Tonight and Every Night

It's WWII London. Rosalind Bruce (Rita Hayworth) is the star performer at the Music Box Theatre. A Life magazine photographer is doing a story on the theatre which never closed during the Blitz. A stagehand recounts the story. In flashback, Rosalind is pursued by RAF pilot Paul Lundy (Lee Bowman).

This musical is mostly about watching Rita Hayworth doing her dancing. Of course, she's a great dancer although she is dubbed for her singing. That's perfectly fine. The romance starts well, flutters for awhile, and ends on an important note. It is melodramatic at times, but that's the movie. The war is ending soon and this is bittersweet recall of recent events.

Rita Hayworth is an American performer during the blitz in "Tonight and Every Night." The film is based on the true story of a theater that kept going during the horrific bombings London suffered, unlike other theaters, which closed their doors. In the film, a photographer from Life arrives to do a feature about the theater and hears a story about Rita and friends from a stagehand.

What a gorgeous woman and dancer Rita was, and what charisma! She sparkles on the screen and is stunningly beautiful in this Technicolor film. She looks like her magazine covers - perfect. Lee Bowman is her leading man, Janet Blair plays her best friend, and Marc Platt, a Broadway dancer who is an absolute dynamo, plays a fellow performer.

There really isn't much to this script, except that there's a somewhat unexpected plot twist and the ending isn't as expected. We're looking in one direction while the script goes in another. There are some nifty production numbers and some pretty songs - better, I think, than those found in another Hayworth vehicle, Down to Earth.

Rita's voice is always dubbed, but I wonder if she could sing or could have sung with some training. Guess we'll never know.

Seeing Rita is always worth it.

When I first saw this movie I was a 13 year old boy in love with Rita Hayworth. In many ways the movie is a typical 40's musical chick flick. What is not typical is the story based on real events in London during the blitz instead of a contrived plot to frame the musical numbers. (See the recent "Mrs. Henderson Presents".) The story has bravery and tragedy as well as the usual romance and fluff. Also above average are the score by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn as well as the talents of Rita Hayworth, Janet Blair (in a strong second banana role), and Marc Platt, the dancer who went on to be one of the brothers in "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers". Without giving away the ending, have your hankie ready.

This is one Rita Hayworth movie that can be considered an underrated gem.

Though the musical score is serviceable and the dancing at times inspired, it is the relationships between the principle characters of a small London Musical Theatre Revue led by star performer Rosalind Bruce (Rita Hayworth), set against the raging London blitz of WWII, that propels this film. The WWII/London/Theatre setting really shapes the mood and atmosphere of the story, giving a 'real world' urgency and poignancy to the film that most "behind the scenes/let's put on a show" musicals of the period lack. The characters each experience the triumph and tragedy and sacrifice of the blitz, all the while trying to stay together and put on their show night after night.

Rita looks ravishing in Technicolor, and gives a performance that is confident and skilled. And, of course, her dancing is in top form. Her wild samba number "You Excite Me" cements her position as one of the Silver Screen's finest dancers. She receives fine support from Marc Platt (who's dance solo at the beginning of the film set to flipping radio stations is stellar) and Janet Blair (watch her and Rita chew up the scenery with their musical number "The Boy I Left Behind") as her best friends and fellow performers. Lee Bowman as her Air Squadron Leader love interest, Florence Bates as the grand dame of the Music Box Theatre where the story unfolds (the small theatre almost another character unto itself), and Leslie Brooks in her small role as a man hungry performer with a heart of gold, round out this excellent cast.

A treat for Rita Hayworth fans and new fans alike.

This is not the kind of musical where the leads just start singing and dancing in mid-conversation. Almost all the song and dance occurs as performance on stage. The stage is located in the historic Windmill Theatre, in London, which is called the Music Box in this film. During the London blitz, the theater was known for never missing a performance. The film pays tribute to that record and, more broadly and more importantly, to the spirit of those who braved the blitzkrieg in London.

Released in the first few days of 1945, "Tonight and Every Night" is meant as a patriotic film to rouse spirits. There is a love story, but it is secondary to the larger story.

Rita Hayworth stars as stage performer Rosalind Bruce. She and her coworkers put on five shows a day at the Music Box. Their story is primarily told, in flashback, to a reporter from Life Magazine who is doing a spread about the theater. Janet Blair plays Judy Kane, Rosalind's best friend and fellow dancer. Marc Platt plays the part of Tommy Lawson, the other major dancer. His dance is the highlight of the film. Lee Bowman plays the pilot (Paul Lundy) who wins Rosalind's heart.

Though many scenes are darkened due to the London blackouts, the Technicolor really stands out in some spots. The designers who created the fashions worn by Rita and the others also deserve mention.