Night after Night

Mae West’s screen debut, Night after Night follows speakeasy owner Joe Anton (George Raft) as he falls for a rich society girl (Constance Cummings’ Jerry Healy) and immediately attempts to lure her away from Louis Calhern’s Dick Bolton – with problems ensuing as a pair of ex-girlfriends (Wynne Gibson’s Iris and West’s Maudie) arrive on the scene. There’s not much within Night after Night‘s first half that’s worth getting terribly excited about, as the narrative, for the most part, details the less-than-enthralling and rather mundane exploits of the central character (eg Joe meets with vicious rivals, Joe engages in a lesson with his English tutor, etc). It’s clear, then, that the movie improves considerably once West’s character bursts onto the scene at around the halfway mark, with the actress’ captivating and downright electrifying performance effectively infusing Night after Night with a jolt of much-needed energy. West’s brassy turn, which stands in sharp contrast to her comparatively bland costars, ensures that the film suffers whenever she’s offscreen, and there’s little doubt that Night after Night would barely even be worth mentioning were it not for her scene-stealing presence.

**1/2 out of ****