That was an excellent one.

Admirable film.

Absolutely Fantastic

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Producer: Harry Rapf. Copyright 7 January 1935 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. New York opening simultaneously at the Capitol and Loew's Metropolitan in Brooklyn: 13 January 1935. U.K. release: 4 May 1935. Australian release: 12 June 1935. 9 reels. 78 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Prince falls for a ballet dancer. NOTES: A financial disaster all around, forcing Novarro into retirement for the next 14 years and Miss Laye back to England and British films for good. Waspish reviews did not help. All the humorless critics took the ridiculous plot seriously, none realizing it was intended as a send-up. By the time the film arrived in Australia, M-G-M wanted only to bury it. So it was sent out as a support. Only astute audiences in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide took the picture at more than its face value, recognizing the entertaining satire for what it was. COMMENT: Amusing send-up of Ruritanian romance with music by Sigmund Romberg and a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II. Songs are catchy and extremely well performed. Novarro is better cast than usual. Miss Laye is superb. Director Dudley Murphy has an eye for stylish compositions. He is abetted by James Wong Howe's brilliant camerawork, lovely costumes by Dolly Tree and magnificent sets.It's hard to explain why superlative entertainment like this, with its great score, wonderful cast and fabulous production values, failed so miserably at a box-office that only a few months later was to welcome Naughty Marietta with such frenzied adulation. Certainly Novarro's star was waning. Audiences hadn't really taken to him since he'd started to speak. His voice was felt to be too light for the roles he was often called upon to play. By the time he was more happily cast, it was too late.

Wistful, bittersweet operetta seemingly belonging to a time considerably earlier than 1935; it has elements of "Maytime," "The Student Prince," and, yes, "Bitter Sweet" in its plotting and sentimentality. (And leading lady Evelyn Laye, who is extraordinary, had in fact starred in "Bitter Sweet" on Broadway.) But Romberg and Hammerstein, whether au courant at the time or not, chose to write sincerely and with feeling, and MGM trotted out some good screenwriters and excellent production values to realize their vision. The result is an operetta familiar in its doomed-love-among-different-classes plotting, but integrated in a then-modern way, with characters subtly switching into song on the flimsiest of excuses. It's really charming, and Novarro, in his MGM farewell, is dashing and gentlemanly. Charles Butterworth, who had played this sort of part for Hammerstein on the stage in "Sweet Adeline," is a delightful underplaying buffoon, and his vis-a-vis, Una Merkel, gets more screen time than she was generally allowed. Rosalind Russell, as the well-bred woman Novarro must marry (like I said, it's very like "The Student Prince") isn't interesting at this point in her career, but Edward Everett Horton had by now perfected his fussy-major-domo characterization and does it to a T. Well directed by the nearly unknown Dudley Murphy, and lovely to look at.

Evelyn Laye is the standout amoung a cast of familiar 30's character actors. I never saw her before and she walks away with this film. It seems she dropped out of the movies after this to work on stage again. The rest of the cast is fine and the photography and direction are stand outs. It's occasionally on TCM here in the US. The print is in very good shape but the audio is fuzzy in a few scenes. Recommended

Against his wishes, an Austrian Archduke must pretend a lovely ballet girl is his mistress - but THE NIGHT IS YOUNG and anything might still happen...Ramon Novarro had his last starring role at MGM in this forgotten - but surprisingly enjoyable - musical comedy. This time the Studio's chameleon star plays a Habsburg royal and he brings his usual sense of good fun & high spirits to the role - laughing & singing & charming the ladies. To its credit, the Studio gave him a sendoff with fine production values and a worthy supporting cast.English songstress Evelyn Laye was to be Novarro's final (major film) leading lady. She is lovely & very talented & will remind some viewers of Jeanette MacDonald - except she's much easier to understand when warbling than Jeanette.Wizened Edward Everett Horton is well cast as a pompous palace bureaucrat; it's quite a hoot to watch his facial expressions throughout. Pert & sassy, Una Merkel is fun as Miss Laye's girlfriend; laconic Charles Butterworth provides some chuckles as Merkel's solemn beau. Herman Bing is very enjoyable as Novarro's majordomo; and elderly Henry Stephenson adds a touch of grace & dignity to his small role as Emperor Franz Josef.Movie mavens will recognize Elspeth Dudgeon as an old Duchess in the Royal Box at the Ballet; Christian Rub as a cafe waiter; and George Davis as a milkman - all uncredited.The musical score by Oscar Hammerstein II & Sigmund Romberg is all pleasantly lilting, with the standout being the classic ‘When I Grow Too Old To Dream.'***************************After doing very fine work in front of the Hollywood cameras for thirteen years, Ramon Novarro found himself in the unfortunate position of being the human flotsam swept up by two powerful tides.First, there was the definite change in the public's taste for male movie stars. The Latin Lover was out -the rugged He-man (personified by Gable & Cooper) was very much the vogue. Sensitive Novarro, with his still strong Mexican accent, no longer fit in. Thus, THE NIGHT IS YOUNG can easily be seen as the last gasp of the Hollywood Latin Lover, with roots stretching back to Valentino.Second, with the strengthening of the Hayes Office and the enforcement of the Production Code beginning in mid-1934, a powerful studio like MGM had to be very careful with its sexually nebulous stars. Already MGM had been involved in silencing little imbroglios Novarro had gotten into in the past. A big sex scandal now could be disastrous. Unwilling to hide behind a fake marriage (as a few other male stars were forced to do), Louis B. Mayer quietly reserved the right to not renew Novarro's contract when it expired in 1935.Ten years previous, in the title role of the hugely popular BEN-HUR, Novarro had been one of MGM's brightest stars. Now, he was a has-been.Novarro seems to have accepted the changes with typical good grace. Always wise with his finances, money was not going to be much of a problem. He did some film work at lesser studios, both in California & Mexico. He even went on the stage for awhile and lent his fine singing voice to light operetta. And eventually, as he aged, there was some television work.Basically, though, Novarro had already slipped into obscurity by the mid-1950's, as can be seen by a rather cruel comment Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) makes about him in one of the Hollywood episodes of I Love Lucy. Novarro continued with the occasional acting job into the 1960's.It would certainly be comforting if movie heroes all came to happy ends at last. Such culminations to long lives would be both poetic & tidy. Ramon Novarro, alas, would have no such Final Farewell.At the end of October in 1968, Novarro made the incredibly bad mistake of allowing two young ruffians into his home. Over the course of a very long night, he was humiliated, beaten, tortured & murdered in the most grisly, ghastly manner. (The culprits were quickly caught.) Novarro was 69 years old.And so ends the wonderful, horrible, exciting, terrifying saga of Ramon Novarro. It is too bad that for decades the most that people recalled about him, if at all, was the gruesome manner of his death. He should be remembered as a fine actor with much charm & vivacity, who acquitted himself well in both silent & talking motion pictures. If for no other reason than BEN-HUR, he will be assured his place in film history. Now that his old movies are slowly becoming more readily accessible, it may at last be possible to give Ramon Novarro the acknowledgment & respect he deserves.