LADY FOR A NIGHT is a 1942 Republic production starring two of my favorites, Joan Blondell and John Wayne. With the film being set in post-Civil War Memphis, I assumed it was going to be a rollicking period adventure--but it actually is more of a Southern Gothic with a few GONE WITH THE WIND elements thrown in.
The movie begins with a Mardi Gras carnival, where a Queen of the festivities is to be chosen. The winner is Jenny Blake (Joan Blondell), a woman who owns a gambling boat and who also has a notorious reputation. The choice of Jenny as Mardi Gras Queen angers Memphis society, and she is so upset by this she decides to do whatever it takes to join the so-called respectable class. Jenny uses the gambling debts of drunken Alan Alderson (Ray Middleton) to induce him into marriage. The Aldersons are an old Southern aristocratic family, but they've fallen on very hard times--and they want absolutely nothing to do with Jenny. The woman tries to win over her new in-laws, but she doesn't realize how dangerous they are. Observing all of this is the only man who truly accepts and loves who Jenny is, Memphis big-wig Jackson Morgan (John Wayne).
LADY FOR A NIGHT does have a few musical numbers scattered in it (even Blondell gets to perform in a couple), but the main plot revolves around Jenny's dealings with the snobbish but downtrodden Alderson family. Alan is drunken and irresponsible (and he spends almost no time with his new wife), while his father (Phillip Merivale) acts as if the Confederacy won the war. Alan's aunts are a couple of spinsters--Julia (Blanche Yurka) is a Mrs. Danvers-like character who will do anything to uphold the family "name". while the dotty Katherine (Edith Barrett) had her only chance at happiness ruined by her relatives years ago, and has never gotten over it. The Aldersons live in a run down, rambling manor called (appropriately) The Shadows, and the rest of the world has seemingly passed them by. The weirdness of the Aldersons almost makes LADY FOR A NIGHT feel like a Tennessee Williams story.
This movie is a bit of a stretch for Joan Blondell. For one thing, it's not a contemporary story, and Jenny Blake isn't one of Blondell's typical sassy & energetic portrayals. Jenny is a calculating woman who is so determined to "better" herself, she lets her own very successful gambling showboat catch fire so she can start a new life. After her marriage of convenience Jenny finds out quite quickly that her new situation isn't anything like she hoped it would be. Jenny tries to crash society by hosting a soiree at The Shadows, but she invites a troupe of can-can girls to perform, giving the movie an excuse to present another musical number and shocking her guests. Eventually, due to the machinations of the diabolical Julia, Jenny winds up being accused of murder. The former gambling queen learns the hard way that there's nothing very impressive about the "upper class".
As for the GONE WITH THE WIND elements, Jenny certainly has a lot of Scarlett O'Hara vibes about her, and she is even given a Mammy-like maid in the form of Chloe, played by Hattie Noel. One would presume that John Wayne is the Rhett Butler equivalent, and he is, sort of, but the Duke doesn't have all that much to do here. One expects Wayne to take matters into his own hands and solve all the plot problems himself, but he doesn't--this is Blondell's movie all the way. (One must remember that in 1942, Wayne was just at the beginning of his time as a Hollywood leading man.)
LADY FOR A NIGHT was directed by Leigh Jason, a man who doesn't have any major pictures to his credit (or at least any that I am familiar with). He does well in mixing the dance hall and Gothic elements. Cinematographer Norbert Brodine provides some fine black & white images, especially those involving the Aldersons' manor house. At one point Blondell wanders about the lonely house in the dark, just like a traditional Gothic heroine would.
I once again must mention Blanche Yurka and Edith Barrett as the Alderson sisters--they make a vivid impression, and they even overshadow Blondell and Wayne. Yurka is a distinctly memorable villain, and Barrett gains sympathy as the beaten-down and poignant Katherine. (Ironically, even though Barrett is playing a woman supposedly much older than Jenny, in real life the actress was a few months younger than Blondell.)
LADY FOR A NIGHT is a very good film, but this isn't a movie that presents a wisecracking, fast-talking Joan Blondell and a hard-charging John Wayne. It does, however, provide a different type of story that will pleasantly surprise most viewers.
I always liked this movie. It played on TV all the time back in the 60s and 70s, and I picked up a DVD copy a few years ago. It's fun seeing John Wayne in something besides a Western. Joan Blondell is always wonderful to watch, even though her acting range doesn't stretch all that far. I had no idea Edith Barratt was younger than Blondell! Barrett and Blanche Yurka are both terrific character actresses, and they bring serious drama to this film. I like the contrast between light-hearted comedy and Southern Gothic weirdness. The only cringeworthy aspect of the film is the way Jenny's maid is portrayed. But then, that's old Hollywood and just the way things were then. Nice review!
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