InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
salvidienusorfitus
Evelyn Laye and John Boles are absolutely charming. The musical sections are quite beautiful my only complaint is that there isn't enough music.
Much of the music seems to have been tragically cut out of the film before release due to the public's untimely distaste for musical at the time of the release
of this film. By the time musicals became popular again, operettas of this classy type had unfortunately gone out of fashion. Rare chance to see one of the last
of the first wave of musicals (1929-1931) from Hollywood (and in my opinion, it's best and most tasteful period). By the time the second wave came in 1932, musical
films too a decidedly more low-brow approach with more emphasis being given to low comedy as opposed to classy tasteful music.
bkoganbing
Evelyn Laye who was one of the great musical performers of the London stage made only a few films at this point of her career and this one being only one of two she did in Hollywood. Later on as a character actress she did much work on the big and small screen. This rather uninspired vehicle does afford one an opportunity to see her in her prime.Sam Goldwyn who produced it knew he had a turkey on his hands, it is fairly obvious that a full musical score was written for this and numbers must have been cut right and left. It didn't help too much.The plot is similar to something Laye's American contemporary Marilyn Miller might have done on stage. Laye is a poor flower girl working in a theater in Budapest. The star Lilyan Tashman who is a wild child causes a riot and is ordered out of town. Laye agrees to go in her place and Tashman decides to hide out.But the local lord of the place she's exiled to, Count John Boles who is also the police prefect is a bit of a rake and he's planning a little fun and frolic because he's heard of Tashman's reputation. Laye who really likes what she sees in Boles is kind of torn as to how to behave, be her good girl self or be the party animal Boles was expecting.Leon Errol is in this film as Laye's friend and confidante and you know how bad the film is because Errol's famous drunk act takes up a lot more footage than normal. Leon Errol was a fine performer, but not in the dose we got here. Errol's comic relief becomes the show.For those who like Eddy/MacDonald operetta even they will be bored with One Heavenly Night.Speaking of Jeanette and Nelson, Evelyn Laye was in the original cast of Bittersweet on stage. Now if she had filmed that it would have been worth preserving.
MartinHafer
During the 1930s, there were quite a few god-awful musicals that are awfully hard to stomach today. That's because unlike other musicals, the songs were almost operatic in style and high-pitched warbling abounded. Now you probably are immediately reminded of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy's films, though there were some that came out before theirs that were actually far more difficult to stomach--the films were so old fashioned and the singing so dreadful. Oddly, the studio heads even placed Laurel and Hardy in a few of these musical monstrosities--they were that popular an 'art' form at the time.Here in ONE HEAVENLY NIGHT, we've got all the makings of a terrible old musical. The singing is among the most high-pitched and ear-shattering, the songs are dull, the acting (at times) is suspect, the film features comic relief (Leon Erol) that isn't all that funny and the love story is rather creepy.Let's talk about the love story for a moment. The film begins with a not especially attractive lady singing a song rather poorly. Yet despite this, the men in the audience respond like she's "Swing Shift Cinderella" (from the Tex Avery cartoon) and begin hooting and hollering and acting like horny dogs. After a riot, the police order this sex kitten out of the city but instead she sends a similar looking friend. This friend (Evelyn Laye) has dreamed about the life of a vamp and she's quick to agree to the masquerade. However, the vamp's reputation proceeds her and the Count in the town she arrives in assumes she's an easy sexual conquest. When he practically rapes Laye (great name, huh?), she runs off and realizes she doesn't want to be a vamp! Yet, oddly, later the Count realizes he actually loves Laye and wants to marry her, not just lay Laye. And so the two kiss and live happily ever after! Aside from promoting date rape, this plot is really, really hard to believe and is made all the worse by the couple periodically breaking into song.Overall, the idea behind the plot isn't bad but the execution and romance are so god-awful I can't recommend the film.
Gerald-5
I was just two years old when this was made - an early talker (me, not the film!!). Tonight, I was in a mood for lighthearted escapism, and this suited my mood down to the ground. A truly charming bit of fairy tale froth. An operetta by any other name. Not one little hint of nastiness or sordidness.Oh my, why to they not make films like this now