''The Wagons Roll at Night'' is a 1941 circus film directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of ...

and starring

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

traveling carnival A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

owner Nick Coster, Sylvia Sidney as his girlfriend, and

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

as a newcomer who falls in love with Nick's sister, played by

Joan Leslie Joan Leslie (born Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel; January 26, 1925 – October 12, 2015) was an American actress and vaudevillian, who during the Hollywood Golden Age, appeared in such films as '' High Sierra'' (1941), ''Sergeant York'' (1941) ...

. The screenplay is by

Fred Niblo Jr. Fred Niblo Jr. (January 23, 1903 – February 18, 1973) was a successful American screenwriter. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for the film ''The Criminal Code'' (1931) with Seton I. Miller. Niblo retired fr ...

and Barry Trivers, and the film is based on a 1936 novel by Francis Wallace, first published as a serial in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

.'' This film marks the only instance to date when the story was presented using its original circus setting, as Wallace's novel was the basis for the earlier 1937 film ''

Kid Galahad ''Kid Galahad'' is a 1962 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. ''Variety'' ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of 19 ...

,'' directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

—also for Warner Bros. and featuring Bogart in a supporting role—but using the boxing world as a backdrop. In 1962,

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

produced a musical remake of the "boxing" version of Wallace's story under the same title, directed by

Phil Karlson Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982) was an American film director. Karlson directed ''99 River Street'', ''Kansas City Confidential'' and '' Hell's Island'', all with actor John Payne, in the early 1950s ...

and starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

as the boxer.

Plot

An aggressive lion named Caesar escapes from a traveling circus owned and managed by Nick Coster, but is cornered in a grocery store by clerk Matt Varney. Seeing that Matt has become an instant celebrity with the town's residents, Nick hires the farm boy to work with his current lion tamer, Hoffman the Great. Nick finds Hoffman drunk and passed out before he is to perform, so Nick convinces Matt to take Hoffman's place. When Matt does well, Nick fires Hoffman (and keeps his lions, as he owes Nick a lot of money). At a bar in the city, Matt tries to apologize to Hoffman for taking over his job. Hoffman follows Matt back to the circus and goads him into a fight. Hoffman is badly injured by Caesar after he is pushed up next to the lion's cage. Nick's girlfriend, Flo Lorraine, a fortune teller at the circus, drives Matt to Nick's farm to hide him from the police, despite knowing that Nick is adamant about keeping circus people away from his family because he feels the former are beneath the latter. Unknown to Flo, Nick's younger sister Mary has graduated and has come home. While Matt is recovering from his injuries, he and Flo fall in love. When Nick returns from a business trip, Flo tells him about Matt. Nick goes to the farm and orders Matt to leave with him and to never see Mary again. Matt reluctantly agrees. During a break between shows, Matt becomes increasingly worried that he cannot contact Mary because of his promise to Nick. Flo believes that Matt is in love with her, but she becomes heartbroken when Matt tells her that he is in love with Mary. Flo then persuades Matt to ignore Nick's order. Once Nick returns from another trip, he learns that Matt is back at the farm. He arrives there, and, during an argument, he slaps Mary for being disrespectful. Matt then slugs him. After their fight, Nick plans to have Matt killed in the lion cage. He convinces Matt to perform with Caesar in order to build his reputation as a lion tamer. He then gives Matt an unloaded lion tamer's gun. As Matt is in the cage, Flo and Mary arrive at the circus. Matt uses his skills against Caesar, but is fighting a losing battle, as the unloaded gun has no effect in scaring the lion. Nick is persuaded by Mary to go into the cage to rescue Matt. He distracts the lion away from Matt, but is subsequently attacked and killed by the lion.

Cast

as Nick Coster * Sylvia Sidney as Flo Lorraine *

as Matt Varney *

as Mary Coster *

Sig Ruman Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains i ...

as Hoffman the Great (credited as Sig Rumann) *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Doc *

Charley Foy Charley Foy (June 12, 1898 – August 22, 1984) was an American actor of both the vaudeville stage and film. Son of Eddie Foy Sr., he was one of the famous "The Seven Little Foys", the seven children of the senior Foy, who joined him on stage in ...

as Snapper *

Frank Wilcox Frank Reppy Wilcox (March 13, 1907 – March 3, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays. Background Wilcox was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger V. Wilcox. He was born in De Soto ...

as Tex *

John Ridgely John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. Early years Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: T ...

as Arch *

Clara Blandick Clara Blandick (born Clara Blanchard Dickey; June 4, 1876 – April 15, 1962) was an American character, film, stage and theater actress. She played Aunt Em in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). As a character actress, sh ...

as Mrs. Williams *

Aldrich Bowker Aldrich Bowker (January 1, 1875 – March 21, 1947) was an American stage and film actor. Biography Bowker was born in Ashby, Massachusetts. He graduated from Fitchburg High School. His debut came in Boston in a stage adaptation of ''The Ch ...

as Mr. Williams *

Jack Mower Jack Mower (September 5, 1890 – January 6, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 520 films between 1914 and 1965. He was born in Honolulu and died in Hollywood. After studying at Punahou College, in Honolulu, Mower moved ...

as Bundy *

Frank Mayo Frank Mayo may refer to: * Frank M. Mayo (1839–1896), American actor and comedian * Frank Mayo (actor) Frank Lorimer Mayo (June 28, 1889 – July 9, 1963) was an American actor. He appeared in 310 films between 1911 and 1949. Biograp ...

as Wally *

Garry Owen The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...

as Gus *

Eddie Acuff Edward DeKalb Acuff (June 3, 1903 – December 17, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. He frequently was cast as a droll comic relief, in the support of the star. His best-known recurring role is that of Mr. Beasley, the postman, in ...

as pickpocket victim (uncredited)

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, critic for ''

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 ...

'', liked Eddie Albert's performance, but not "the definitely unoriginal plot". He also felt that Bogart and Sidney were miscast.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagons Roll at Night 1941 films 1941 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Circus films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Ray Enright Remakes of American films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films 1940s American films