Cole Porter (Cary Grant), a law student at Yale opts to discard a career as a jurist to take up songwriting in Night and Day (1946) a very loose interpretation of Mr. Porter's life and career.
Since the release of DeLovely (2004), Night and Day has had to bear the brunt of its claim to being a biography of Cole Porter. Quite frankly, it's not. It's a way of incorporating a vast array of Mr. Porter's glorious music into a film, and tell a story at the same time. Let's go over a few of the facts, and then we can talk about the film as a story, not a biography.
Cole Porter did attend Yale, and one of his classmates was Monty Woolley (Mr. Woolley, who plays himself, was NOT a professor at Yale). The sinking of the Lusitania had nothing to do with the failure of See America First, as the ship sunk in May 1915, and the musical opened in March 1916. Mr. Porter was not wounded in combat during World War I; he is listed as serving in the French Foreign Legion during the war (Broadway, The American Musical). He also spent time in Paris partying and met his future wife in Paris. Linda Lee Thomas was well aware of Mr. Porter's sexuality when they married - she had come from an abusive first marriage. Linda Lee Porter never officially left Cole - in fact, it was she that worked with the doctors to keep them from amputating his leg following his horseback riding accident. She continued as his health advocate until her death in 1954 (Cole Porter obituary). Following her death, doctors convinced him to allow the amputation, and he lived as a recluse for the rest of his life (as Linda feared). Mr. Porter was as openly gay as the era would allow (The New Yorker). Regardless, he and Linda loved one another and were inseparable - les Colporteurs (Smithsonian Magazine).
As you can see from the photo, The Porters looked nothing like their on-screen imitators. Linda wanted Alexis Smith to play her, and when she expressed her desires to Warner Brothers executives, Cole jokingly said that Cary Grant should play him (Cary Grant: In Name Only by Gary Morecambe & Martin Sterling). Mr. Grant and Ms. Smith are wonderful together, and Ms. Smith was thrilled to be working with him. Though he could be very definite in his opinions - for example, Mr. Grant demanded that his suit be cut so that only an eighth of an inch of cuff should show, Ms. Smith commented on his "care and attention" to the character (TCM article). This was Mr. Grant's first technicolor film.
Warner Brothers incorporated their best character people into the film. Eve Arden finally gets a chance to sing as French performer Gabrielle, who introduces Porter's song "I'm Unlucky at Gambling." Jane Wyman (Gracie Harris) also gets a chance to show her vocal talents. Dorothy Malone (Nancy) has some brief scenes with Donald Woods (Dr. Ward Blackburn) as her husband and Cole's friend and physician. Alan Hale (Leon Dowling) turns up as a theatrical producer who doesn't see the beauty of Cole's compositions. And Henry Stephenson (Omer Porter) is sympathetic as Cole's grandfather.
Monty Woolley gets to play himself, and get off some bon mots while he is at it. He pops in and out of the film, as Woolley wanders in and out of the Porters' lives (and back and forth from New York to Hollywood). There is some amusing banter as he goes off to film The Man Who Came to Dinner - he'd starred in the Broadway play (he almost didn't get the movie role - Warner Brother considered Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Robert Benchley, John Barrymore, and Charles Coburn).
Mary Martin, who got her start in Cole Porter's Leave it to Me, reprises her hit song from the musical, "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" (though this song, along with several of the others, are cleaned up versions of Mr. Porter's sometimes rather racy lyrics). Ginny Simms (Carole Hill), the woman who works with Porter in a music store in the film, is very loosely based on Ethel Merman. Ms Merman had appeared in earlier plays, but her first starring role was as Reno Sweeney in Mr. Porter's Anything Goes (AFI catalog).
The New York Timesreview by Thomas M. Prior (T.M.P.) was positive, though even Mr. Prior pointed out that it wasn't really a biography. When the film DeLovely was released in 2004, The Times again wrote about Night and Day as part of a discussion of the biographical aspects of the two movies.
If you are not a stickler for facts, and would like to see some fine acting, pleasant singing, and spectacular songs, this film is worth a viewing or two. We'll leave you with the trailer:
A bank robbery results in the murder of a guard and the theft of $92,000. Police detectives Paul Sheridan (Fred MacMurray) and Rick McAllister (Phil Carey) are assigned to watch the girlfriend of the suspect, Lona McLane (Kim Novak). But it’s not long before Paul finds himself a Pushover (1954) for Lona. With a plot as twisty as a pretzel, the intrigue increases in intensity as Paul decides that he can have lots of money AND the girl by trapping robber Harry Wheeler (Paul Richards) and convincing his police colleagues that the money is long gone. It's impossible to view this movie without mentally comparing it to Double Indemnity. While this is a decent film, the similarities to that earlier, brilliant picture, do it no service. As good as Fred MacMurray is - and he is very good - there is a major problem. Kim Novak is no Barbara Stanwyck. This was Ms. Novak's first major role. She'd appeared in two other films (under her birth name, Marilyn Novak) (American Classic Screen Features edited by John C. Tibbetts, James M. Welsh). She's merely adequate as Lona - she has one expression, that of perennially unhappiness. As lovely as she is, it's difficult to understand why Paul falls so hard for her. She's not all that seductive, nor does she seem particularly intelligent or intriguing. Even her relationship with Harry Wheeler is haphazard - when asked why she was with him, her response is that he bought her nice things, but with a lack of enthusiasm that is numbing. Ms. Novak's casting is the film's weak link.
Fred MacMurray is excellent as a good cop gone bad for the love of a woman (and for a lot of money). Mr. MacMurray makes you believe his passion for Lona; to the very end of the film, Paul clearly is infatuated with her. As he spirals into more problematic actions, the audience can see, thanks to his deft performance, the guilt that plagues Paul for the choices he has made. Dorothy Malone (Ann Stewart) has a relatively small part as a nurse living next door to Lona. When we first meet her - seen through the binoculars of Rick McAllister - her presence seems to be merely a romantic interest for the honest cop in the team. That he is watching her constantly without her knowledge is rather creepy for a viewer in 2020, it does begin a theme that will be echoed more fully in Rear Window later that same year (TCM article). Ms. Malone gets her moment to shine towards the end of the movie. Ann is splendid under pressure and the audience is rooting for her because of her strength.
Philip Carey (he's Phil in this movie) is good as Paul's stoic partner. A Marine, who served in both World War II and the Korean Conflict, Mr. Carey started his film career as a military man. At 6'4", he made an impressive soldier and police officer, and much of his film career cast him in those roles. He also made a convincing cowboy, and it is interesting to note that, the film marquee of the theater where Lona meets Paul is showing The Nebraskan - starring Philip Carey (Columbia Noir: A Complete Filmography, 1940-1962 by Gene Blottner). Mr. Carey would segue over to television, working as a guest star in a number of shows (including a highly regarded All in the Family episode as Archie Bunker's pro-football player friend, who turns out to be gay), and starring in the series Laredo and, from 1979 until 2007, the soap opera One Life to Live. Married twice, Mr. Carey died of lung cancer at the age of 83 in 2009.
Two supporting players should be noted - E. G. Marshall (Lt. Carl Eckstrom) as the stern lead on the investigation manages to make a character, who could have been an automaton, sympathetic. Allen Nourse (Paddy Dolan) is especially noteworthy as an alcoholic police officer who is on the edge of losing his job - and his pension - but who has a strict moral compass that will put him in jeopardy.
Based on the novel The Night Watch by Thomas Walsh, Pushover went through several working titles - The Killer Wore a Badge, 322 French Street and The Night Watch (AFI catalog). The reviews for the film were positive; the New York Timesreview by Howard Thompson (HHT) commented on the similarities to Double Indemnity, though acknowledged that the film should be reviewed independently (by the end of his review, Mr. Thompson did find it hard to completely eliminate comparison). Pushover is a good but not great film. But, with the opportunity to see Fred MacMurray in another noir, playing a morally compromised character, it's one to see. We'll leave you with a scene between Mr. MacMurray and Ms. Novak.
Dave Saunders (Tim Holt) and his pal Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin) are looking for work as cowhands when they happen upon a stampede, caused by the drunken shenanigans of Gabe (James Bush), a ranch hand for Fred Warren (Cliff Clark). Mr. Warren summarily fires Gabe (and hires Dave and Chico who helped control the cattle), and is shot by Gabe in retaliation. Gabe escapes, but begins to plot revenge, and steal Mr. Warren's herd. Our film this week is Saddle Legion (1951). This is a B picture, pure and simple. It's 68 minutes long, but it is quite a ride. Blink and you will surely miss something. Tim Holt has just the right amount of sincerity as Dave - a true Western hero who does what needs to be done. And Richard Martin as Chito is silly without being a moron. Though Tim Holt would occasionally escape from Western films (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Magnificent Ambersons, for example), much of his career was spent in B oaters. A decorated war hero (he won the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart for her service in World War II's Pacific Theater of Operations), he would relocate to Oklahoma and life on a ranch the year after this film (TCM article). He made a few more film and television appearances, but by and large, he managed theatres and radio stations, produced rodeos and music jamborees. He died in 1973 of bone cancer.
The reason this movie was selected is a simple one - the presence of Dorothy Malone as Dr. Ann F. Rollins. Dr. Rollins is a competent and trusted physician. Though both Dave and Chito show surprise upon meeting her, their acceptance of her abilities is immediate, and it is clear that Mr. Warren is also confident of her skills. In an early draft of the film, the character of Ann Rollins was to have been a veterinarian, (Tim Holt and the B Westerns). Making her a physician works much better, as she then can question the supposed illness of Mr. Warren's cattle, but still need to seek help in the diagnosis. Ms. Malone is good, giving Ann a self-assured stance and a sexiness that is not usual in B Western heroines. Interestingly, Chito is the one who is wise enough to want to pursue more time with "Senorita Sawbones," probably one of the few times Mr. Holt didn't get the girl.
Also in the cast is Movita Castañeda as Cantina performer Mercedes. She's later be called simply Movita, and would become the second Mrs. Marlon Brando. It's a fairly small part, but she acquits herself well. No one would ever call this an outstanding movie, but we found it enjoyable. If you like Westerns (or movies about women doctors), give it a viewing. It's fun.
