History Is Made at Night
“Does it make a lot of sense? No. Is it great material for a drinking game? Absolutely.” —Valeria R, Production
Directed by Frank Borzage • 1937 • United States
Suffused with intoxicating romanticism, HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT is a sublime paean to love from Frank Borzage, classic Hollywood’s supreme poet of carnal and spiritual desire. On the run through Europe from her wealthy, cruelly possessive husband, an unhappy socialite (Jean Arthur) is thrown together by fate with a suave stranger (Charles Boyer)—and soon the two are bound in a consuming, seemingly impossible affair that stretches across continents and brings them to the very edge of catastrophe. Lent a palpable erotic charge by the chemistry between its leads, this delirious vision of lovers beset by the world passes through a dizzying array of tonal shifts—from melodrama to romantic comedy to noir to disaster thriller—smoothly guided by Borzage’s unwavering allegiance to the power of love.
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History Is Made at Night
Directed by Frank Borzage • 1937 • United States
Jean Arthur plays a married woman who falls in love with a French headwaiter, much to the chagrin of her possessive and jealous husband.
Extras
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Farran Smith Nehme on Frank Borzage
In this interview recorded in 2019, critic Farran Smith Nehme discusses director Frank Borzage’s obsession with romantic love.
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Frank Borzage on HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT
The following audio excerpts are from an interview with director Frank Borzage conducted by film historian and curator George Pratt in 1958, in honor of Borzage’s gift of a print of his film SEVENTH HEAVEN to the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. In them, Borzage discusses his career i...
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HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT Restoration Demonstration
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HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT on “The Screen Guild Theater”
Charles Boyer reprises his role as Paul Dumond in this November 10, 1940, adaptation of HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT for the radio anthology series “The Screen Guild Theater”
