All Night (1918) User Reviews (6)

A cute little comedy.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 February 2014]

The biggest reason to see this film is, probably, to get a look at Rudolph Valentino. However, this is DEFINITELY not what you might expect from the Latin lover who starred in "The Sheik" and "Blood and Sand". Instead, it's comedy and Valentino plays a rather weak man--so weak that he's in love with a girl but keeps putting off asking her to marry him.

When the film begins, Richard Thayer (Valentino) is wondering how and when to ask Elizabeth to marry him. At the same time, their friends the Harcourts are in a bind--William desperately needs a million dollar loan of he'll be bankrupt. His only hope is a weird industrialist, Mr. Bradford, who is coming to stay with them for the evening and talk about investing in Harcourt's business. However, just before Bradford arrives, the staff revolt because they haven't been paid--and now William doesn't know what to do. He wants to impress the man but how can they do it without a staff? So, he hatches a crazy scheme that might just work...

This is a kooky situation comedy that never made me laugh out loud but which was nonetheless enjoyable. A clever script and a nice, fast pace make this one worth your time.

Gorgeous in his PJ's

[mik-19 · 6/10 · 11 July 2006]

The young Rudolph Valentino makes all the difference in this pleasant, if not overly inventive comedy of mistaken identities, a French bedroom farce by way of Hollywood 1918.

The story is preposterous, but the basic premise has Rudolph Valentino and the girl he adores, Carmel Myers, play spouses in order to guile their weekend guest, a brutish, rakish, completely insufferable millionaire into sponsoring their good friend's business venture.

There is so much sheer fun in the film that you forgive its shortcomings to a certain stage. I loved the scene in which the millionaire insists that the couple retire to their matrimonial bed, and escorts them to the master bedroom, hearts all a-flutter, cheeks ablaze. He goes so far as to undress Valentino and tuck him in, and you will note that Valentino looks gorgeous in his PJ's. At a point he realizes that no good will come of the venture, and that they will probably all end up with their heads banged in, and he proclaims that he will go upstairs to freshen himself up: "I want to look nice when the ambulance arrives ...". Hilarious.

Starring Rudolph Valentino as Jack Tripper

[pocca · 7/10 · 14 July 2005]

The basic storyline is of a type that can still be found in television sitcoms: for various complicated reasons the characters agree to pretend to be other people, a scenario that of course is bound to go very, very wrong. To impress a millionaire, Elizabeth, played by Carmel Myers (a likable ingénue) and Richard (Rudolph Valentino) agree to impersonate their richer older friends, who in turn pretend to be the butler and maid. Things begin to fall apart immediately when the blustering, cigar smoking millionaire starts lusting after the maid and seems creepily determined to get Richard and Elizabeth started on a family (he threatens to carry Myers upstairs if she doesn't start moving herself, and more or less undresses Valentino and puts him to bed). Much of the humour in this film arises retrospectively from Valentino's later reputation as a romantic idol--although he looks quite sexy in his white silk pajamas, Myers is almost as distressed by the sight of him as Elsa Lanchester is by the Frankenstein monster

A particularly enjoyable film for Valentino fans interested in seeing him in a atypical role, but fun in its own right.

Valentino gives his best Keaton Impersonation

[Spuzzlightyear · 5/10 · 17 July 2005]

This minor, VERY minor little movie seems to be made before Valentino made everyone's heart swoon with his ummm, maleness is quite surprising, because here's he's essentially playing the frustrated bachelor type, probably made more famous by Buster Keaton then anyone else. (Valentino even looks like him here). The story here is all about Valentino's frustrations in trying to propose to a girl who's always occupied with other people. His friends, the Harcourts feel sorry for the poor guy, and invite him and his girl pal to dinner. But meanwhile, the Harcourts hired help has walked off the job because they're not getting paid, and they're also expecting a visitor who might or might not help them with a business proposal that Mr. Warketin has! When the businessman DOES show up, the Harcourts decide to dress up as the help and Keaton and his gal pal impersonate the Harcourts. Hmmm, OK. Needless to say, the businessman has his eccentricities, and it all leads to, well, hijinx.

This is not BAD, although somewhat ridiculous, and dated. A modern day version of this could be interesting though.

When are servants not servants?

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 4 January 2018]

Moving on now to Rudolph Valentino, another super-star of the silents, I mentioned in my review of "The Sheik" that The Conquering Power and Camille were due for DVD release, but so far this hasn't happened.

What we do have, however, is the 1918 All Night, an unexpectedly delightful little comedy in which superb acting from the entire cast (particularly William Dyer as the self-idolizing millionaire, Carmel Myers as the put-upon heroine and Charles Dorian as the enterprisingly woebegone Harcourt) disguises the rather familiar central situation of householders masquerading as their own servants.

Some very amusing lines ("I want to look nice when the ambulance arrives!") help too.

Paul Powell's direction seems bland, but he is actually keeping a tight rein on the comedy, allowing it to develop naturally and gathering a full quota of laughs from every twist of the plot. (Grapevine offer a 7/10 tinted DVD).