Viewed this film online and it is a fairly entertaining and intriguing mystery with Ellen Drew and Robert Preston. Here is the storyline: Board members of the New York Faulkner Corporation demand that their president inform them why $20 million is missing from the company fund. President Bjorn Faulkner refuses to answer and that night meets with a mysterious associate who uses the pseudonym "Anton Haraba." A struggle breaks out between the two men, and Faulkner is apparently murdered when his body falls from the balcony of his penthouse apartment. Kit Lane, Faulkner's private secretary, is arrested for his murder because she is found in the penthouse where she rushed after the dead man's hand hit the intercom to her apartment. Board member Steve Van Ruyle, who recently inherited his position from his uncle, is distressed to learn that his $3 million may have disappeared. He convinces the frantic Faulkner board members that Kit must have been in on an embezzlement plan with Faulkner. With the consent of the board, Steve bails Kit out of jail in order to find out her involvement and soon gets his hands on Faulkner's private diary, in which Haraba's name is noted, followed by a series of numbers and dates. Kit is indicted for Faulkner's murder and the circumstantial evidence at the trial weighs heavily against her. Now sympathetic to Kit, Steve convinces her defense attorney to adjourn the trial to Faulkner's apartment, where he expects him to prove that Kit neither had the time nor the ability to emerge from Faulkner's private elevator and hurl him from the balcony on the night of his death. However, when an attorney proves that Steve bribed the elevator repairman to slow the elevator for the demonstration, Steve escapes with Kit and finds refuge in the apartment of Oscar, a drunken stranger. Kit studies Faulkner's statuette of Atlas supporting a globe, which Steve had pocketed, and notes that several cities marked with jewels represent the cities in which Faulkner had investments. She realizes that she can spell out the name "Haraba" with the first letters of each city and that the investments listed in the diary come out to $20 million. With the further realization that Faulkner intended to go to each city on the date indicated and withdraw the money, Steve convinces the board members to buy them a ticket to Havana, the last city in the book. In Havana, Steve and Kit impersonate a married couple and after an exhaustive search at various hotels, learn that Haraba is checked into their own hotel. They page Haraba, knowing that whoever he is, he must be the killer, and while Steve instructs the hotel bartender on how to mix his favorite unique drink, Kit goes to her room to change. She is shocked to find Faulkner there and realizes that he killed Haraba and dressed him in his clothes so that the mutilated corpse would be identified as he. Faulkner takes Kit to his room and at the same time, Steve is arrested by the Cuban police. They take him to get Kit, and when he finds her gone, he is tipped off by a waiter going to Faulkner's room with his favorite drink concoction, about which only Kit could know. He rushes to Faulkner's room in time to save Kit from death, and New York police inspector Donegan, working with the Cuban police, arrives to arrest Faulkner. Kit and Steve are freed and rather than continuing to impersonate a married couple, they marry.
7 Reviews
Ayn Rand Cashes A Check
boblipton22 March 2019
When $20,000,000 turns up missing and Nils Asther is tossed over his balcony to smash on the pavement, his private Ellen Drew faces murder charges. Ex-sailor Robert Preston helps her escape and track down the murder.
It's a very loose adaptation of Ayn Rand's hit Broadway play, WOMAN ON TRIAL, which takes place in the courtroom. It was a gimmick show in which a jury was chosen from the audience and they were to decide the case. Screenwriters Delmar Daves, Robert Pirosh and Eve Green used the play and expanded it very liberally, much to the disapproval of the author who,I am sure, cashed the check anyway.
The leads offer appealing performances, and William Clemens directs it for speed, with lots of interesting players int he cast, including Clarence Kolb, Cecil Kellaway, Alice White and Cliff Nazarro doing some nice doubletalk.
It's a very loose adaptation of Ayn Rand's hit Broadway play, WOMAN ON TRIAL, which takes place in the courtroom. It was a gimmick show in which a jury was chosen from the audience and they were to decide the case. Screenwriters Delmar Daves, Robert Pirosh and Eve Green used the play and expanded it very liberally, much to the disapproval of the author who,I am sure, cashed the check anyway.
The leads offer appealing performances, and William Clemens directs it for speed, with lots of interesting players int he cast, including Clarence Kolb, Cecil Kellaway, Alice White and Cliff Nazarro doing some nice doubletalk.
Quick trip to Havana
bkoganbing27 May 2018
I was interested to learn that the source for this film was a Broadway play of the
same name. The Night Of January 16th was a play authored by Ayn Rand. To my
viewing eye it certainly looked like all that objectivist philosophy was boiled out
of the script and we are left with a reasonably entertaining B picture from
Paramount.
The plot centers around business executive Nils Asther who is being called to account for 20 million dollars missing from his company books. Among those doing the accounting is Robert Preston who is the heir to the company founder and attends the board meeting in his sailor suit.
Before Asther can account, Ellen Drew his private secretary gets into a jackpot accused of his murder. It's thought by the police that Drew helped out his apartment window. There's still the missing money.
Preston and Drew make our law enforcement machinery look like fools as they escape and avoid recapture. Hats off to Cecil Kellaway for his part as a soused playboy whom they use in their escape. Kellaway is a marvelous drunk.
It's a quick trip to Havana where the two figure out where the embezzled money is located. There's quite a surprise in that also.
Preston and Drew are quite breezy in their leads. A little bit of Preston's most famous role Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man is found in his performance here. That's all to the good.
I'm sure the Broadway play was radically different than this.
The plot centers around business executive Nils Asther who is being called to account for 20 million dollars missing from his company books. Among those doing the accounting is Robert Preston who is the heir to the company founder and attends the board meeting in his sailor suit.
Before Asther can account, Ellen Drew his private secretary gets into a jackpot accused of his murder. It's thought by the police that Drew helped out his apartment window. There's still the missing money.
Preston and Drew make our law enforcement machinery look like fools as they escape and avoid recapture. Hats off to Cecil Kellaway for his part as a soused playboy whom they use in their escape. Kellaway is a marvelous drunk.
It's a quick trip to Havana where the two figure out where the embezzled money is located. There's quite a surprise in that also.
Preston and Drew are quite breezy in their leads. A little bit of Preston's most famous role Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man is found in his performance here. That's all to the good.
I'm sure the Broadway play was radically different than this.
A Mystery To Help You Fall Asleep
GManfred6 August 2015
This should be listed as an 'escapist mystery' as it is escapist entertainment as it was known right up to WWII, A completely unbelievable mystery with comedic overtones which seeks to be a crowd pleaser. It suffers from too many improbable situations and convenient coincidences and, in 2015, would not go over with modern moviegoers.
That said, the mystery angle is a good one, and with an unexpected twist at the end of the picture. Ellen Drew is framed for the murder of her boss (Nils Asther). Robert Preston, just out of the Navy and an heir to stock in the Company in question, takes up her cause and tries to prove her innocence. You squirm and roll your eyes and credulity is stretched to the breaking point as timely interventions and preposterous non-sequiturs nearly spoil the picture - until the surprise ending.
Do you like mystery mixed with comedy? That was a staple in Hollywood during this time period, and I never thought they blended well together, especially when the comedy relief is as lame as in this movie. I would make an exception for Cecil Kellaway, who plays a drunk who befriends the pair.
A harmless murder mystery which could have been better, especially with the attractive cast and the intriguing plot. It's a good sleep aid - but then you would miss the ending.
That said, the mystery angle is a good one, and with an unexpected twist at the end of the picture. Ellen Drew is framed for the murder of her boss (Nils Asther). Robert Preston, just out of the Navy and an heir to stock in the Company in question, takes up her cause and tries to prove her innocence. You squirm and roll your eyes and credulity is stretched to the breaking point as timely interventions and preposterous non-sequiturs nearly spoil the picture - until the surprise ending.
Do you like mystery mixed with comedy? That was a staple in Hollywood during this time period, and I never thought they blended well together, especially when the comedy relief is as lame as in this movie. I would make an exception for Cecil Kellaway, who plays a drunk who befriends the pair.
A harmless murder mystery which could have been better, especially with the attractive cast and the intriguing plot. It's a good sleep aid - but then you would miss the ending.
Pretty typical for the genre
planktonrules24 June 2018
Although "The Night of January 16th" was based on a play by Ayn Rand, it's pretty much typical of the murder mystery B-movies of the era...with most of the usual cliches.
The head of a big company has been apparently embezzling, as the books are short more than $20,000,000! One evening, he's apparently being attacked and his faithful secretary returns to work to help him. But she's too late...and he's apparently tossed out of his skyrise penthouse...and, oddly, the police assume she's responsible. First, she has no motive. Second, they expected this lady to overpower her boss, drag him to the ledge and then toss him over in only three minutes time?! The only person (other than her) to doubt this narrative is an odd character played by Robert Preston and they both play amateur detectives to solve the case and keep her out of prison. To do this, they make an escape from the courtroom (huh???) and travel to Cuba to wrap things up...ridiculous, of course, but no more so than the typical film in the genre!! Decent acting...otherwise not much to distinguish this one.
The head of a big company has been apparently embezzling, as the books are short more than $20,000,000! One evening, he's apparently being attacked and his faithful secretary returns to work to help him. But she's too late...and he's apparently tossed out of his skyrise penthouse...and, oddly, the police assume she's responsible. First, she has no motive. Second, they expected this lady to overpower her boss, drag him to the ledge and then toss him over in only three minutes time?! The only person (other than her) to doubt this narrative is an odd character played by Robert Preston and they both play amateur detectives to solve the case and keep her out of prison. To do this, they make an escape from the courtroom (huh???) and travel to Cuba to wrap things up...ridiculous, of course, but no more so than the typical film in the genre!! Decent acting...otherwise not much to distinguish this one.
Not remotely similar to the play and book by the name
morrisonhimself18 January 2022
For a "Night of January 16th," this was pretty lousy.
For a totally separate story just coincidentally carrying the same name, it was pretty good.
The original, a play by Ayn Rand, was entirely a courtroom drama, and the jurors were picked, randomly, from the audience. And reportedly the verdicts varied from night to night.
This movie, though, had a few of the same character names from the original and not much else.
After a murder, the victim's private secretary, played by Ellen Drew, is accused and the plot is basically she and the character played by Robert Preston trying to find the real murderer.
Along the way is some silliness -- "Old MacDonald" is sung twice, for reasons known only to the script-writer -- drunks, sloppy cops, and an air-headed female attractively played by Alice White.
Quite a good cast doesn't have a lot to do, except for Phil Nazzaro, who was famous for his double-talk patter. That script-writer gave him a good part.
All in all "The Night of January 16th" is not-especially-memorable fun. There is a mediocre print at YouTube, not, when I watched, further marred by commercial interruption so it really is free to watch.
I wonder if Ayn Rand herself would have watched. And for how long?
For a totally separate story just coincidentally carrying the same name, it was pretty good.
The original, a play by Ayn Rand, was entirely a courtroom drama, and the jurors were picked, randomly, from the audience. And reportedly the verdicts varied from night to night.
This movie, though, had a few of the same character names from the original and not much else.
After a murder, the victim's private secretary, played by Ellen Drew, is accused and the plot is basically she and the character played by Robert Preston trying to find the real murderer.
Along the way is some silliness -- "Old MacDonald" is sung twice, for reasons known only to the script-writer -- drunks, sloppy cops, and an air-headed female attractively played by Alice White.
Quite a good cast doesn't have a lot to do, except for Phil Nazzaro, who was famous for his double-talk patter. That script-writer gave him a good part.
All in all "The Night of January 16th" is not-especially-memorable fun. There is a mediocre print at YouTube, not, when I watched, further marred by commercial interruption so it really is free to watch.
I wonder if Ayn Rand herself would have watched. And for how long?
Neither here nor there/ 1941
Teagarden125622 November 2021
This Paramount B picture made in 1941, based on a successful Broadway courtroom drama written by Ayn Rand in her playwriting days, is --let's face it--a mess. The one-set play was obviously much rewritten by Hollywood hands who set out to make a movie ["open up'] the bought property. In the process, no one seems to have decided whether it should remain a courtoom drama or become a comedy or be a bit of both The confusing plot is predictably improbable, mixing comedy and suspense in a heavy-handed fashion, all directed clumsily by Wm. Clemens. Robert Preston is appealing and so is Ellen Drew. Cecil Kellaway somehow shows up along the way for no reason at all, but does a delightful turn as a drunk. Cliff Nazarro, also for no apparent story reason, appears briefly as a double-talking gas station owner. Leon Belasco is also seen as the Cuban airplane steward who ends the film. The silent movie star, Nils Asther, in one of his few sound film roles, is the the debonair continental villain. Incidentally, this film was made the same year Paramount agreed to let one of their contract writers, Preston Sturges, direct his first picture. Judging from this picture, they certainly needed all the help they could get.
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