Tonight or Never *** (1931, Gloria Swanson, Melvyn Douglas, Boris Karloff) – Classic Movie Review 6292

Gloria Swanson plays passionless Hungarian prima donna opera singer Nella Vargo singing Tosca  in Venice, where she falls for an Italian playboy who is really Jim Fletcher (Melvyn Douglas) an opera producer for the prestigious Metropolitan Opera in New York, in a light-as-air romantic comedy. She desires both Jim and to sing at the Met. Jim soon warms up the cold Nella and gets her good to go for the Met.

Both players have the stylish touch to make it work, and there is a bright support cast: Ferdinand Gottschalk, Robert Greig, Alison Skipworth, Greta Meyer and Warburton Gamble.

Following a career slump, Swanson was on her way out as a star, while Douglas makes his first film, aged 30, sparking his career re-creating his Broadway role in Lily Hatvany’s Hungarian play of the same name, which was performed on Broadway between 18 November 1930 and June 1931. Gottschalk, Greig, Meyer and Gamble also re-create their roles from the play.

Boris Karloff plays the comedy-relief waiter in an early Hollywood role.

The play by Lily Hatvany is written for the screen by Ernst Vajda, with adaptation by Frederic Hatton and Fanny Hatton. The film is shot in black and white by Gregg Toland, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and scored by Alfred Newman.

First Adela Rogers St Johns and then Sheridan Gibney were replaced as screenplay writers.

The US censorship Hays Code objected to the film, especially hating Nella and Jim’s love scene, and demanded many cuts. It was eventually passed in 1931 but requests for re-releases in 1935 and 1937 were rejected.

Though playing an opera singer, Swanson does not sing in the only one of her early talkies in which she does not sing.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6292

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