Movie Review: One Thrilling Night (1942)
Synopsis: Newlyweds Horace and Millie Jason travel to New York City for a one-night honeymoon before the drafted Horace is forced to report for military service. Their romantic evening, however, is interrupted by a dead body and a group of gangsters who mistakenly believe Horace is a rival who has stolen $50,000.
Who's in it? The movie stars John Beal, Wanda McKay, Warren Hymer, J. Farrell MacDonald, Tom Neal and Barbara Pepper.
Review: I had One Thrilling Night in my library for some time but always found another movie to watch instead. I finally decided to pick it this morning, and it turned out to be a good choice.
At first, I wasn't sure if I'd like this film. There were a lot of jokes that were dated to the point they didn't hit as well as they probably did 80 years ago and the early scenes involving the "dead" body they discover in their room only to have it disappear were getting repetitive.
Once the movie got going, however, it became a lot more interesting. The way Horace (Beal) was mistaken for the other man in the room was entertaining, especially since it probably should have been obvious to the main gangster, Frankie (Neal), he probably wasn't the right guy. Once Millie (McKay) gets more involved, the movie becomes even more fun to watch because she had some of the funnier jokes in the movie, including when she protested hiding from the bad guys in a theater because she had seen the movie before. The fact she was also a wife who wasn't content to let her husband do all the fighting was a nice touch too.
The way they still kept trying to make their honeymoon magical throughout all of it added a good mix of comedy and tragedy as well. As the night got later, bringing Horace closer to needing to catch a train, I wondered if they would ever get an opportunity to consummate the marriage and probably wouldn't have faulted them had they chose to do so while the police were in the room with them (though I'm pretty sure that would have changed the classification of this movie).
I was a bit undecided about the hotel detective, Pat Callahan (Hymer) at first but did ultimately think he added something extra to the film. I think the thing I liked most about him was how he was skeptical when he heard their unproven story but still seemed willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was enough to make him likeable to the point it was easy to feel bad for him, understand his frustrations and consider him as someone who was a friend to the newlyweds, even though it was clear that wasn't their preference.
Final Opinion: It's a film with a silly premise and quite a few dated jokes. However, there is something about it that still works and I enjoyed watching it.
My Grade: B+
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Here are some reviews of other movies featuring newlyweds:
Movie Review: The Remaining (2014)
Movie Review: Slaughter of the Vampires (1962)
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