The Night of January 16th (film)
| The Night of January 16th | |
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Movie poster
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| Directed by | William Clemens |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on |
Night of January 16th by Ayn Rand |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Gerard Carbonara |
| Cinematography | John J. Mescall |
| Edited by | Ellsworth Hoagland |
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Release date
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Running time
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80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Night of January 16th is a 1941 American film directed by William Clemens, based on a play of the same name by Ayn Rand. The story follows Steve Van Ruyle and Kit Lane as they investigate the apparent murder of Lane's boss, in an attempt to clear her as a suspect.
Steve Van Ruyle (Robert Preston) is a sailor who inherits a position on the board of a company headed by Bjorn Faulkner (Nils Asther). The board is concerned to discover $20 million has disappeared from the company's funds, and demands answers from Faulkner. That night Faulkner meets with a man called Anton Haraba, and is apparently thrown from his penthouse balcony to his death. Moments later, Faulkner's secretary, Kit Lane (Ellen Drew), enters the penthouse, leading police to arrest her for Faulkner's murder. Van Ruyle takes it upon himself to investigate the crime. Suspecting that Lane and Faulkner were embezzling the money together, he pays her bail so he can question her about the situation. They find Faulkner's diary, and the entries lead Van Ruyle to believe Lane is innocent. The district attorney (Paul Stanton) doesn't agree, and Lane goes to trial.
Van Ruyle attempts to prove Lane's innocence with fake evidence, but his ruse is discovered. The two flee with evidence from Faulkner's apartment, which they use to track down the mysterious Haraba. They trace him to a hotel in Havana, Cuba, where they discover that "Haraba" is a pseudonym being used by Faulkner himself, who has faked his own death. When Faulkner takes Lane captive, Van Ruyle rushes with police to Faulkner's room to rescue her. Faulkner is arrested, and Van Ruyle and Lane decide to get married.
The movie rights to the play were initially purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in October 1934 as a possible vehicle for Loretta Young. They hired Rand to write a screenplay, but the project was scrapped. After MGM's option expired, Al Woods, who was producing the play on Broadway, considered making a movie version through a production company of his own. Instead, in 1938 RKO Pictures bought the rights for $10,000, a fee split between Woods and Rand. RKO looked at Claudette Colbert and Lucille Ball as possibilities to star, but they also gave up on the adaptation. The rights were resold to Paramount Pictures in July 1939 for $35,000.
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