''The Night Is Young'' is a 1935 American

romantic musical film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

starring

Ramon Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...

and Evelyn Laye. The film is based on a story written by

Vicki Baum Hedwig "Vicki" Baum (; he, ויקי באום; January 24, 1888 – August 29, 1960) was an Austrian writer. She is known for the novel ''Menschen im Hotel'' ("People at a Hotel", 1929 — published in English as '' Grand Hotel''), one of h ...

and directed by

Dudley Murphy Dudley Bowles Murphy (July 10, 1897 – February 22, 1968) was an American film director. Early life Murphy was born on July 10, 1897 in Winchester, Massachusetts, to the artists Caroline Hutchinson (Bowles) Murphy (1868-1923) and Hermann Du ...

Plot

When ballerina Fanni learns that the Vienese archduke, Paul Gustave, is expected to be in the audience of her next performance, she immediately makes plans to court the wealthy bachelor and spurn Willy Fitch, her sweetheart. Though Fanni assures her friend and fellow dancer Lisl Gluck that her pursuit of the archduke will be done strictly in the name of "patriotism," Lisl advises her to stick with Willy, a carriage driver. As planned, the handsome Paul spies the lovely ballerinas on stage, but instead of choosing Fanni, he becomes interested in Lisl. Paul, who is expected to marry Countess Rafay, is informed that for state reasons the marriage cannot take place for another six months. Seizing this opportunity, Paul decides to keep young Lisl as his secret lover during that time. Lisl, who is engaged to Toni, a failing ballet producer, is invited to attend a dinner at Paul's villa by his valet, Szereny, and though she rejects the offer, the valet tells her that she must accept the invitation. Fanny, upon learning that the archduke has passed her over in favor of her friend, tells Willy that she is now available for marriage. Willy, however, shows little enthusiasm for marriage, and sings a song in which he praises the virtues of his horse "Mitzi" instead of those of his wife-to-be. When Lisl arrives at the archduke's palace, she is subjected to a rigorous physical inspection by Szereny to ensure that she meets Paul's requirements, an examination that she finds offensive and degrading. When she finally meets Paul, he is less than amorous and immediately tells her that his relationship with her will have nothing to do with love, and that she will be expected to live in special quarters in the house and not disturb him. Paul is surprised, however, to learn that Lisl is not interested in making love to him either. Later, when Paul spends an evening out with the Countess Rafay, the lonely Lisl invites Toni and Willy to visit her. Upon his return, the ill-tempered archduke prepares to admonish her for conducting such merriment in his home but softens when he hears her sing. A romance between Paul and Lisl soon blooms when the two are stranded on a carnival Ferris wheel and are forced to spend the night together. The next day, the lovers are visited by the jealous Toni, who accuses Lisl of walking out on their planned marriage. However, Toni immediately permits Lisl to resume her romance with Paul when he learns that the archduke intends to finance his ballet. Though Paul is willing to sacrifice his title in order to get out of his arranged marriage to Countess Rafay and marry Lisl, the emperor insists that the arranged marriage take place. When Paul informs Lisl that he must leave her, Szereny consoles the devastated Lisl, and following a tearful farewell dinner, Paul asks Lisl to kiss him and then turn around and never look back.

Cast

as Archduke Paul 'Gustl' Gustave * Evelyn Laye as Elizabeth Katherine Anne 'Lisl' Gluck * Charles Butterworth as Willy Fitch *

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

as Fanni Kerner * Edward Everett Horton as Baron Szereny * Donald Cook as Toni Berngruber *

Henry Stephenson Henry Stephenson (born Harry Stephenson Garraway; 16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny on the Bou ...

Emperor Franz Josef Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...

as Countess Zarika Rafay * Herman Bing as Nepomuk *

Gustav von Seyffertitz Gustav von Seyffertitz (4 August 1862 – 25 December 1943) was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81. Biography Gustav von Seyffertit ...

as Ambassador (uncredited)

Reception

Andre Sennwald in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "According to the current standards of costumed musical romances, "The Night Is Young" is invincibly correct".Sennwald, Andre
"Lyric Nostalgia in 'The Night Is Young,' at the Capitol -- 'Unfinished Symphony.'"
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (January 14, 1935)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Night Is Young, The 1935 films 1935 musical comedy films 1935 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films Films directed by Dudley Murphy Films set in Austria Films set in Vienna Films set in the 1900s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Harry Rapf Films with screenplays by Franz Schulz 1930s romantic musical films Films with screenplays by Edgar Allan Woolf 1930s English-language films 1930s American films