Meet Me Tonight

Meet Me Tonight is a 1952 omnibus British comedy film adapted from three one act plays by Noël Coward: Red Peppers, Fumed Oak and Ways and Means; which are part of his Tonight at 8.30 play cycle.^[2] The film was released as Tonight at 8:30 in the U.S.^[3] It was directed by Anthony Pelissier and starred Valerie Hobson, Nigel Patrick, Stanley Holloway, Ted Ray and Jack Warner.^[4]

Meet Me Tonight
Directed by	Anthony Pelissier
Written by	Noël Coward
Based on	three plays from Tonight at 8.30 by Noël Coward
Produced by	Anthony Havelock-Allan
Starring	Valerie Hobson Stanley Holloway Nigel Patrick Ted Ray Kay Walsh Jack Warner.
Cinematography	Desmond Dickinson
Edited by	Clive Donner
Music by	Noël Coward Eric Rogers (orchestrated and conducted)
Production company	British Film-Makers
Distributed by	General Film Distributors (U.K.)
Release date	9 September 1952 (1952-09-09) (London)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£97,000[1]

Plot

In "The Red Peppers", a husband and wife song and dance team (Kay Walsh, Ted Ray) bicker with each other, another performer (Martita Hunt), and the theatre manager (Frank Pettingell).

In "Fumed Oak", a middle-aged man (Stanley Holloway) finally has enough of his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law (Betty Ann Davies, Dorothy Gordon, and Mary Merrall respectively). Having saved enough money secretly, he announces to his stunned family that he is leaving, never to see them again.

In the final segment, "Ways and Means", a husband (Nigel Patrick) and his wife (Valerie Hobson) wonder what they will do now that he has gambled away their money, leaving little to pay their debts, especially to Olive (Jessie Royce Landis). They pawn their last few valuable possessions, hoping to win enough in the casino. However, Olive takes the seat the husband was waiting for and proceeds to win a great deal of money. When she gets up, he takes his rightful place and loses all he has. That night, the couple awake to find Olive's chauffeur, Murdoch (Jack Warner), trying to steal from them. After laughing at him (since they have nothing worth the effort), the wife proposes he rob from his employer and split the money with them. Murdoch takes Olive's winnings, but double crosses the couple, only to end up caught by the police.

Cast

• Lily Pepper - Kay Walsh
• George Pepper - Ted Ray
• Mabel Grace - Martita Hunt
• Mr. Edwards - Frank Pettingell
• Bert Bentley - Bill Fraser
• Stage Manager - Toke Townley
• Call-Boy - Ian Wilson
• Performing Dog Act - Frank's Fox Terriers
• Chinese Jugglers - The Young China Troupe
• Henry Gow - Stanley Holloway
• Doris Gow - Betty Ann Davies
• Mrs. Rocket (Grandma) - Mary Merrall
• Elsie - Dorothy Gordon
• Stella Cartwright - Valerie Hobson
• Toby Cartwright - Nigel Patrick
• Murdoch - Jack Warner
• Olive - Jessie Royce Landis
• Chaps - Michael Trubshawe
• Nanny - Mary Jerrold
• Elena - Yvonne Furneaux
• The Fence - Jacques Cey

Production

A very successful film, Brief Encounter (1945), had been made from Still Life, one of the plays that made up Tonight at 8:30. In July 1948, Sydney Box, head of Gainsborough Studios bought the rights to film The Astonished Heart from Tonight at 8:30 which resulted in a 1950 film. In late 1948 Box discussed with Coward making a film called Tonight at 8:30 consisting of three plays from the series: Fumed Oak with Kathleen Harrison and Jack Warner, Family Album with Margaret Leighton and Graham Payn, and Red Peppers with Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert.^[5]

This film was not made. In June 1951 Coward discussed the project with Sydney Box again.^[6] Rights to the plays passed to the Rank Organisation which had made several successful anthology movies, notably Quartet, Encore and Trio. Producer Tony Havelock Allen later recalled the project as "just to have something to do, more or less."^[7]

The movie was financed through the British Film-Makers scheme where Rank provided 70% of the budget and the balance coming from the National Film Finance Corporation.^[8][9]

Filming took place in March 1952 at Pinewood Studios.^[10] Havelock-Allen said director Anthony Pelissier "had many different talents but none of them big enough to make a real impact. Look at The Rocking Horse Winner — he certainly had talent but he never got enough chances. He was a difficult man but, then, so was the man who made Kind Hearts and Coronets, yet that didn’t stop him from being a great director.^[7]

Havelock Allen said, "Noél was rather unkind about" the film "but he made what I think was a valid point: he said that the point of the ‘Red Peppers’ segment was to spend an evening seeing Noél Coward and Gertie Lawrence not playing Noél Coward and Gertie Lawrence, that is the fun; that the moment you do one of these little plays for real, they don’t exist."^[7]

Reception

Box office

The film was not a success at the box office and earned billings of £97,000.^[1]

Critical reception

Variety called it "somewhat dated entertainment" in which "all three items have been skillfully directed."^[11] The Guardian called it "a disappointment" although "passable popular entertainment."^[12] The Daily Telegraph declared "nobody dazzles in the film, and the material, seen in a cold light, seemed thin, even dull."^[13] Filmink called it "a disaster, poorly directed, adapted, cast and acted – we don’t think anyone liked it, then or now, and it was a flop."^[14]

The New York Times wrote, "Tonight at 8:30 is, in short, a varied entertainment, short on excitement but funny and trenchant enough for many tastes."^[15]

Coward saw the film in September 1952 and described it in his diary as "absolutely awful - vilely directed and, with one or two minor exceptions, abominably acted."^[16]