This Is the Night (1932) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A fabricated marriage arrangement in Venice exposes jealousy, mistaken identities, and changing romantic loyalties.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Tickets And Deception

An unexpected return exposes tickets for a secret Venice journey. A false explanation is created, but it requires a woman to impersonate a wife.

Key Events

• Return From The Olympics — Claire's husband unexpectedly returns from the 1932 Summer Olympics. Characters: Claire Mathewson Location: The Mathewson residence
• Venice Tickets Discovered — Her husband discovers tickets arranged for Claire's secret Venice getaway. Characters: Claire Mathewson Location: The Mathewson residence
• A Cover Story Is Invented — A friend claims the tickets are for another couple's journey. Location: The Mathewson residence
• A False Wife Is Needed — The cover story requires a woman to pose as a married travel companion. Location: Paris
• An Actress Is Approached — An actress is considered for the false-wife role but cannot accept it. Location: Paris
• Germaine Receives The Offer — Out-of-work Germaine accepts the role because she needs money to avoid starvation. Characters: Germaine Location: Paris

Germaine Takes The Role

Germaine accepts the impersonation because she desperately needs the payment. She transforms from an apparently demure candidate into a convincing glamorous wife.

Key Events

• The Demure Candidate — Germaine initially appears too modest to convincingly play a glamorous wife. Characters: Germaine Location: Paris
• A Glamorous Transformation — Germaine demonstrates that she can convincingly perform as a sophisticated wife. Characters: Germaine Location: Paris
• The Couples Leave Paris — Germaine joins the two couples as they begin their journey to Venice. Characters: Germaine, Claire Mathewson Location: Paris railway station
• The Unexpected Companion Joins — A friend attracted to Germaine decides to accompany the travelers. Characters: Germaine Location: Train

Jealousy In Venice

The travelers reach Venice, where questioning and attraction make the deception increasingly unstable. Claire becomes jealous of the attention Germaine receives and demands her removal.

Key Events

• Questions On The Train — Germaine and the others face questions about how the supposed couple met. Characters: Germaine, Claire Mathewson Location: Train compartment
• Arrival In Venice — The travelers arrive in Venice and begin the planned holiday. Characters: Germaine, Claire Mathewson Location: Venice
• Jealousy Takes Hold — Claire becomes jealous as two men show fascination with Germaine. Characters: Claire Mathewson, Germaine Location: Venice
• Germaine Must Leave — Claire demands that Germaine be sent away immediately. Characters: Claire Mathewson, Germaine Location: Venice hotel
• Departure Is Ordered — Germaine is told to leave Venice on the following day. Characters: Germaine Location: Venice hotel

Bedroom Confusion

A drunken ladder climb, a canal fall, and a mistaken burglary suspicion create a compromising scene. The apparent scandal is resolved when the earlier events are explained.

Key Events

• The Ladder Escape — A drunken visitor climbs a ladder into Germaine's bedroom and offers to take her away. Characters: Germaine Location: Venice hotel
• The Canal Accident — After Germaine refuses the offer, the visitor falls into a canal and is apprehended. Characters: Germaine Location: Venice canal
• A Suspicious Investigation — Hearing what seems to be a burglar, a husband enters Germaine's room to investigate. Characters: Germaine Location: Germaine's hotel bedroom
• The Compromising Appearance — Germaine and the investigating husband are discovered in a seemingly compromising position. Characters: Germaine, Claire Mathewson Location: Germaine's hotel bedroom
• The Truth Is Explained — The earlier canal incident is explained, clarifying what really happened in the room. Characters: Germaine, Claire Mathewson Location: Germaine's hotel bedroom

Revelations And Proposal

Claire's love for her husband returns and her affair ends. Germaine reveals her true identity, but her planned return to Paris is interrupted by a marriage proposal in a gondola.

Key Events

• The Affair Ends — Claire's love for her husband returns, and she breaks off her affair. Characters: Claire Mathewson Location: Venice
• Germaine Reveals Her Identity — Germaine reveals that she is not the actress she was supposed to impersonate. Characters: Germaine Location: Venice
• Return To Paris Planned — Germaine decides to return to Paris after the deception is exposed. Characters: Germaine Location: Venice
• A Gondola Proposal — Germaine is caught in a gondola and asked to marry the man who pursued her. Characters: Germaine Location: Venice canal

Story Breakdown

• Unexpected Return — A sudden homecoming reveals evidence of a secret romantic journey.
  • Olympic Homecoming — Claire's husband unexpectedly returns from the 1932 Summer Olympics.
  • Hidden Tickets — Venice tickets create immediate suspicion about Claire's plans.
• Cover Story — A lie is created to explain the suspicious travel arrangements.
  • False Explanation — The tickets are claimed to belong to another married couple.
  • Wife Required — The deception requires a woman to pose as a wife.
• Germaine's Transformation — Germaine accepts a desperate job and proves she can perform sophistication.
  • Desperate Payment — Germaine needs the 2000 franc fee to avoid starvation.
  • Glamorous Performance — She convinces the skeptical employer that she can play a glamorous wife.
• Venice Entanglement — The journey brings the deceptive arrangement into a more emotionally dangerous setting.
  • Train Questioning — The invented relationship is tested by questions during the train journey.
  • Venetian Arrival — The travelers reach Venice and begin the planned getaway.
• Jealousy Escalates — Germaine's presence threatens the existing romantic arrangement.
  • Growing Fascination — Two men become fascinated by Germaine after the arrival in Venice.
  • Forced Departure — Claire demands that Germaine be sent away immediately.
• Night Of Confusion — A drunken intrusion and a mistaken burglary suspicion create a public-looking scandal.
  • Ladder Intrusion — A drunken visitor climbs into Germaine's bedroom and offers to take her away.
  • Canal Mishap — The visitor falls into a canal and is apprehended after Germaine refuses the offer.
• Truth And Reconciliation — The apparent scandal is clarified, changing the romantic outcomes for everyone involved.
  • Bedroom Explanation — The canal incident explains the apparently compromising bedroom scene.
  • Affair Ends — Claire's love for her husband returns and she ends her affair.
• Gondola Resolution — Germaine's identity is revealed before her planned return becomes permanent.
  • True Identity — Germaine admits that she is not the actress she was impersonating.
  • Marriage Proposal — A gondola pursuit ends with a request that Germaine marry him.

Directed by

Frank Tuttle

Key Cast

• Lili Damita — Germaine
• Charles Ruggles — Bunny West
• Roland Young — Gerald Gray
• Thelma Todd — Claire Mathewson
• Cary Grant — Stephen Mathewson