Two for Tonight (1935) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Mrs. Smythe sues the pilot claiming the crash prevented Gilbert from finishing his musical play, which would have earned money to pay off the family's debts. Gilbert is shocked to discover this because he never actually had a finished play, the whole lawsuit was his mother's scheme to get compensation for the property damage and lost furniture.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene establishes the family's desperate financial situation with furniture being hauled away by brokers.

• mrs smythe
• pilot lawsuit
• 50 thousand
• compensation
• plane crash

After the lawsuit, Bobbie the pilot offers to cover the $50,000 debt in weekly installments of $15 from her salary working as secretary to producer Harry Kling. This arrangement gives Gilbert access to Kling, who becomes crucial to the story when he agrees to hear Gilbert's pitch for a musical.

• bobbie
• pilot
• 15 dollars weekly
• debt
• kling secretary

When Gilbert tries to explain the accident and money situation to Kling, the producer misinterprets it as a pitch for a completed play. Kling is desperate to find a vehicle for his actress girlfriend Lilly, so he tells Gilbert to have something ready by the time he returns from Paris in seven days, creating the deadline that drives the entire plot.

Foreshadowing: Kling's struggle to find a suitable play for Lilly is mentioned when Bobbie arranges the meeting.

• kling
• producer
• paris deadline
• seven days
• musical pitch

Gilbert grows impatient for plot material and deliberately trips a waiter, thinking it will create dramatic inspiration. The incident spirals out of control when police mistake Gilbert for a criminal called Benny the Goof, leading to a soda-siphon battle that erupts into a full riot. Gilbert ends up jailed as a result.

Foreshadowing: Homps earlier advised Gilbert to go out and experience life to gather material for his second act.

• purple cafe
• riot
• jail
• benny the goof
• waiter

When producer Kling returns from Paris and discovers the romantic misunderstanding between Bobbie and Gilbert, he cancels the project. Homps then reveals that his Uncle Ludwig has died and left him money, which he uses to finance and produce the show. This sudden inheritance provides the funds needed to move forward with "Two for Tonight."

Foreshadowing: Homps earlier mentioned waiting for money from his Uncle Ludwig after the old man's death.

• homps
• uncle ludwig
• inheritance
• financing
• production money

Bobbie misinterprets Gilbert's romantic scene with Lilly, Kling's actress girlfriend, as a genuine romantic affair rather than creative rehearsal. This misunderstanding, combined with Kling's arrival and the subsequent cancellation of the play, causes Bobbie to abandon Gilbert temporarily.

Foreshadowing: Bobbie had earlier tried to push Gilbert toward romance to generate material for the musical, creating tension with Lilly.

• bobbie
• lilly
• romantic misunderstanding
• rehearsal
• leaves

After Homps secures funding and the production is back on track, Gilbert pursues Bobbie and declares his devotion to her. He performs "Without a Word of Warning" again, and this time she returns to him, confirming their relationship for a happy ending.

• gilbert
• bobbie
• happy ending
• reconciliation
• devotion

The film ends with Mrs. Smythe appearing arm-in-arm with Homps, suggesting yet another marriage for the chronically remarried mother. This comic note closes the film on a hopeful, lighthearted note, implying the family will continue its pattern of romantic adventures.

• mrs smythe
• homps
• marriage
• ending
• family

The musical is saved when Homps inherits money from his Uncle Ludwig and uses it to finance the production. This happens after Kling cancels the project due to the romantic misunderstanding, leaving the future uncertain until Homps' sudden inheritance provides the necessary funds.

Foreshadowing: Homps mentioned earlier that he was waiting for money from his uncle, creating setup for this payoff.

• two for tonight
• musical
• production
• homps
• financing

Gilbert hides in a tree to pitch his song to publisher Alexander Myers, completely unaware that Myers is completely deaf. While Gilbert sings his tune "Takes Two to Make a Bargain," a plane circles overhead and crashes into the tree, injuring both men and ending the pitch attempt in chaotic farcical fashion.

• alexander myers
• deaf publisher
• plane crash
• tree
• pitch failed