''Tonight or Never'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

and starring

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

Plot

Nella Vargo is a Hungarian

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage per ...

whose latest performances include singing ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramati ...

'' in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. Although she is praised by the audience, her music teacher Rudig feels that she can not be the greatest

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singer in history until she performs in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. When she is criticized for not putting her soul into the song, she gets mad, until she suddenly notices a mysterious man walking on the street. She becomes smitten with the man, until Rudig claims that he is a

gigolo A gigolo () is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call. The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifes ...

whose latest client is Marchesa Bianca San Giovanni, a former diva with a notorious past. Later that night, Nella heads to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

, accompanied by Rudig, her butler Conrad, her maid Emma and her fiancé Count Albert von Gronac, whom she does not love. She is shocked to discover that the mysterious man is on board as well, with the marchesa as his company. Rudig again suggests that she will never be a great singer if she does not experience love. The next day, Rudig announces that Fletcher, an agent for New York's prestigious

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

, is in town to sign European artists. Later that afternoon, she learns that her fiancé is having an affair with one of her enemies. Furious and upset with her love life, she hires the mysterious man, Jim, hoping to experience love and thereby impress Fletcher. She is attracted to Jim, but is afraid to have her as his admirer. Jim, who is actually Fletcher, soon learns that Nella believes that he is a

. Instead of revealing the truth, he pretends to be a gigolo and forces her to make a decision: spend the night with him or leave within three minutes. Nella decides to spend the night with Jim, but leaves the next morning before he awakes. That night, she again gives a performance of ''Tosca'', which is acclaimed as the greatest in her entire career. After returning home, she is overcome by joy to learn that she has landed a contract with the Metropolitan Opera, but feels guilty for what she had done the night before. The same day, Jim visits her, returning the necklace that she had left him to pay for his services and demanding that she choose between him and the contract. When she tears apart the contract, he realizes that she is in love with him and he reveals himself to be a nephew of the marchesa and the famous talent scout. Now, Nella can have the successful New York career of her dreams.

Cast

as Nella Vago *

as Jim Fletcher *

Alison Skipworth Alison Skipworth (born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom; 25 July 18635 July 1952) was an English stage and screen actress. Early years Skipworth was born in London. She was the daughter of Dr. Richard Ebenezer Groom and Elizabeth Rodgers, an ...

as Marchesa Bianca San Giovanni *

Ferdinand Gottschalk Ferdinand Gottschalk (28 February 1858 – 10 November 1944) was an English theatre and film actor. He appeared in 76 films between 1917 and 1938. He was born and died in London, England. He made his first appearance on the stage in Toronto ...

as Rudig *

Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...

as Conrad * Warburton Gamble as Count Albert von Gronac *

Greta Meyer Greta Meyer (7 August 18838 October 1965) was a German actress in motion pictures beginning in the silent film era. Biography Meyer belonged to a German family that was comparable to the Barrymore family in America. At age 3 she debuted on sta ...

as Emma *

as a comical waiter

Production

The film is based on the Hungarian play of the same name, which was performed on Broadway between November 18, 1930 and June 1931. In the film,

and Warburton Gamble recreated their stage roles. In June 1931, Adela Rogers St. Johns was assigned to write the screenplay. A month later, she was replaced with Sheridan Gibney, who was eventually replaced as well. According to a January 1931 news article,

George Fitzmaurice George Fitzmaurice (13 February 1885 – 13 June 1940) was a French-born film director and producer. Career Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage. Beginning in 1914, and continuing until his death in 1940, he directed ...

was initially set to direct, but he was replaced by

, who as a young unknown had appeared uncredited as a newsboy in Swanson's 1923 silent societal drama ''

Prodigal Daughters ''Prodigal Daughters'' is a 1923 American silent societal drama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film stars Gloria Swanson and was directed by Sam Wood. It is based on a novel of the same name ...

''.

Joseph Schenck Joseph Michael Schenck (; December 25, 1876 – October 22, 1961) was a Russian-born American film studio executive. Life and career Schenck was born to a Jewish family in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian Empire. He emigrated to New York ...

cast

to play the lead role, believing that it would help her recover from a career slump. The film was the only of Swanson's early sound films in which she did not sing, despite playing an opera singer. The film sparked Douglas' screen debut. The

Hays office The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

strongly objected to the film and demanded several cuts. The scene thought to be the most vulgar was the love scene between Nella and Jim. A staff member commented: "This scene was one of the most offensive, if not the most offensive—in my recollection." The film was permitted a release in 1931, but as enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code commenced in 1934, requests for rereleases in 1935 and 1937 were rejected.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links