Notte di nozze

Heavy handed dour drama was the last of the big budget films to try and turn Anna Sten, Goldwyn's Folly, into another Garbo. The mistake of that was the actress while not bad, a little overfond of popping her eyes but otherwise fine, isn't suited to that persona. Had they pursued a lighter image for her which she seems inclined to perhaps her career would have fared better in American films. Poor Ralph Bellamy, usually an enjoyable presence in pictures, is made ridiculous by his silly casting as a Polish peasant. Cooper fares better mostly because an accent is not forced upon him and his star power is able to shine through. The person who comes across best even though her character is not the most pleasant is Helen Vinson as Cooper's estranged wife. It is at times confusing since she and Sten bear a strong resemblance to each other a fact not played up in the movie and so it serves no purpose but to distract the audience.

In New York, the writer Tony Barrett (Gary Cooper) was successful in his first novel. Now he is alcoholic and his two next books were failures. His publisher refuses to publish his last novel and the totally broken Tony is forced to move with his wife Dora (Helen Vinson) to the countryside of Connecticut to his family farmhouse. On the arrival, his neighbors Mr. Jan Novak (Siegfried Rumann) and his daughter Manya (Anna Sten) offer five thousand dollars for his idle lands. Tony accepts the offer and Dora decides to return to New York. Tony stays with his servant Taka and has dinner with the Novak family to close the business. When Taka decides to return to New York, Manya helps Tony with the housekeeping. They become close to each other and soon they fall in love with each other. But Tony is a married man and Manya is engaged to Fredrik Sobieski (Ralph Bellamy) in an arranged marriage. What will happen to their love?

"The Wedding Night" is a sad and tragic romance directed by King Vidor, who was a specialist in melodramas. The timeless love story is believable and engaging and has a heartbreaking conclusion. Based on the number of voters (553) and reviews (20), "The Wedding Night" is an unknown romance and the User Rating (6.8) is underrated. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Noite Nupcial" ("The Wedding Night")

OK, you want to make Anna Sten a star like Garbo or Deitrich. What are the very worst things you could do? Cast her as a Polish immigrant farm woman. Dress her in frumpy clothes. Set the movie in cold weather, necessitating her wearing a hat or scarf much of the time. Cast the urbane Ralph Bellamy as her rough-hewn Polish fiancé.

Anna Sten had a lovely face and she wasn't a bad actress. But this vehicle could have sunk any unknown. On the other hand, it's not a bad movie. In some ways, it's memorable.

The male lead is Gary Cooper, in his early days when his lashes were long, his look lanky but gentle. He's very good as a writer who's hit a brick wall with his work. He and wife Helen Vinson are splitsville, or near it; so he goes to his family house in Connecticut. And there he meets Sten, who is delivering milk. (No comment.) I never got the whole big deal about Garbo. Sten is more emotive. But she's sunk in this movie.

Nothing gets a woman's heart pumping a little quicker than an early Gary Cooper movie, and The Wedding Night from 1935 is no exception.

Cooper is writer Tony Barratt - think F. Scott Fitzgerald - whose publisher doesn't want his next book and tells him whatever he had, he's lost it. So he and his wife Dora (Helen Vinson) take off for an inherited country home.

Tony becomes intrigued by the family of Polish émigrés who live nearby, particularly the beautiful daughter, Manya Novak (Sten).

Okay, here is something that confuses me. My friends are of Polish descent. They called their sister Mary Manya. So far, so good.

This family's last name is Novak. That's Czech.

And they say Dasvidaniya, which is Russian. Go figure.

Back to the story. After the father (Sig Ruman) buys a field from Tony for $5,000, Dora wants to hightail it back to New York, now that they have some money. Tony decides to stay. He begins writing a book about the family.

He and Manya fall in love, though it's unconsummated. She is engaged to Fredrik Sobieski (Ralph Bellamy) a real bumpkin, whom she doesn't love. When she decides not to marry him, her father has a fit, and the engagement is back on. Meanwhile, Tony wants a divorce.

Bittersweet film with lovely performances by Cooper and Sten. Cooper in the beginning is immaculate in a suit, and he and Dora are part of the high-class social set. He did play many sophisticated roles in the '30s, but Mr. Deeds and westerns would follow. Instead of strong and silent, here he's animated and romantic.

This film was apparently supposed to introduce Anna Sten to American audiences. Sam Goldwyn wanted to build her up as the next Garbo. I don't know about you, but I don't remember Greta Garbo playing a farmer with dowdy clothes. If he was going to build her up, why not showcase her beauty? She was beautiful, and her acting is very good. To me she hasn't the presence of Garbo or Dietrich, but I think Goldwyn could have given her better treatment.

Helen Vinson really has the strongest role, and she was up to it.

Very poignant story, directed by King Vidor, and beautifully photographed.

I had heard about this film and about how underrated it was,then last week i saw a copy of it on ebay on VHS PAL UK.I was really surprised as i didn't think it had ever been released in the UK.It must be one of the rarest videos in Britain as sadly not many people have heard of it.Luckily i won it for just over £3 not bad eh.So if any one else is interested in buying a copy,there must be others available in Britain,if you really look around.I couldn't wait to watch this film,and i must say i wasn't disappointed.Its starts off a mildly amusing story that suddenly gets sadder and sadder until it reaches a climax to a very tragic ending.I must admit the last 10 seconds of this film does bring tears to the eyes,i wont say why,but try and see this movie and you will see.The acting between Gary Cooper and Anna Sten is first rate,her character is very likable as she is totally unselfish,and is trying to please everyone,so she does deserve happiness.Garys character,well he is married and his wife is not a monster and she does love him,so you feel sorry for her as well,i think you have to decide for yourself in a triangle like this someone is always going to get hurt,but you don't know who.Also this is a very early film showing us cultural differences and the sort of conflicts that can arise when two people from very different back grounds want to be together.Can it work?he is from a literate sophisticated family,she is from a poor immigrant family that is still trying to learn new ways.The answer is if two people really love each other then they can over come their differences as true love conquers all,i think overall this was the strongest message that comes out of this film,to some people the married issue may be the point of the film.Any way this is a very haunting film and well worth watching if you get the chance.