After Tonight

Like Dietrich (Dishonored) and Garbo (Mata Hari) before her, Constance Bennett finally got a chance to play a fascinating spy in "After Tonight". This was Constance's last picture under her RKO contract. At the time of it's release the film was a failure and RKO laid the blame at the feet of Constance Bennett. Isn't it always better to lay the blame at the feet of the departing star? However, looking at it now, Miss Bennett is one of the saving graces of the picture. Her performance is actually quite good and the production is well put together. The direction is a little sluggish at times and Gilbert Roland (who would marry Constance in 1940) is a little wooden. The ending comes as no surprise, but it was exactly what female audiences of the time expected from "women's pictures". They would attend a matinée, watch the heroine suffer through six or seven reels and then be presented with a happy ending. (How things have changed.) While not great, this movie is not that bad. The movie belongs to Constance Bennett and anyone who is a fan of hers should add this to their watch list if they have not already done so.

This tale of espionage and high risk romance begins at a Paris railroad depot as Karen Schöntag, the Austrian alias of the Russian Carla Vanirska (Constance Bennett) attempts to board an overbooked train for Vienna.

Well, as good fortune, perhaps, would have it, Captain Rudolph "Rudy" Ritter (Gilbert Roland), en route to Vienna himself, to his newly-promoted position as Captain of an Austrian intelligence agency, enables Karen/Carla to accompany him because he instantly succumbs to her charms and graces.

Now, the balance of the film transpires in Vienna, as Rudy and Major Lieber (Edward Ellis) lead the search for the capture of the dangerous enemy agent "K-14," who cleverly delivers coded messages to comrades of a Russian insurgency movement to attempt to overthrow the government in Austria. (Well, keep in mind that this is a 1933 release, and before the period of WWII German occupation.)

So, you may pretty well guess the identity of K-14 from the list of IMDb cast credits, but what a clever operator K-14 turns out to be, writing those secret coded messages in invisible ink, folding them into the pages of books, entering the secret rendezvous locations, tapping the steps of a staircase by the shoe, and delivering the set of books to a fellow agent, who hides beneath the staircase to slide a secret panel to receive them.

Fans of the Classics may find many elements of manners, glamor and suspense, with the lovely leading lady carrying the film, all reasons to tune into vintage films. "After Tonight," well staged with excellent cinematography, does, however, seem to have a screen-story of conflicting allegiance for fans to wonder whom or what we're supposed to be rooting for here.

According to IMDb, "The film lost $100,000 at the box office, which made the studio (RKO Radio Pictures) consider firing Miss Bennett," making her the scapegoat in an awkwardly scripted outing, which seems to loose its direction and climax in a rather somewhat implausible finale.

But Constance Bennett does carry the film well, as its prime attraction, and she handles the material to cause even the more irate critics to care about her character--especially after bodies begin to fall victim to conflicts between the caucuses.

So, in addition to Miss Bennett, Mr. Roland and Mr. Ellis, you may also recognize Sam Godfrey as Franz, Lucien Prival as Lieutenant Erlich, Mischa Auer as Agent Lehan, and Virginia Weidler in the role of Olga, Carla's Niece.

And it would also be nice to score with half-points here and there.

Edit 03/24/16 -- "...first sentence saying it begins in a Paris railroad station. It actually begins in Luxembourg, which is a different country and 250 miles away." -- (Thanks for correction, IMDb Member blakedw.)

This is a fairly gripping spy thriller. Believably plotted and well acted.

Constance Bennett is new to me but I can see why she was a star in the 30s. She strikes no false notes throughout this movie. And as a character, her WWI Russian spy is surprisingly strong. Most of the dames in the 30s were such pushovers.

Gilbert Roland was just so dashing it's really unfair to the rest of the world's men. He successfully puts across how torn he is, having to choose love or country.

Had they ended the movie with the second-last scene, this probably would be regarded as a close-to-classic of the genre. Unfortunately - and I'm gonna blame studio meddling here - they tack on one final scene, whereupon the air really comes out of the balloon.

Nevertheless, I'll watch it again when TCM programs it.

I would rate this film as a competent time killer, something that Depression audiences went to see to forget about their troubles for an hour or so and which we small screen home viewers can watch to slip out of contemporary reality and give our brains a break. Constance Bennett occupies space attractively and goes through the motions of "acting" in her role as a coolheaded (and well dressed) spy operating behind Austro-Hungarian lines for the Russians in World War I. It's fun and intriguing to watch her collect and pass on her secret messages, all the while growing ever closer romantically to a spy-hunting Austrian military official (Gilbert Roland). An extremely contrived ending perfectly suits this confection.

There's positively no place for love during the war but there are always exceptions. Sometimes love is that strong that even a five minute affection can turn into it and years apart could never wipe off this greatest feeling.

After tonight is a small little movie about a spy during World War I and an enemy officer on the lookout for spies who happen to meet and fall in love, without knowing what the other does for a living. The concept isn't new so there's really no surprises while watching, also for a short 70 minute movie it is burdened with tons of unnecessary dialogues and therefore it seems too long and crumpled ending doesn't help it either. The acting is somewhat average with no truly standout performances observed throughout the movie.

Overall After tonight is a solid piece of spy drama blended with romance but it lacks cohesive, more well-structured narrative, a better ending and more alive characters to empathize with, only then it could be considered good.