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This Is the Night (1932) movie poster

Timeline

This Is the Night (1932) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
1932 · 80 mins · English
Directed by
Frank Tuttle
Starring
Tiny Sandford, Irving Bacon, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles, Claire Dodd, Rolfe Sedan

When Stephen, the husband of Gerald’s mistress Claire, finds a pair of tickets for a planned Venice getaway, Gerald must quickly invent a wife to hide the affair. To keep up the ruse, he hires a woman to pose as his wife, keeping Stephen clueless. The fake marriage creates tension as they try to convince all, since Stephen demands the couple travel.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (14)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like This Is the Night
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch This Is the Night (1932)

Where can you watch This Is the Night? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store and Fandango At Home: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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14 events in order · contains spoilers

This Is the Night Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of This Is the Night (1932) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Stephen discovers Venice tickets after Olympic return

    Stephen returns from the 1932 Summer Olympics and immediately confronts Claire's romantic scheme. He discovers the train tickets for a Venice getaway that she has planned with her lover Gerald. The discovery heightens his suspicion about Claire's fidelity.

    When
    1932 (after the Summer Olympics)
    Where
    Home
  2. Bunny lies about the tickets

    Bunny claims the tickets are for Gerald and his wife, not Claire and Gerald's arrangement. The deception is meant to mislead Stephen and maintain the Venice plan. The lie sets in motion the tangled web of mismatched identities.

    When
    1932
    Where
    Home
  3. Gerald seeks a fake wife; Chou-Chou redirects to Germaine

    Gerald decides to salvage the trip by finding a fake wife. He first approaches the actress Chou-Chou, but her jealous boyfriend makes that impossible. Chou-Chou directs him to Germaine, an out-of-work woman in need of money.

    When
    1932
    Where
    Gerald's home
  4. Germaine accepts the role of fake wife

    Germaine agrees to pose as a glamorous wife for the Venice trip, impressed by the money and opportunity. She convinces Gerald she can carry the performance with ease. Her willingness kickstarts the elaborate ruse.

    When
    1932
    Where
    Gerald's home
  5. Departure for Venice

    The two couples set off toward Venice, beginning the ruse that will test their loyalties. They travel together aboard a train, moving from their ordinary lives into a complex web of deception. The journey marks the moment when the plan starts to unfold in earnest.

    When
    During journey
    Where
    Train to Venice
  6. Bunny joins the trip

    Bunny, attracted to Germaine, decides to join the Venice trip, adding another layer of complication to the plan. Her presence deepens the entwined relationships and raises the stakes for everyone involved. The journey now includes an extra, unpredictable element.

    When
    During journey
    Where
    On the train
  7. On the train: questions about the meeting

    On the train, Stephen questions Gerald and Germaine about how they met, probing the origins of their relationship. The exchange reveals the underlying tensions and the gaps in their cover story. The tension foreshadows the trouble that will surface in Venice.

    When
    During journey
    Where
    Train
  8. Arrival in Venice: jealousy grows

    Upon arriving in Venice, Claire grows jealous as both Stephen and Gerald seem fascinated by Germaine. The attraction threatens the fraying arrangement and heightens Claire's resolve to control the situation. The city becomes the backdrop for the evolving relationships.

    When
    Arrival
    Where
    Venice
  9. Claire orders Germaine to leave

    Claire demands that Gerald disentangle himself from Germaine, insisting that Germaine be sent away. Gerald orders Germaine to depart the next day, attempting to restore the original plan and protect his own relationship with Claire. The tension between truth and deception tightens.

    When
    Day after arrival
    Where
    Venice
  10. Bunny's drunken ladder incident

    A drunken Bunny climbs a ladder into Germaine's bedroom and offers to take her away. Germaine rebuffs the advances, and Bunny accidentally falls into a canal, drawing police attention. The episode heightens the sense of danger and exposes the precarious nature of the ruse.

    When
    Night
    Where
    Germaine's room
  11. Stephen and Germaine nearly caught

    Stephen believes he hears a burglar and goes to Germaine's room to investigate. He and Germaine are then caught in a seeming compromising position by Gerald and Claire. The exposure forces a reckoning among the four and tests their loyalties.

    When
    Evening
    Where
    Venice - Germaine's room
  12. Bunny explains what happened

    Bunny reappears and explains the sequence of events to everyone, revealing the truth behind the misunderstandings. Her clarification helps unmask the deception and clarifies the real motives of those involved. The path toward resolution begins to appear.

    When
    After incident
    Where
    Venice
  13. Claire ends the affair with Gerald

    Claire decides to break off her affair with Gerald, recognizing the harm caused by the deception. She chooses to prioritize her marriage and distance herself from the complications in Venice. The decision signals a turning point for the relationships.

    When
    Post-incident
    Where
    Venice
  14. Germaine reveals the truth and a gondola proposal

    Germaine reveals to Gerald that she is not Chou-Chou and decides to return to Paris. Gerald catches up to her in a gondola and, moved by the encounter, asks her to marry him. The film closes on a hopeful note as love seems to find a way through the deception.

    When
    End of trip
    Where
    Venice - gondola

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:01

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Timeline questions answered

This Is the Night Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of This Is the Night (1932): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Stephen return from the 1932 Olympics unexpectedly?

Stephen returns from the 1932 Summer Olympics, where he was competing in the javelin event, because he discovered the train tickets for a romantic Venice getaway that his wife Claire had planned with her lover Gerald. His early return disrupts their plan and triggers the entire comedic chain of events.

  • stephen
  • olympics
  • 1932
  • return
  • javelin
Q2

Why does Bunny lie about the Venice tickets?

Bunny lies about the tickets being for Gerald and his wife because he is Gerald's friend and wants to protect him from being exposed as Claire's lover. When Stephen confronts them about the tickets, Bunny quickly invents the cover story that the tickets belong to Gerald and his wife, setting in motion the need for a fake wife.

  • bunny
  • lie
  • tickets
  • cover story
Q3

Why does Gerald need to hire a fake wife for Venice?

Gerald needs a fake wife because Stephen now believes the Venice tickets belong to Gerald and his wife. If Gerald admitted he had no wife, Stephen would realize the tickets were actually for Claire and Gerald's affair. The fake wife is essential to maintain the lie and avoid exposing the infidelity.

  • gerald
  • fake wife
  • venice
  • lie
  • stephen
Q4

Why can't Chou-Chou pretend to be Gerald's wife?

Chou-Chou cannot take the job because her boyfriend is extremely jealous and would not allow her to travel to Venice with another man, even for a pretense. She needs the money but cannot risk her relationship, so she redirects Gerald to Germaine, another out-of-work actress in need of money.

  • chou-chou
  • jealous boyfriend
  • job
  • germaine
Q5

Why does Germaine agree to pose as Gerald's wife?

Germaine agrees because she is completely out of work and starving. The 2000 franc fee for the Venice trip is desperately needed to survive. Although she initially appears demure, she convinces Gerald she can perform the role of a glamorous wife convincingly.

  • germaine
  • 2000 francs
  • money
  • actress
  • desperate
Q6

Why does Claire become jealous of Germaine in Venice?

Claire becomes jealous because both Stephen and Gerald seem genuinely fascinated by Germaine, who is playing the glamorous wife role convincingly. Even though Claire is the one having an affair, she cannot stand seeing another woman capture the attention of the men, especially her own husband Stephen.

  • claire
  • jealousy
  • germaine
  • venice
  • stephen
  • gerald
Q7

Why does Claire demand Gerald send Germaine away?

Claire demands Germaine be sent away because her jealousy has reached a breaking point. She fears losing both Gerald's attention to this rival and her husband's trust. Gerald orders Germaine to leave the next day to satisfy Claire and try to salvage their original plan.

  • claire
  • germaine
  • send away
  • jealousy
  • demand
Q8

Why does Stephen go to Germaine's bedroom at night?

Stephen believes he hears a burglar in Germaine's room and goes to investigate, intending to protect her from what he thinks is an intruder. His noble intention leads to him being found in her room, creating the most compromising situation of the film.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Stephen's suspicion about Claire's fidelity has been established, making him alert to potential danger.

  • stephen
  • germaine
  • room
  • burglar
  • investigate
  • caught
Q9

How do Gerald and Claire catch Stephen and Germaine together?

After Stephen enters Germaine's room thinking he heard a burglar, both Gerald and Claire walk in on them in what appears to be a compromising situation. The timing makes it look like Stephen is having an affair, creating a tense confrontation that threatens to expose everyone's secrets.

  • gerald
  • claire
  • stephen
  • germaine
  • caught
  • compromising
Q10

How does Bunny explain what really happened that night?

Bunny reappears after his earlier canal incident and clarifies that he was the one who climbed the ladder to Germaine's room, not Stephen. He explains he was drunk, tried to convince Germaine to leave with him, and after she refused, he accidentally fell into the canal where police apprehended him.

  • bunny
  • canal
  • ladder
  • explain
  • police
  • drunk
Q11

Why does Claire end her affair with Gerald?

Claire ends the affair after witnessing the chaos caused by the deception and realizing the harm it has caused to everyone involved. The near-exposure of her own husband's supposed infidelity, combined with the complications of the fake wife scheme, leads her to choose her marriage over the affair.

  • claire
  • end affair
  • gerald
  • marriage
  • choice
Q12

Why does Germaine reveal she is not Chou-Chou?

Germaine reveals she is not actually Chou-Chou because she wants to be honest with Gerald after everything they've been through together. She decides to return to Paris, intending to leave behind all the deception and start fresh with her true identity.

  • germaine
  • reveal
  • not chouchou
  • honest
  • paris
  • return
Q13

Why does Gerald propose to Germaine in a gondola?

Gerald proposes to Germaine because he has genuinely fallen in love with her during the Venice trip. After she reveals her true identity and attempts to leave, he chases her down in a gondola and asks her to marry him, transforming their fake marriage into a real proposal.

  • gerald
  • germaine
  • proposal
  • gondola
  • marriage
  • love

Movie threads

More Movies Like This Is the Night, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes This Is the Night tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Farcical romantic comedies with mistaken identities like This Is the Night

Comedies where a simple lie about love spirals into chaotic, hilarious situations. This list features movies like This Is the Night, where a fabricated romance causes a cascade of comedic errors. If you enjoyed the lighthearted chaos of lies spiraling out of control, you'll find similar screwball comedies and witty romantic farces here, full of playful deception and happy endings.

  • deceptive
  • chaotic
  • frivolous
  • playful
  • romantic
  • witty
  • Tone: light, playful
  • Pacing: fast, chaotic
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically begins with a character telling a small, impulsive lie—often about being married or in a relationship—to avoid embarrassment or exposure. This lie quickly necessitates further deceptions, involving hired actors or unwitting participants, leading to a series of increasingly absurd and coincidental encounters. The plot is driven by the constant threat of discovery, creating a fast-paced sequence of near-misses and misunderstandings that culminate in a farcical climax where the truth is revealed, often resulting in a genuine romantic connection.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped together because they share a specific blend of light, romantic tone and fast, farcical pacing. They prioritize witty dialogue, situational humor, and the absurd complications that arise from a central deception, offering a consistently playful and low-stakes viewing experience focused on romantic entanglements and social comedy.

Playful and chaotic social comedies similar to This Is the Night

Fast-paced comedies where characters navigate a whirlwind of social blunders and witty repartee. Discover movies with a similar feel to This Is the Night, featuring high-society deceptions and fast-paced comic chaos. If you liked the frivolous tone and the humor derived from social embarrassment and quick-witted characters trying to maintain a facade, this collection of sophisticated yet silly comedies is for you.

  • playful
  • chaotic
  • witty
  • sophisticated
  • frivolous
  • deceptive
  • Tone: light, frivolous
  • Pacing: fast, energetic
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The plot often revolves around maintaining a social facade—be it a secret affair, a hidden identity, or a fabricated circumstance—within a sophisticated or upper-class setting. The humor stems from the stark contrast between polished appearances and the underlying farce. Characters are constantly improvising and scheming to keep up appearances, leading to a domino effect of coincidences, interruptions, and clever verbal exchanges that drive the narrative forward at a breakneck speed.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their specific mix of a light tone, fast pacing, and moderate intensity derived from social, rather than physical, peril. They create a cohesive experience of bubbly, intellectual humor centered on deception, jealousy, and the absurdities of trying to control social perception, all wrapped in a stylish, romantic package.

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Every angle

This Is the Night (1932) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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