All Night | |
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Poster for the 1922 re-release
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Directed by | Paul Powell |
Written by | Fred Myton (scenario) |
Story by | Edgar Franklin |
Starring |
Carmel Myers Rudolpho di Valentina Charles Dorian Mary Warren William Dyer |
Production
company |
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Distributed by | Bluebird Photoplays |
Release date
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Running time
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57 mins. |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
All Night is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film starring Carmel Myers and Rudolph Valentino (credited as Rudolpho di Valentina), directed by Paul Powell and released by Universal Pictures under the name Bluebird Photoplays.
A print of the film still survives and was released to DVD by Grapevine Video in 2005.
Richard Thayer, a shy, unassuming man (Valentino), is in love with a sheltered young woman, Elizabeth ("Beth") Lane (Myers). While the feelings are mutual and Richard wishes to propose, he can never find a moment to speak to Beth alone—she is constantly surrounded by admirers and her overprotective father (Wadsworth Harris).
Richard explains his predicament to his friends, young married couple William and Maude Harcourt (Charles Dorian and Mary Warren). They agree to help by hosting Richard and Beth at a private dinner at their home. Beth's father agrees to let her dine with the Harcourts, but insists that she keep to an 11:00 curfew.
The evening of the dinner William Harcourt receives a telegram from a prospective business associate, Bradford (William Dyer), informing him that he is arriving that night for a surprise visit. The announcement throws the Harcourts into a panic. William has recently mortgaged his home and life savings to buy a copper mine; he is counting on a $1-million investment from Bradford to save his business and house. He does not have any servants to welcome the millionaire, having fired them earlier in the day in a fit of rage.
Working together, the four friends devise a plan: Richard and Beth will pose as the Harcourts; the real Harcourts will play the servants because they are familiar with the layout of their house. The scheme initially works, but things quickly deteriorate when Bradford, an eccentric, overbearing man, starts flirting with Maude Harcourt and insisting that Richard and Beth turn in for the night. The situation worsens when Beth misses her curfew and her father shows up at the Harcourt home to look for her. Eventually, everything is solved, but not before Col. Lane is locked in the pantry, Richard falls out a window and William is tossed out of his own house.