian Gish fans to see her in her first talkie.