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As part of the Film Forum Busby Berkeley series, I just saw Night World, a 1932 American Pre-Code starring Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, and Boris Karloff. I'm beginning to be a real believer in the Junior Laemmle Universal product - they remind me more and more of a 1930s studio version of Roger Corman approach, where you assemble a group of eager actors looking for good roles, then put talented writers and directors together with smallish budgets and let them do their thing. These Universal films are idiosyncratic, rough around the edges, and almost hum with their own special vitality.

Night World is a seedy nightclub version of the better known Grand Hotel, and its ensemble acting troupe puts more into its 58 minutes than most contemporary films do at two hours plus. It's brimming with good performances, memorable lines and a real doozy of a finish. I've been not very kind to Mae Clarke in other reviews of her films, but she really comes through in Night World, delivering a natural, winning performance that makes us care about an otherwise pedestrian love story. What a shame she didn't get a chance to do more work like this. This film is very much recommended, and what a pleasure it was to watch a real print on a big screen.

And what fun it was to see dance numbers by Busby Berkeley that were unpolished and less rehearsed - and to conclude that these 'less machine-like but more personal' qualities somehow made the dance routines even more lascivious than his much bigger production numbers made just a year later.

Terrific film. I don't understand why Universal hasn't seen fit to release this on DVD. It played briefly on AMC back in the 80's in a beautiful transfer obviously from 35mm. Afterward back to the vault it went and all that circulates now are multi generational copies of that AMC broadcast.

One of my favourte pre-codes and especially for its atmosphere (all the music is played "live" on set) and for Karloff's terrific performance.There are still many rare and wonderful precode treasures in the vaults - whether they get a release depends on how many folks demand the studios stop sitting on them.


Glad to see this little gem is finally getting its due! I'd love to see it on the big screen. Lucky you!

Wow. How did I miss this one? Excellent film filled with good performances. Great opening montage, snappy music, wise-ass story and all in 56 minutes. Mae Clarke was terrific. There was even a reference to Frankenstein!

Good to see Clarence Muse in this film. He had some nice choice supporting roles in the pre code.

Night World really is a wonderful surprise, completely off my radar. Nice to see the pared down Busby Berkeley numbers that still show his genius. The opening montage was amazing as well and Mae Clarke really was terrific, I've never noticed before but at times she has a real Laura Dern thing going on.

This is the sort of pre-Code fun you'd expect from Warners, not Universal. Any other Universals like this that can be recommended?

oldposterho wrote:Night World really is a wonderful surprise, completely off my radar. Nice to see the pared down Busby Berkeley numbers that still show his genius. The opening montage was amazing as well and Mae Clarke really was terrific, I've never noticed before but at times she has a real Laura Dern thing going on.

This is the sort of pre-Code fun you'd expect from Warners, not Universal. Any other Universals like this that can be recommended?

Although it's not really similar to Night World, John Ford's Air Mail (also 1932), which I saw earlier this year for the first time, is another Universal Pre-Code with that semi-Grand Hotel feeling, i.e. a drama with comic moments, featuring several disparate characters thrown together in an interesting setting. Good cast, too: Pat O'Brien, Ralph Bellamy, Gloria Stuart, etc.

You can count me as another fan of Night World, which I've seen at Film Forum twice. The screening this week was a happier experience than my earlier one, a few years ago, when it was shown as part of a Pre-Code festival. Unfortunately on that occasion I sat near an obviously demented person who created a bit of a disruption. It's one of the hazards of seeing these flicks with an audience. But the screening this week was great fun, and everyone behaved.

Wm. Charles Morrow wrote:

oldposterho wrote:Night World really is a wonderful surprise, completely off my radar. Nice to see the pared down Busby Berkeley numbers that still show his genius. The opening montage was amazing as well and Mae Clarke really was terrific, I've never noticed before but at times she has a real Laura Dern thing going on.

This is the sort of pre-Code fun you'd expect from Warners, not Universal. Any other Universals like this that can be recommended?

Although it's not really similar to Night World, John Ford's Air Mail (also 1932), which I saw earlier this year for the first time, is another Universal Pre-Code with that semi-Grand Hotel feeling, i.e. a drama with comic moments, featuring several disparate characters thrown together in an interesting setting. Good cast, too: Pat O'Brien, Ralph Bellamy, Gloria Stuart, etc.

You can count me as another fan of Night World, which I've seen at Film Forum twice. The screening this week was a happier experience than my earlier one, a few years ago, when it was shown as part of a Pre-Code festival. Unfortunately on that occasion I sat near an obviously demented person who created a bit of a disruption. It's one of the hazards of seeing these flicks with an audience. But the screening this week was great fun, and everyone behaved.

Avoid those dementos!

drednm wrote:Avoid those dementos!

. . . unfortunately, we seem to attend a lot of the same movies. I'm not sure what to make of that.

The film was filled with terrific acting. Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dorothy Peterson (almost unrecognizable), Clarence Muse, Dorothy Revier, Hedda Hopper, and Florence Lake all top notch. Even Lew Ayres (not a fave) was good. And bits from George Raft, Jack La Rue, Byron Foulger, and Robert Emmett O'Connor added a lot. Great music and tacky dance numbers to boot!

>studio version of Roger Corman approach, where you assemble a group of eager actors looking for good roles, then put talented writers and directors together with smallish budgets and let them do their thing<

With respect Lokke, I think you have those two factors reversed. One thing that most contract actors did NOT have under that system, was the power to generate projects.

Merriest,
-Craig

oldposterho wrote:Night World really is a wonderful surprise, completely off my radar. Nice to see the pared down Busby Berkeley numbers that still show his genius. The opening montage was amazing as well and Mae Clarke really was terrific, I've never noticed before but at times she has a real Laura Dern thing going on.

This is the sort of pre-Code fun you'd expect from Warners, not Universal. Any other Universals like this that can be recommended?

An few excellent pre-codes played at MoMA last spring. The theme was the Laemmle Jr. Years.

Allon