ThiefHott Too much of everything

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Michael Morrison Unusual roles for John Wayne and Joan Blondell, unusual setting, and unusual drama for Republic, and they all add up to a wonderful movie that offers lots of fun for us, the audience.Blondell and Wayne make a strong pairing, something Hollywood should have considered before and again. Blondell was usually known for light, even fluffy characterizations but here she proves herself so much more: an actress. And Wayne, looking good in formal city-slicker attire, plays a character of politics and urban corruption (which, in fact, are so often the same thing) who still is essentially decent.It's a familiar story in some ways, but it's familiar because it seems to happen enough in, as we laughingly call it, real life.Wayne and Blondell should be enough for any movie, but they are backed up by a sterling, by an incredibly varied and tremendously talented cast, even including the amazing The Hall Johnson Choir, with some astonishing soloists.Stealing every scene she's in is Hattie Noel. She just dominates every shot, with her skill at delivering her lines and an overwhelming personality -- and some brilliant and funny dialogue.Despite his drunken character, Ray Middleton comes close to stealing his scenes, too. He endows his character with an undeniable and innate decency, despite the drunkenness.Middleton doesn't sing in "Lady for a Night" although he was a trained singer with a beautiful voice, beautiful even in speaking.Perhaps the climax is just what we expect, but it is also what we want. And the ending, the final scene, is also what we want.Wayne again proves he is an actor capable of many different roles, and Blondell again is so adorable, and so beautiful, their presence alone would make any movie worth watching just for them, but "Lady for a Night" is well-nigh perfect for its entire cast and its excellent script.I have no hesitation rating it a ten and recommending it highly.It's available at YouTube.

Edgar Allan Pooh " . . . for cotton to come back, for the ghosts of their sons: zombies, the living dead who haven't the decency to lie down and stay buried," Jenny rails at the Court of Confederate (or Red State) Public Opinion during the climax of LADY FOR A NIGHT. At a time when many if not most Americans suspect that shadowy Ted Cruz operatives assassinated Originalist U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia after the latter preliminarily--and privately--revealed to Ted's henchmen that Cruz is INELIGIBLE to run for President under Scalia's prevailing Originalism Doctrine, LADY FOR A NIGHT also involves a no-autopsy poisoning victim. With Scalia dead and "The Fix" in for Cruz in Cleveland, Jenny's worst fears seem likely to be realized next year: President Cruz will allow the 30 "Red States" to Reimpose Race-Based Slavery, as all Constitutional Amendments are nullified except for No. 2 (the Right to Armory Muskets). Though Donald Trump is not yet assassinated as of this writing, his comments about The Trash "rigging the System" ring truer now than in Jenny's LADY FOR A NIGHT day. (After supporting Freddie Gray, Prince died mysteriously today; Donald could be next.) JFK was invited to Red Cruz State Texas and got whacked there in the 1960s. It's been all downhill for America ever since.

classicsoncall My earliest recollection of Joan Blondell is from the mid-Fifties TV series 'The Life of Riley' in which she had the role of next door neighbor Honeybee Gillis. Like a lot of actresses I've run across since then, I never realized how good looking she was until I caught some of her earlier work in pictures. A couple others that come to mind are Bette Davis and Angela Lansbury. I don't think I've ever seen Blondell looking this glamorous before, and if you want to make that before and after comparison yourself, get hold of the fifth season Twilight Zone episode 'What's in the Box' and you'll see what I mean.One of the interesting things here is that Blondell is actually top billed over John Wayne, who got his start in pictures before the actress but who's fortunes didn't start to rise until that big breakout in 1939's "Stagecoach". They start out as a couple in the story before Blondell's character Jenny Blake decides to short cut her way into society by marrying an alcoholic playboy portrayed by Ray Middleton. However when she moves into the family mansion 'The Shadows', she quickly realizes that she's an intruder in a world in which she doesn't belong, and the rest of the upper crust around town let her know it.Through it all, Jackson Morgan's (Wayne) a pretty good sport about it, and maneuvers things behind the scenes to soften Jenny's hard landing when she learns what rotten characters her in-laws are. Mother-in-law Julia (Blanche Yurka) even frames her for murder before it's all over - talk about nasty relatives! What might put off potential viewers if you haven't seen pictures of the era like this, are the way some scenes are handled concerning black characters. In particular, Morgan delivers a sit up and take notice line when he chides Jenny's black maid Chloe (Hattie Noel) with "...get out, or I'll ship you back to Africa"! With the time frame of the story taking place shortly following Reconstruction days, the treatment of blacks in the story is still fairly subservient, but Chloe and fellow Alderson domestic Napoleon (Lew Payton) handle things with humor and relative good cheer.Speaking of which, I couldn't get over how closely Chloe came to just about perfectly describing what it felt like to get drunk, following a lively party at the Alderson's - "Every time I lays down, the floor rears up, looks me in the eye and sneers". The reason I bring it up is one time I had a bit much myself and I recall feeling pretty much the same way as Chloe. With the bed spinning in the room, the only safe place was the floor, but I thought I'd miss it!

padutchland-1 OK, it wasn't an Academy Award winner. However, it did have many good elements to it. I'm not going to waste time telling you what it was about, you can read that in other comments. John Wayne was young and good looking, standing straight and tall. John Blondell was young and pretty. I remembered her in later movies after she had gotten older and a little heavier. Old man time sure beats the heck out of all of us.Some people will raise and eyebrow at the plantation type scenes with the blacks dancing and singing. Did that go on? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised that after hard work in the fields, ANY people would be happy for the party time. Hattie Noel played the maid (Chloe) of Joan Blondell (Jenny). Chloe was funny and did an energetic job. Were these type parts demeaning for Blacks? Sure. But the way to look at it, is that it was the beginning of getting the foot in the door to show what you could do. There was a lot of talent in that singing and dancing. Nothing to be ashamed of, many a White person has played a demeaning part. The main thing is to showcase your talent. Hattie Noel may not have had the good fortune to be in Gone With The Wind, but she would have done quite nicely.The best acting came from Edith Barrett who played the kinder Alderson sister Katherine. Some might call it overacting but I don't think that to be the case. You could feel her anguish between being torn by family loyalty, fear of her sister and doing the right thing. She gave a terrorized, impassioned performance.Also enjoyable was John Blondell's singing performances as the part owner of the riverboat. In fact, she was so good that I wondered if a professional singer had dubbed her voice, even though I was aware of her own musical talents.Blanche Yurka played the evil sister Julia, and how she could ooze evilness, with those eyes boring into anyone who crossed her. She hadn't changed much from her earlier days as Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities.Leonid Kinskey played John Wayne's bodyguard. Although Mr. Kinskey was always a good character actor (remember him as the funny bartender in Casablanca?), the reason for the part in the movie escapes me. I guess John Wayne needed a sidekick.The rest of the cast was adequate, but nothing noteworthy that I can remember. Except of course for the can-can girls who really knew how to dance that thing with plenty of spirit.OK, should you see it? If you have the movie or see it coming on the late show, no reason not to. The story is predicable and acting is adequate with a few who stand out as mentioned above. Don't watch it just to see John Wayne because the Duke was just being the Duke. And although the Duke is almost always fun to watch, this role didn't give him much room to do his thing. His part was overshadowed by larger parts going to Joan Blondell and the Alderson sisters. However, if you have the time, you will be entertained by a movie that is "not too bad" and "fairly enjoyable". There are some good acting parts and the singing and dancing routines are quite good too. I do not think you will be disappointed.