Night and Day

From the Editors

Swellegant and elegant. Deluxe and delovely. Cole Porter was the most sophisticated name in 20th-century songwriting. And to play him on screen, Hollywood chose debonair icon Cary Grant. Grant stars for the first time in color in this fanciful biopic. Alexis Smith plays Linda, whose serendipitous meetings with Cole lead to a meeting at the altar. More than 20 Porter songs grace this tale of triumph and tragedy, with Grant lending his amiable voice to You're the Top, Night and Day and more. Monty Woolley, a Yale contemporary of Porter, portrays himself. And Jane Wyman, Mary Martin, Eve Arden and others provide vocals and verve. Lights down. Curtain up. Standards embraced by generations are yours to enjoy Night and Day.
Description

Customer Response

Wonderful musical
This is a lesser known Cary Grant movie that deserves to be better known, not for Cary's acting (didn't think this was his better work) but for the music of Cole Porter and the supporting actors. You will see Jane Wyman, Eve Arden (terrific at being French!), Carlos Ramirez and Mary Martin singing and dancing. A great way to relive the past. For other Cary Grant fans, a must have for your collection.

NIGHT AND DAY reviewed
Cary Grant and Alexis Smith star in this movie about the life of Cole Porter. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the biography, but it does include many of Cole' best-known songs.

Cary Grant in a *very* loose Porter biopic
If you can forgive the sad fact that the movie bears very little in common with the accurate life story of Cole Porter, then NIGHT AND DAY (1946) can be enjoyed for it's treasure trove of musical performances; but as a genuine screen biography of the composer, it falls decidedly flat.

Cary Grant stars as the tunesmith who gave us such standards as "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Anything Goes", "Begin the Beguine" and "Let's Do It", in this most loose recreation of Cole Porter's early career, leading up to the horse-riding accident which left him crippled. Porter's devoted wife Linda is played with charm and poise by Alexis Smith, who comes off quite well.

In reality, Porter was bisexual and his marriage to Linda (a divorceé who had endured abuse in her previous relationship) was a mutually supportive "arrangement", although they did love each other very much. This of course couldn't be depicted on-screen in 1946 because of the strict censorship laws.

Adding flash to the musical portions are Ginny Simms (who somehow manages to make us forget the non-presence of Ethel Merman in the "Anything Goes" sequences); and Mary Martin recreating her star-making turn ("My Heart Belongs to Daddy") from "Leave It to Me". Jane Wyman is a sparky chorus girl, and Monty Woolley plays himself. Eve Arden has a small but enjoyable bit as a French music-hall singer. Unlike MGM, Warners didn't have the largest pool of musical talents from which to pick and choose, but I think they did a good job with the casting in NIGHT AND DAY. In hindsight, it might have been more appropriate to have been filmed in B&W, but the Technicolor photography definitely enhances the charm of the musical numbers.

Warner's DVD features a nice print (if a trifle washed-out in places); along with some choice shorts from the era ("Musical Movieland", "Desi Arnaz & His Orchestra"), and the Looney Tunes cartoon "The Big Snooze". Also available as part of The Cary Grant Signature Collection (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House / Destination Tokyo / The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer / My Favorite Wife / Night and Day).

Prompt Delivery
DVD was in excellent condition. Received it before expected. Would order from this seller again.

IDEAL COLE PORTER MUSICAL

This film is a wonderful collection of the Cole Porter Songs of this Biographical Musical. Unfortunately, the story in mostly fictional through Hollywood's standards and not true to his personal life.

Definitely for a Collector of Biographical Musicals and library.

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