''One Thrilling Night'' is a 1942 American film directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

. The film is also known as ''Horace Takes Over'' (American TV title) with

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

s being ''Do Not Disturb'' and ''Army Bride''.http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17255/One-Thrilling-Night/notes.html

Plot

The newlywed country bumpkins from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Jason ( John Beal and

Wanda McKay Wanda McKay (born Dorothy Quackenbush; June 22, 1915 – April 11, 1996) was an American actress and model. Early years McKay was born as Dorothy Quackenbush in Portland, Oregon,McKay's obituary in the Los Angeles Times says that she was " ...

), check into the Hotel Clarke in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, prepared to spend their first night together as a married couple. It is also their first and last night before Horace joins the Army. The couple decides to buy some champagne and celebrate. Horace leaves to buy the bottle while Millie dims the lights and changes clothes in the bedroom. Pete Mooney ( Ernie Adams) and Joe Richmond (

Lynton Brent Lynton Wright Brent (August 2, 1897 – July 2, 1981) was an American film actor and a writer. He appeared in over 240 films between 1930 and 1950. Brent is best known for his prolific work with Columbia Pictures in the Three Stooges shor ...

) enter through a window, pull the unconscious body of Duke Keesler ( Pierce Lynden) from under the bed and frisk him on the mattress until Horace returns. Mooney and Richmond hurriedly cover the body and duck under the bed. Horace and Millie discover the body and run down the hall to enlist the help of the

hotel detective A hotel detective is a person in plain clothes hired to monitor the security of a hotel and investigate various security, morality, or rule violations therein. They are distinct from uniformed security guards employed by a hotel. Hotel detecti ...

, Pat Callahan (

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

). While they are gone, Mooney and Richmond stuff the body into Millie's empty trunk, then escape out the window. When Horace and Millie return again, the body is gone, so Callahan leaves in a huff. Horace opens the trunk and the body of Keesler falls out. Horace and Millie run to get Callahan, but Keesler is alive, awakens and escapes out of the window. Millie and Horace re-create what they found, accidentally locking Horace in the trunk. Callahan and Millie leave to get spare keys and an axe to get Horace out. While they are away, Richmond and Mooney reappear and take the trunk away. Mooney and Richmond take the trunk to Frankie Saxton (

Tom Neal Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor and successful amateur boxer best known for his costarring role in the critically lauded film '' Detour'', for having a widely publicized affair with actress B ...

), a gangster looking for Keesler regarding a stolen $50,000. Mooney and Richmond leave Saxton with the case, thinking Keesler is still in it. The trunk is opened and Horace tries to explain a mistake has been made. Saxton, along with Skinny (Gene O’Donnell), Tubby (Jim O’Gatty), and Dotty (

Barbara Pepper Barbara Pepper (born Marion Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first Doris Ziffel on the sitcom '' Green Acres''. Early life and career Marion Pepper ...

), think that Horace is Duke wearing a disguise. Horace escapes and runs down the street, only to be arrested for indecency and returned to the hotel. Millie and Horace are snatched and coaxed to get into a car. They dodge the gangsters and hide in a movie theater, catching the tail end of the film with the lights coming on for a contest. Horace wins a prize before the audience departs. As he's on stage, Millie is taken away by the gangsters. Dotty meets up with a frantic Horace and takes him to the rest of the gangster group, where they discover Horace really isn't the Duke. They tie and gag he and Millie. To get attention, Horace turns on the radio, which happens to be turned to a gangster show. Neighbors think the mayhem and threats are for real. The police arrive and take the couple back to their hotel room. The real Duke's body is stuffed into the closet. Horace discovers it as he puts his robe away, with the 50 grand in his robe pocket. Frankie Saxton and the gang enter, but end up taken to jail. Millie and Horace are left, finally, to be alone in their room. Right before calling it a night, their 6 AM wakeup call arrives. They have to check out.

Cast

* John Beal as Horace Jason *

as Millie Jason *

as Pat Callahan *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Police Sergeant Haggerty *

as Lettie *

as Frankie Saxton * Ernie Adams as Pete Mooney *

as Joe Richmond *

Pierce Lyden Pierce W. Lyden (January 8, 1908 – October 10, 1998) was an American actor best known for his work in television and film Westerns. Early life Lyden was born in a sod house on a ranch near Hildreth, Nebraska on January 8, 1908. The son of a hor ...

as Duke Keesler * Gene O'Donnell as Skinny * Jimmy O'Gatty as Tubby *

Tom Herbert Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Hotel Clerk

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:One Thrilling Night 1942 films 1942 comedy films American comedy mystery films American black-and-white films 1940s comedy mystery films 1940s English-language films Films directed by William Beaudine Films set in hotels Films set in New York City Films set on the home front during World War II Monogram Pictures films 1940s American films