A pre-Code movie is what we call films made without the censorious auspice of the Hayes code, which came about in 1934. What’s remarkable in hindsight, watching these movies, is they do not demonstrate some sort of crazy debauchery that the censorship kept in check. They’re subject to the morality of the time: monogamous, anti-crime and violence. Not evil. They look a lot like the movies that came after the code… just less stiff. Often more fun.
Buy This Is the Night from MovieZyngThis Is the Night starts with a woman on a disastrous date with her boyfriend. The chauffeur accidentally rips her dress off, so they must go home in disgrace. At least her husband isn’t here to see it.
The girl (Claire) is sick of her missing husband (Steve, played by Cary Grant in his screen debut) going about throwing javelins. Her boyfriend, the significantly older Gerald, is taking her to Venice, against his will. But the husband comes home early, and Gerald’s friend Bunny invents Gerald’s non-existent wife. So, Gerald hires an actress to play Mrs. Gerald.
This is standard rom-com stuff, and it moves in mostly rom-com ways. Of course, Gerald falls in love with the woman he hires to pretend to be his wife. There are falling outs and misunderstandings. This is based on a play, and there are basically the five principals, all of whom are played superbly. Cary Grant is not the lead in this film, but every scene with him begs the question, why not? The hired wife is played by Lila Damita. She gives an effortlessly charming performance. She never leaves you to question why every man in the cast falls in love with her.
Besides the mildly adulterous scenario, there’s other clear indications this is a pre-Code film. The women’s costumes are either eagerly bra-less or low cut to the point of near-immodesty. Gerald doesn’t choose to hire the pretend wife until he gets a full view of her legs. And the funniest scene would definitely not have been allowed just a couple of years later. The police release a man they thought was a burglar when they learn he was just breaking in to seduce a woman. I mean, who wouldn’t?
To a modern audience, it’s a little like a movie from another world. There are a few sequences that are essentially musical sequences, where the on-screen action provides the music. It settles down into largely a comedy of manners, and the force of it relies on the power of the performances. For me, it was wildly successful, and I found it incredibly entertaining. It also looks fantastic on this Blu-ray release, with a transfer that is luminous, from a very good (if not flawless) print.
Cary Grant is not the star, but he’s very good in his role as a jilted husband who is too charming and powerful to actually allow himself to be jilted. Everyone else is fine, too. How much a contemporary watcher will like This Is the Night depends on how much they will have the patience to get into its particular rhythm. I loved it and laughed a lot.
Buy This Is the Night from AmazonThis is the Night has been released on Blu-ray by Universal. There are no extras, though the film contains both a black and white and a color tinted version of the film.
