"Tonight or Never" Review

 

by Daniel White

Poor Gloria Swanson, the silent film sensation was never able to duplicate the dazzling success she had in pre-sound flicks once the "talkers" were introduced. Yes, she wowed the world as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, but that was twenty years later, long after Miss Swanson's reign as a sizzling sex siren was over. And it turned out to be an anomaly, her one-trick pony, so to speak. Perhaps if she had been under contract to one of the big studios, someone like an Irving Thalberg or B. P. Schulberg could have guided her over the often rocky transition from silent to sound. After all, MGM managed to safely lead Garbo, Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford through those often treacherous waters. Even Paramount dragged the reluctant Clara Bow kicking and screaming into the sound era. Who did Swanson have for support, business tycoon Joe Kennedy? Her association with that Boston chiseler proved more disastrous to her career than anything else. Gloria Swanson was a smart and savvy lady but if there ever was a time she needed a helping hand, 1929 was it.

1931's Tonight or Never is Swanson's fourth foray into talking pictures, and while it isn't the stinker that the laughable The Trespasser was, it doesn't ignite the screen either. It's a serviceable romantic farce about a temperamental opera diva (is there any other kind?) who longs for love. Fortunately for Gloria, Samuel Goldwyn produced this trifle, so while the story is less than tantalizing, the production values are excellent. You know your leading lady is a STAR when the opening credits state: "Miss Swanson's gowns designed and executed by Chanel of Paris." Yowza, it doesn't get more high falutin' than that! Clothes by Chanel, cinematography by Gregg Toland, music by Alfred Newman, and a talented leading man played by Melvyn Douglas (in his film debut). What is the problem?

Unfortunately, the problem is Miss Swanson. She just isn't very good. Unable to muster up the charm and bewitchment to play such a role, she comes across as dull and uninteresting. The woman who created sparks on the silver screen when silent, turns listless and two-dimensional when sound is introduced. Truly a mystery, one that I haven't been able to fathom.

Gloria Swanson would appear in two more features before leaving film work behind in 1934. She would continue to perform on radio and the stage, and even attempt another movie, 1941's Father Takes a Wife. But she wouldn't find screen immortality until Billy Wilder cast her as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1950). It is the only sound role that equals her success as one of the greatest stars of silent cinema.

Directed by Mervyn Leroy, distributed by United Artists, and containing two very amusing performances by Ferdinand Gottschalk and Alison Skipworth, Tonight or Never is available on YouTube. Oh, and Boris Karloff shows up as an all-knowing waiter who can't wait to warn Mr. Douglas about La Swanson and her amorous intrigues!