Though a nifty little murder mystery with a novel theme, "Remember Last Night" is lame in the comedy department by today's standards. One wonders why other writers haven't thought of this angle for a who done it: Following a wild night of revelry with drinking aplenty someone ends up killed in cold blood but none of the suspects remembers a thing because of the effects of the booze. Now with hangovers, the revelers wonder about themselves. Each one is a suspect; plus each one suspects himself/herself.
After one of the most debauched party nights on celluloid that even puts Fellini's "Satyricon" to shame, Tony and Carlotta Milburn, who make Nick and Nora Charles look like teetotalers, wake up not only with hangovers but with a corpse in one of their beds. The Milburns, played with suave playfulness by Robert Young and Constance Cummings, attempt to sort out the happenings of the night before. Ultimately, they decide to call in an old friend, Danny Harrison (Edward Arnold), to investigate. Twists and turns abound in a skillfully written script from the mystery standpoint.
Where the film goes awry is in its attempt to be a comedy thriller in the manner of "The Thin Man." Much of the humor is forced. The intended comic lines are often silly and mundane. Especially grating is the performance of the penultimate butler, who really did play Jeeves at one time, Arthur Treacher. One grows tired of his continual "Yaa Sar" on every exit. This time the butler really did do it: He murdered the movie.
As was unfortunately the case in so many movies of the 1930's, racial stereotyping is flagrant in an unnecessary black face routine during the party sequence at the beginning. And though the rich are depicted as wasteful, disrespectful of the law, and too lazy to do their own work, this is pointed out by the two law officers who visit the Milburn mansion to serve warrants on the reckless couple.
If the viewer can stomach the more unsavory aspects of "Remember Last Night," he/she will be rewarded by the suspense and mystery of the actual murder case.
After one of the most debauched party nights on celluloid that even puts Fellini's "Satyricon" to shame, Tony and Carlotta Milburn, who make Nick and Nora Charles look like teetotalers, wake up not only with hangovers but with a corpse in one of their beds. The Milburns, played with suave playfulness by Robert Young and Constance Cummings, attempt to sort out the happenings of the night before. Ultimately, they decide to call in an old friend, Danny Harrison (Edward Arnold), to investigate. Twists and turns abound in a skillfully written script from the mystery standpoint.
Where the film goes awry is in its attempt to be a comedy thriller in the manner of "The Thin Man." Much of the humor is forced. The intended comic lines are often silly and mundane. Especially grating is the performance of the penultimate butler, who really did play Jeeves at one time, Arthur Treacher. One grows tired of his continual "Yaa Sar" on every exit. This time the butler really did do it: He murdered the movie.
As was unfortunately the case in so many movies of the 1930's, racial stereotyping is flagrant in an unnecessary black face routine during the party sequence at the beginning. And though the rich are depicted as wasteful, disrespectful of the law, and too lazy to do their own work, this is pointed out by the two law officers who visit the Milburn mansion to serve warrants on the reckless couple.
If the viewer can stomach the more unsavory aspects of "Remember Last Night," he/she will be rewarded by the suspense and mystery of the actual murder case.