jacobs-greenwood Michael Curtiz directed this below average fictionalized musical biography of Cole Porter which earned an Academy Award nomination for its Ray Heindorf-Max Steiner musical Score. Written by Charles Hoffman, Leo Townsend, and William Bowers with an adaptation by Jack Moffitt, it features several uninspired renditions of Porter's music and stage productions including the Yale fight song ("Bulldog"), "What is this Thing called Love?", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Anything Goes", "You're the Top", "Don't Fence Me In", "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", and the title song (among several others).The film's unusual casting includes Cary Grant as Porter, Jane Wyman as singer Gracie Harris, and Eve Arden as a French cabaret singer Gabrielle; also, there's Alexis Smith as Porter's wife Linda Lee, Monty Woolley as himself and a former Harvard law professor, and Ginny Simms as Carole Hill, who sings many of the songs. Also in the cast are: Victor Francen as Anatole Giron, who gives Porter an opportunity after he'd been injured during World War I, Alan Hale as a producer who passes on Porter's music, Dorothy Malone as a singer, Selena Royle as Porter's mother, Henry Stephenson as the composer's Grandfather, Sig Ruman as the owner of a place rented by Woolley- Porter for rehearsals, and singer Mary Martin as herself. Herman Bing appears uncredited as one of Gracie's wealthy boyfriends.There's a point in the story when Hale's character says (in effect) "I hear it but, although it sounds good enough, I don't feel anything in my heart (or gut)" to indicate there's something wrong with Porter's music (sung by Woolley!); I think that sums up this film pretty well.

TheLittleSongbird Cary Grant and that it contains songs by Cole Porter and a film about him are reasons enough to see Night and Day. For anybody wanting something completely accurate they're better off reading a Cole Porter biography, for Night and Day does gloss over his homosexuality(considering the time it was made though this was completely understandable) and reduces the tragic riding accident that Porter never recovered from.If you however take the film for what it is, which is always a fairer way to judge, you should find some enjoyment out of it. From where I'm standing, Night and Day, despite being formulaic with some at times corny scripting and a few parts that drag a little, is a very nice film. It is beautifully made with ravishing Technicolor, sumptuous costumes and equally gorgeous photography, and Michael Curtiz shows that he was more than up to the job, directing with his usual sophistication and class. Night and Day also features a wonderfully sweeping score that deservedly received an Oscar nomination and Cole Porter fans will be in heaven with the songs, most of them being among his best featured here. Porter's music is some of the best ever written, in musicals and in any kind of music, and Night and Day do them justice, being entertainingly staged(even the slightly bizarrely set My Heart Belongs to Daddy) and well performed by the likes of Mary Martin and Ginny Simms, even Grant doesn't do too bad a job.Night and Day contains parts that are very funny, thank goodness that they didn't gloss over Porter's wit(though they could have had even more of it), and others that are quite touching, like the composition of Night and Day in a French hospital. The story like the script is not perfect, but it's neatly told, entertains and has heart, it also doesn't make the mistake of being dull. The film may be fictionalised, but you're engrossed in the story regardless. The casting's unusual but in terms of performances the cast do a marvellous job. Cary Grant is very charming and enigmatic in the title role, playing the role with sympathy and wit(an important trademark of Porter's and a large part of Grant's overall charm). Alexis Smith is beautiful and elegant and is as sympathetic as Grant and Jane Wyman allures too. Monty Woolley, Mary Martin and Ginny Simms acquit themselves brilliantly too. Overall, a very nice film when taken for what it is. 8/10 Bethany Cox

weezeralfalfa Despite her dancing and singing talent, poor Alexis Smith was stuck with the thankless role of a long suffering, non-singing or dancing version, of Porter's wife, Linda. The real Linda was considerably older than Porter, not 17 years younger, as in the Grant-Alexis pairing. In this film, we get the impression that, despite their lingering attraction, Linda felt insufficiently valued by Porter, resulting in long separations, possibly suggesting Porter's gay orientation. The real Linda seemed generally comfortable with their non-sexual companion relationship, and often was involved in inspiring his song writing. For a small sampling of Alexis's singing and dancing talents, check out the Errol Flynn western "San Antonio" and the WWII musical revue "Thank Your Lucky Stars". She became Olivia de Havilland's successor as Flynn's most frequent romantic interest in his '40s films, ending as a cattle queen in the '50 "Montana".A comedic scene has Porter meeting Linda by chance after many years separated, and he gets the impression she is married, and has born many children, whereas she is working at an orphanage.We have a number of men and women featured singers and dancers, Thus, this musical takes on the character of a revue. Dorothy Malone, Eve Arden and Mary Martin each are featured for one song, Mary reprising her Broadway role in singing "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". Impossibly cute Jane Wyman is the featured breezy singer for 3 songs from the '20s, whereas the elegantly gorgeous Ginny Simms sings nearly all the songs from the '30s, essentially taking the place of Ethel Merman, who was Porter's favorite singer during this period. Of course, her voice and personality were not remotely like those of Ethel, being much more ethereal. Nonetheless, she was perfect for the role, I much enjoyed her renditions. Ginny was vastly underutilized by Hollywood, both as a singer and actress. For another role in which she sang a few songs, as well as being a major character in the story, see the revue musical "Broadway Rhythm"...You may have been surprised by the choice of Jane Wyman as a singer/dancer. Although she began her public entertainment career as a singer, her singing/dancing talent was very seldom used by Hollywood....Grant sings several songs, most of them among the forgotten ones. Porter reportedly was quite satisfied with the choice of Grant to impersonate him. Cary well fulfills his promise as a suave, low-key version of Porter, without his hedonistic excesses...Bill Days does a fine job singing an abbreviated "Night and Day" on stage....Carlos Ramirez, who was quite a famous singer in his native Columbia, is the featured singer in the elaborate production around "Begin the Beguine". This is, no doubt, the high point of his very limited utilization by Hollywood. In the previous "Two Girls and a Sailor", he did a great rendition of the classic "Granada".The choreography in the 3 main numbers is top rate and the highlight of the film. Each of the 3 main dance performances employed a different dancer or dancing couple, and the dancing styles were quite different. For most of the dancers, this was essentially their only inclusion in a Hollywood film, at least as a dancer. Estelle Sloan was the solo act while Ginny sang "Just One of Those Things", She came across as a mix of MGM's Anne Miller and Eleanor Powell, with her tap dancing, followed by a series a very fast spins: pretty impressive. While Ginny sang "I've Got You under My Skin", Adam and Jane di Gatano were the dance team. They included many lifts of Jane, including a Busby Berkeley-like overhead view of Adam spinning while holding Jane over his head. Lastly, as part of the elaborate production surrounding "Begin the Beguine", George Zorith and Milada Mladova provide a very sensuous dancing couple, with much time devoted to coordinated individual elegant movements. Very impressive! This performance invites comparison with the elaborate performance to the same song, featuring Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell as a pair, in "Broadway Melody of 1940". Yes, quite different! Astaire and Eleanor emphasized very rapid tandem dance steps, which was their forte, as opposed to the airy often individual romantic expressions in the present film.Wooly Monty Woolley takes on the role of Porter's equally charismatic alter ego, beginning the film as Porter's law instructor at Yale, then popping up periodically throughout the film, as theater director and Porter's confidant. They made a great contrasting pair: physically and personality-wise. Woolley was, in fact, a gay friend of the real Porter. He serves as master of ceremonies in the strange, rather grim, finale Yale tribute to Porter, in which Porter enters the hall with the aid of two canes to support his much operated-on legs, "Night and Day" is once again played(as the theme song for the Porter/Linda relationship) and Porter is once again reunited with Linda, bearing an ominous expression over her shoulder as they embrace. Clearly, he is apprehensive about her reentry into his life. Because of his painful legs problem? Grant's rather cool reception of clear romantic overtures by Jane's and Ginny's characters, ambivalent attitude toward Linda, along with Monty's dominating presence in his life, could well hint at Porter's gay orientation.Henry Stephenson plays Porter's wealthy grandfather, who largely controls his purse strings in his early adult life, and insists on Porter taking a law curriculum at Yale. Stephenson had many such roles in '40s Hollywood films.Despite some much overemphasized minuses by many reviewers, I still rate this as a very enjoyable experience, if much fictionalized history.

richard-1787 This is a very strange, very disappointing movie. No, not because it strays so far from the actual facts of Porter's biography; lots of biops, especially older ones, do that.This movie is strange because it featured so much talent with so little result.Michael Curtiz is one of my all-time favorite directors, having given us some of the greatest, most thoroughly engaging of all American movies: Casablanca, of course, but also Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sea Hawk, and many more. They are movies of great passion without a dead minute.And yet, apart from some well-staged musical numbers, Night and Day is nothing BUT dead minutes. The episodic nature of the script doesn't help any; characters (especially women) appear and then vanish. But primarily, there is NO chemistry between Cary Grant/Cole Porter and any of the women in this movie.Was it because Grant and Curtiz knew that Porter was gay and were trying to suggest that despite the script? Somehow, I doubt it. Monty Woolly shows far more feeling for Porter - whom he knew in real life, of course - than Grant/Porter ever shows for any of the women in this picture. In the last shot, when Alexis Smith (Porter's wife) embraces Grant, his face still shows no real love, much less passion, for her. It is a very strange performance from a very great actor who was certainly quite capable of making sparks fly with women on the screen.In the end, I couldn't help but feel that the only convincing relationship in the movie was the one between Porter and Woolly, largely because of Woolly's acting, even though that is the part of Porter's biography that the movie was at least ostensibly trying to suppress.The rest of the movie is pretty flat as well. Cole had no real hardships on the road to success, other than his ill health, so there is not much to develop into drama. There are the clichéd "inspiration" scenes: Porter finds the lyrics to "Night and Day" one rainy night when a grandfather clock ticks and rain drops against a window outside, etc.If you like Porter's music, there are some well-staged numbers - though what should have been one of the best, Mary Martin's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," with which she had such a great success on Broadway, somehow comes off flat. Woolly is good doing "Miss Otis sends her regrets," though it could have been staged better.If you're looking to learn about Cole Porter, this is not for you.But if you're looking for an engaging even if fictional story with interesting characters and engaging interaction, this really isn't for you either.What a shame all that talent went for so little.