Lady For A Night

• Directed by Leigh Jason
• January 5, 1942

The owner of a casino steamboat gains the ownership of plantation and negotiates her marriage to the previous owner in order to gain entry into elite society where she is framed for her husband’s murder. That there is a mouthful.

First thing that slaps you in the face about Lady for a Night is it is much more of a Joan Blondell film than it is a John Wayne film. He was certainly a star at the time, but just not the star he was in later years. If you’re a John Wayne fan don’t go in expecting a heavy presence of the Duke. He is here but not in heavy doses and not the driving character of the story.

The story is set shortly after the Civil War. At least shortly enough after that the people who backed the wrong side are dealing with the consequences of their poor decision making. The female at the center of the story is Jenny Blake (Joan Blondell) who owns the successful gambling steamboat called Memphis Belle. Yes, the famous plane got its name from this very movie.

Despite being a successful businesswoman and rather well off, because she was born on the wrong side of the tracks high society looks down on her even though their patronage has made her quite rich to the point the Civil War did little to hurt her financially. She is desperate for acceptance into the upper echelons of Southern society but cannot because there is no avenue available to force their hand.

It is only when she learns a little bit of information that she concocts a plan to blackmail her way into a marriage to a prominent yet destitute family via their only son Alan Alderson (Ray Middleton) by forgiving his gambling debts and saving the family home from being sold off to satisfy a tax debt. That’s kinda messed up on Jenny’s part. Nobody nice does that. Really.

Alan is the family drunk though there are moments where he sounds bitter and resentful towards his family either because they’re now broke or because he can’t live up to their expectations. Maybe both. What is clear is that whatever family dynamic is going on is the reason for his raging alcoholism and careless gambling.

The Alderson Family is ice cold. Either emotionally abusive or just emotionally distant. These are not warm people. They are all about appearances and have little to no feeling. Alan’s aunt Julia (Blanche Yurka) comes off as especially evil. She out darkens every downbeat spirit in this movie. Yurka makes the character come off as almost happy to be depressing. Julia is concerned only about appearances and Jenny does not keep those up based on who she is. Julia will go to great lengths to maintain an acceptable public image for the public.

The only regular kindness Jenny experiences amongst the Alderson clan is from Alan’s other aunt named Katherine (Edith Barrett). Katherine is a little crazy though why is slowly revealed. At first you think she just is the way she is but the reasons run deeper.

John Wayne was not quite the star he was later on when he made Lady for a Night. His Jack Morgan is a significant supporting character, but he’s certainly not the main character. Jack has eyes for Jenny and is even a bit of an enforcer for her even if he is a nice guy. The manliest of area men and the other men defer to. Much like the majority of Wayne’s characters Jack is a good man. He does the right thing. For example Jenny throws a ball and her father-in-law and aunt-in-law work to sabotage it by telling their friends not to show. Jack uses his considerable political influence and the debts he holds over them to make them show.

I have real trouble understanding why Jack needs a bodyguard at all. At least not the particular guy he uses in this movie. Boris (Leonid Kinskey) is a scrawny character much shorter than Jack. He couldn’t find anybody bigger or was Boris intended as strictly comic relief? Lady for a Night wasn’t a consistently serious movie which is a bit of a trademark of the era.

There are family secrets concerning the Aldersons overtly hinted at to the audience but never to the character of Jenny Blake. This film is an odd mix of the humerus and the dark, but it is a tone that depends on the moment and not on the whole film. There is jealousy and murder and poisoning happening here. And the painting that looks at Jenny which is rather humorous. Ultimately it is all a bit soapy.

There are a large number of minor African-American characters and modern audiences will certainly notice their portrayal is often less than serious. They are definitely the comic relief and clearly never the brightest of individuals. You will also notice that much of what they do could easily be cut from the film and affect none of the narrative. This wasn’t all that uncommon for movies of a certain time. They would keep these elements in for Northern states, but in the South or even Deep South they would excise them so they would not offend or alienate racist white audiences. 

I don’t necessarily buy the romantic relationship between Jenny and Jack. They clearly like each other but I would more likely buy good and close friends. He is supposed to be romantic with her but it doesn’t feel as if he’s romantic. I feel more like he has a strong loyalty than anything. Such a plot element was almost unthinkable then though.

While not a John Wayne vehicle Lady for a Night is a good film. It’s a mixture of light and fun and dark and soapy that all comes together into a very entertaining movie. If you’re a fan of old-school romances, then this is for you!