Everything Happens at Night (1939) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

Two reporters compete to discover a scientist living in hiding and win his daughter.

Cast & Crew

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Irving Cummings

Sonja Henie

Louise [Norden]

Ray Milland

Geoffrey Thompson

Robert Cummings

Maurice Moscovich

Dr. Hugo Norden

Leonid Kinskey

Film Details

Also Known As

Doctor

Genre

Comedy

Drama

Musical

Romance

Sports

Release Date

Dec 22, 1939

Premiere Information

New York opening: week of 15 Dec 1939

Production Company

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

Distribution Company

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

Country

United States

Location

Sun Valley, Idaho, United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 17m

Sound

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

6,995ft

Synopsis

Geoffrey Thompson and Ken Morgan, reporters from rival newspapers, meet on a train while traveling to a remote Swiss village. Both have been sent by their editors to determine if the writer of anonymous editorials advocating world peace could be the Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Hugo Norden, who supposedly met his death in Warsaw at the hands of the Gestapo. Arriving at the hotel, the two are forced to room together because of a lack of accomodations, and each endeavors to keep his mission a secret from the other. Amid the snow and ski slopes, the two meet Louise, Norden's daughter who is living with her father under an assumed name. It is love at first sight for both Geoffrey and Ken, until they discover the true identity of Louise's father. Personal rivalry then turns to professional rivalry as each tries to scoop the other, with the result that Geoffrey intercepts Ken's cable to The New York Express and directs it to his own paper, The London Globe . The story brings the Gestapo on a mission to kill Norden, forcing Ken and Geoffrey to band together to smuggle Louise and her father across the border to the safety of France. There they are to sail to America together, but Ken arranges for Geoffrey to miss the boat, thus ensuring that he will have Louise to himself.

Director

Irving Cummings

Cast

Sonja Henie

Louise [Norden]

Ray Milland

Geoffrey Thompson

Robert Cummings

Maurice Moscovich

Dr. Hugo Norden

Leonid Kinskey

Alan Dinehart

Fritz Feld

Jody Gilbert

Victor Varconi

William Edmunds

George Davis

Paul Porcasi

Michael Visaroff

Eleanor Wesselhoeft

Woodcutter's wife

Christian Rub

Ferdinand Munier

Holmes Herbert

Rolfe Sedan

Frank Reicher

John Bleifer

Lester Matthews

Roger Imhof

Adolph Milar

Louis Mercier

Eugene Borden

Jeanne Lafayette

Nicholas Kobliansky

Albert Conti

Martha Bamattre

Pharmacist's wife

Glen Cavender

Joseph De Stefani

Torben Meyer

Georges Renavent

Jean Del Val

Wolfgang Zilzer

Crew

Lucien Andriot

Art Arthur

Original Screenplay

Harry Joe Brown

Associate Producer

Nicholas Castle

Skating numbers staged by

Edward Cronjager

Director of Photography

Richard Day

Eugene Grossman

Robert Harari

Original Screenplay

Roger Heman

Albert Hogsett

Thomas Little

Cyril J. Mockridge

Gregory Ratoff

Director skating sequences

Royer

Ad Schaumer

Assistant Director

Walter Thompson

Darryl F. Zanuck

Film Details

Also Known As

Doctor

Genre

Comedy

Drama

Musical

Romance

Sports

Release Date

Dec 22, 1939

Premiere Information

New York opening: week of 15 Dec 1939

Production Company

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

Distribution Company

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

Country

United States

Location

Sun Valley, Idaho, United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 17m

Sound

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

6,995ft

Articles

Everything Happens at Night

January 24, 2011

In Everything Happens at Night (1939) Geoffrey (Ray Milland) and Ken (Robert Cummings) star as rival reporters hot on the trail of Dr. Hugo Norden (Maurice Moscovich). Norden, a Nobel Prize winner, was supposedly murdered by the Gestapo, but is rumored to be in hiding and writing anonymous dispatches advocating world peace. When Geoffrey and Ken track Dr. Norden to a small village in the Swiss Alps, they soon find themselves competing over the affections of beautiful Louise (Sonja Henie), who has a deeper connection to the missing Nobel laureate than the reporters realize. When Geoffrey and Ken get so distracted by romance that they begin to neglect their assignments, it almost leads to disaster as the Gestapo sets out to silence Dr. Norden once and for all.

Ray Milland was borrowed from Paramount to co-star in this 20th Century Fox vehicle for their reigning ice queen Sonja Henie. Everything Happens at Night was the sixth Hollywood film for the Norwegian born three-time Olympic gold medalist Henie who had carved out her specialty niche in skating-themed films for Fox. Henie is given more of a chance to demonstrate her dramatic acting chops throughout the film than usual, and her exuberant solo skating number to Johann Strauss's "Blue Danube" features Henie at her best. "...whether she is gliding backwards or forwards, or skating rings around Greek columns..." said Time magazine in its review of the film, "Sonja Henie on blades is still the best part of one of her pictures."

Director: Irving Cummings
Screenplay: Art Arthur, Robert Harari (original screenplay); F. Scott Fitzgerald (uncredited)
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager; Lucien N. Andriot (uncredited)
Art Direction: Richard Day, Albert Hogsett
Music: David Buttolph, Cyril J. Mockridge (uncredited)
Film Editing: Walter Thompson
Cast: Sonja Henie (Louise), Ray Milland (Geoffrey Thompson), Robert Cummings (Ken Morgan), Maurice Moscovich (Dr. Hugo Norden), Leonid Kinskey (Groder), Alan Dinehart (Fred Sherwood), Fritz Feld (Gendarme), Jody Gilbert (Hilda), Victor Varconi (Cavas), William Edmunds (Hotel Clerk).
BW-78m.

by Andrea Passafiume

Everything Happens At Night

Everything Happens at Night

In Everything Happens at Night (1939) Geoffrey (Ray Milland) and Ken (Robert Cummings) star as rival reporters hot on the trail of Dr. Hugo Norden (Maurice Moscovich). Norden, a Nobel Prize winner, was supposedly murdered by the Gestapo, but is rumored to be in hiding and writing anonymous dispatches advocating world peace. When Geoffrey and Ken track Dr. Norden to a small village in the Swiss Alps, they soon find themselves competing over the affections of beautiful Louise (Sonja Henie), who has a deeper connection to the missing Nobel laureate than the reporters realize. When Geoffrey and Ken get so distracted by romance that they begin to neglect their assignments, it almost leads to disaster as the Gestapo sets out to silence Dr. Norden once and for all. Ray Milland was borrowed from Paramount to co-star in this 20th Century Fox vehicle for their reigning ice queen Sonja Henie. Everything Happens at Night was the sixth Hollywood film for the Norwegian born three-time Olympic gold medalist Henie who had carved out her specialty niche in skating-themed films for Fox. Henie is given more of a chance to demonstrate her dramatic acting chops throughout the film than usual, and her exuberant solo skating number to Johann Strauss's "Blue Danube" features Henie at her best. "...whether she is gliding backwards or forwards, or skating rings around Greek columns..." said Time magazine in its review of the film, "Sonja Henie on blades is still the best part of one of her pictures." Director: Irving Cummings Screenplay: Art Arthur, Robert Harari (original screenplay); F. Scott Fitzgerald (uncredited) Cinematography: Edward Cronjager; Lucien N. Andriot (uncredited) Art Direction: Richard Day, Albert Hogsett Music: David Buttolph, Cyril J. Mockridge (uncredited) Film Editing: Walter Thompson Cast: Sonja Henie (Louise), Ray Milland (Geoffrey Thompson), Robert Cummings (Ken Morgan), Maurice Moscovich (Dr. Hugo Norden), Leonid Kinskey (Groder), Alan Dinehart (Fred Sherwood), Fritz Feld (Gendarme), Jody Gilbert (Hilda), Victor Varconi (Cavas), William Edmunds (Hotel Clerk). BW-78m. by Andrea Passafiume

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this picture was Doctor. According to materials contained in the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection at the UCLA Theater Arts Library, the original story of this picture was by Boris Ingster, and was based on the exploits of a real-life doctor. Darryl Zanuck objected to the subject, however, and insisted the protagonist be a political refugee. Zanuck also suggested adding Leonid Kinskey to the cast for a "lighter touch," and suggested Alexander Granach for the role of the woodcutter. Although the film credits Harari and Arthur with original screenplay, Screen Achievements Bulletin credits them with original story and screenplay. Lucien Andriot is listed as photographer on an early Hollywood Reporter production chart. Twentieth Century-Fox borrowed Ray Milland from Paramount to appear in this picture. Backgrounds for the film were shot on location at Sun Valley, ID, in March 1939.

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