This poor excuse for a movie should never have been made. Cary Grant trying to sing as though he's in an opera just doesn't work. His accent sounds a bit old fashioned Cockney in this film, and his character is unnatural. There are some scenes that border on nudity, but they don't add to the film. If anything it looks like a poor attempt to rescue the film. It is beyond redemption, and comes nowhere near the quality of 'My Favourite Wife'. Roland Young is not convincing as a lover or a man with a hot French wife. He usually plays the inebriated old man in films, but he is neither funny nor engaging. For this reason it is not a movie. I don't know what it is. It just adds another credit to Grant's film list.

Cary Grant's film debut (which I now watched on the 110th anniversary of his birth) is hardly ever discussed but, recently, a fellow American movie-buff friend of mine rated it a startling ***1/2 (for the record, Leonard Maltin accords it a more modest **1/2 in his guide) and I also found it listed in the "Wonders In The Dark" website's poll of the "All- Time Top 3000 Movies"!A very typical "frothy" Paramount effort from this era, and one that obviously apes the famed Lubitsch touch then in full force (even going so far as to borrow two of his alumni for the male leads, namely Charlie Ruggles and Roland Young). Grant is a singing javelin-thrower(!) married to Thelma Todd (who is constantly getting her clothes caught in doors and torn clean off her!); the latter has a fling with bachelor Young (this emanates from an era where the audience did not question the considerable age difference in a relationship – but, then, an older Grant would often be guilty of that as well!) and, when caught by Grant, pal Ruggles invents a wife for Young which Grant then asks to meet! They all end up on vacation in Venice (also partly the setting of Lubitsch's masterpiece TROUBLE IN PARADISE, made the same year and also featuring Ruggles!) with down-on-her-luck actress Lily Damita filling the part of devoted spouse to Young.While the woman's supposed charms did not brush off on me (this is the first I have ever seen of her), the same cannot be said of her co-stars, all of whom vie for her attentions at some point or another – or, for that matter, the likes of Michael Curtiz and Errol Flynn who would make her their wife in real life (though both marriages ended in divorce)! Anyway, while the film definitely has a style and sophistication to it (not entirely typical of director Tuttle, whose forte would eventually be hard-boiled thrillers), the intermittent songs – another shameless borrowing from Lubitsch (not to mention Rene' Clair) – do come off as forced and a regrettable intrusion! The situations, while hardly inspired, are mostly engaging and the whole offers an entertaining ride despite finding all concerned not quite in their best form. Here, too, the use (or, should I say, misuse) of Italian comes into play – especially when Ruggles tries to leave Damita's room via a ladder on the point of being removed by a couple of local policemen and, consequently, falls into the canal below and is taken by the representatives of the law for a burglar, Grant, however, intercedes and, when he tells them Ruggles is actually the lady's lover, the two "guardie" burst into a litany of pardons (love, apparently, does conquer all) – which causes Ruggles to subsequently dub them "the 'Scusi' brothers"!

This Is the Night (1932) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Hilarious pre-code from Paramount has Roland Young playing Gerald Gray, a man dating a married woman (Thelma Todd). Things take a turn for the worse when the couple return to her home to find her husband (Cary Grant) there and in order to stay out of trouble the man's best friend (Charles Ruggles) tells the husband that the friend is actually married and the happy couple are on their way to Venice. The husband, not a bit fooled, decides to go along on the trip so the friend must find a fake wife (Lili Damita) to go along with the plan. This is a remake of a 1926 film and it's based on the play Naughty Cinderella. The naughty is certainly correct because this Paramount comedy has quite a few pre-code elements that would soon find themselves banned. Needless to say, having a film centered around a married woman dating other men was certainly a no no but it makes for one great laugh after another. After viewing the film I was really shocked to see that it wasn't more popular because the familiar cast is terrific and we get so many sexual jokes that it really stands out. The dialogue certainly implies many dirty jokes including one bit about "B.J." as well as our two lead actresses showing some skin. Of course we don't get any actual nudity but there's a very charming scene of Damita proving she can be naughty by taking her clothes off and coming off like a vixen. There's also a running joke with Todd constantly getting her clothes ripped off in a variety of ways. Both women have their legs constantly being shown as well as every other bit of skin they can get on camera. These elements certainly give the film a fresh touch and a pretty sexual one as well. Then we have the terrific performances that make the film memorable. Damita, who I had just seen in FRIENDS AND LOVERS, is must better here and in fact turns in a hilarious performance. I was really shocked to see how great she was here because her comic timing is right on the mark and she also plays the more dramatic, romantic moments just as well. Her coming timing really makes her character come to life and her previously mentioned seduction scene was priceless. Ruggles nearly steals the film as the silly assistant who gets this whole thing started. Todd delivers one of the best performances I've seen from her as her timing is great and just check out the wonderful scene where her married character gets jealous by her lover's fake wife. Young is also right on the mark and his chemistry with Damita is great. Then we have Cary Grant in his first role. I was surprised to see how natural he was but he plays the jerkish husband to perfection. I think the film starts to wear thin during the final act when every ones love starts to pour out but everything leading up to this is quite priceless. The performances, sexuality and laughs make this a must-see for fans of classic cinema.

Claire (Thelma Todd) and Gerald (Roland Young) are carrying on a rather heated affair, but just as they are about to go away together to Venice, Claire's javelin-throwing husband Stephen (Cary Grant) returns home. In order to dispel his distrust, Gerald hires a woman to pose as his wife. Germaine (Lili Damita) is a hungry young French actress who poses as a more experienced woman named Chou Chou. She vamps Gerald incessantly while Stephen is around, and she is so successful that she makes Claire insanely jealous.This sing-songy film is a delight to watch. It is fast-paced, comedic, and filled with a stellar cast, but it is not well known today. Film collectors find it interesting because it marks Cary Grant's first screen appearance and because it is one of the few films of Lili Damita, a popular but heavily-accented French star. Her career fizzled quite quickly, but not before she appeared with stars like Gary Cooper and Laurence Olivier.Fans of the pre-code era will enjoy this one quite a lot, as it is peppered with naughty jokes ("I was living in Cin--, I was Naughty.") and a running gag about Todd losing her clothes.