A Night to Remember
Icons of Screwball Comedy Volume 2
Loretta Young, Brian Aherne
Directed by Richard Wallace
Originally released Columbia 1943 B&W
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2009
91 minutes
A Night to Remember is best remembered as the movie about the Titanic and least remembered as a B-movie screwball comedy starring Loretta Young and Brian Aherne. I suspect this particular film is meant to be the lesser offering in the Volume 2 of Icons of Screwball Comedy DVD set but it sure is enjoyable. The print quality used here is pristine.
Nancy Troy and her mystery novelist husband Jeff (Loretta Young and Brian Aherne) move into a basement apartment at 13 Gay Street in Greenwich Village. The place used to be a prohibition speakeasy and still houses suspicious characters. There immediately are mysterious goings on about that apartment and a big gorilla of a man is overheard planning to meet someone at the Troy’s new apartment but nothing comes of it aside from his murder.
A Night To Remember spoofs mystery movies and does so quite humorously: the “why did you hide in the closet?” bit is quite funny. Every other tenant in the building is suspicious and the Troys, now amateur sleuths decide to investigate. Fans of American movies from the 30s and 40s will easily recognize nods to The Thin Man series and Nick and Nora Charles in Nancy and Jeff Troy.
This movie does not feature the key element of a classic screwball comedy: the confused or confusing marriage situation but it features the necessary witty dialogue (“Darling, if you are going to get murdered, I am going to get murdered with you.) and an instance or two of slapstick. The running gag with the turtle is fun.
The other comedies included in the Volume 2 of Icons of Screwball Comedy DVD set are Theodora Goes Wild and Together Again starring Irene Dunne, and The Doctor Takes A Wife with Loretta Young.
A lousy Columbia cartoon is included as special feature in this 2 DVD set. I would have appreciated a bit more information on the movies but there you go.
Other Icons of Screwball Comedy titles:
Other reviews for Icons of Screwball Comedy:
Icons of Screwball Comedy Volume 1 – Too Many Husbands
Icons of Screwball Comedy Volume 1 – If You Could Only Cook
Other screwball comedies:
A Fish Called Wanda (classic with Jamie Lee Curtis)
My Man Godfrey (classic has not aged that well)
Duplex (very good comedy with Drew Barrymore in spite of Ben Stiller)
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