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The play's events occur entirely in a courtroom; Faulkner is never seen. Within the three acts , the prosecutor Mr. Flint and Andre's defense attorney Mr. Stevens call witnesses whose testimonies build conflicting stories. At the beginning of the first act, the judge asks the court clerk to call jurors from the audience. Once the jurors are seated, the prosecution argument begins. Flint explains that Andre was not just Faulkner's secretary, but also his lover.

Frequently bought together

Night of January 16th is a theatrical play by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of the "Match King", Ivar Kreuger. Set in a courtroom. The Night of January 16th is a American film directed by William Clemens, based on a play of the same name by Ayn Rand. The story follows Steve Van.

Flint then calls a series of witnesses, starting with the medical examiner, who testifies that Faulkner's body was so damaged by the fall that it was impossible to determine whether he was killed by the impact or was already dead. An elderly night watchman and a private investigator describe the events they saw that evening. A police inspector testifies to finding a suicide note. Faulkner's very religious housekeeper disapprovingly describes the sexual relationship between Andre and Faulkner, and says she saw Andre with another man after Faulkner's marriage.

Nancy Lee testifies about her and Faulkner's courtship and marriage, portraying both as idyllic. The act ends with Andre speaking out of turn to accuse Nancy Lee of lying. The second act continues the prosecution's case, with Flint calling John Graham Whitfield—Faulkner's father-in-law and president of Whitfield National Bank. He testifies about a large loan he made to Faulkner. In his cross-examination , defense attorney Stevens suggests the loan was used to buy Faulkner's marriage to Whitfield's daughter.

After this testimony, the prosecution rests and the defense argument begins. A handwriting expert testifies about the signature on the suicide note. Faulkner's bookkeeper describes events between Andre's dismissal and the night of Faulkner's death, and related financial matters. Andre takes the stand and describes her relationship with Faulkner as both his lover and his partner in financial fraud. She says she did not resent his marriage because it was a business deal to secure credit from the Whitfield Bank. As she starts to explain the reasons for Faulkner's alleged suicide, she is interrupted by the arrival of "Guts" Regan, an infamous gangster, who tells Andre that Faulkner is dead.

Despite being on trial for Faulkner's murder, Andre is shocked by this news and faints. The final act continues Andre's testimony; she is now somber rather than defiant. She says that she, Faulkner, and Regan had conspired to fake Faulkner's suicide so they could escape with money stolen from Whitfield. Regan, who was also in love with Andre, provided the stolen body of his already-dead gang associate, "Lefty" O'Toole, to throw from the building. In cross-examination, Flint suggests Andre and Regan were using knowledge of past criminal activities to blackmail Faulkner.

Stevens then calls Regan, who testifies that he was due to meet Faulkner at a getaway plane after leaving the stolen body with Andre; however, Faulkner did not arrive and the plane was missing. Instead of Faulkner, Regan encountered Whitfield, who gave him a check that was, according to Regan, to buy his silence. Regan later found the missing plane, which had been burned with what he presumes is Faulkner's body inside. Flint's cross-examination offers an alternative theory: Regan put the stolen body into the plane to create doubt about Andre's guilt, and the check from Whitfield was protection money to Regan's gang.

In the play's Broadway and amateur versions, the next witness is Roberta Van Rensselaer, an exotic dancer and wife of O'Toole, who believes Regan killed her husband. This character does not appear in Rand's preferred version of the play. The defense and prosecution then give their closing arguments. The jury retires to vote while the characters repeat highlights from their testimony under a spotlight. The jury then returns to announce its verdict. One of two short endings follows. If found not guilty, Andre thanks the jury. If found guilty, she says the jury have spared her from committing suicide.

In Reeid's amateur version, after either verdict the judge berates the jurors for their bad judgment and declares that they cannot serve on a jury again. Although best known as Night of January 16th , the play's title changed multiple times and several alternative titles were considered. Rand's working title was Penthouse Legend.

When Woods took the play to Broadway, he insisted on a new title. Rand liked neither, but picked the latter. Prior to the opening, he considered renaming the play The Night is Young.

When Rand published her version of the play in , she wrote that although she disliked the Broadway title, it was too well known to change it again. The play's protagonist and lead female role is the defendant, Karen Andre. Woods was Nolan's manager and got a commission from her contract. Nolan was inexperienced and was nervous throughout rehearsals. When other actresses visited, she feared they were there to replace her.

Rand actively pushed for Walter Pidgeon to be cast in the role of "Guts" Regan. Woods objected at first, but eventually gave Pidgeon the part. The selection of a jury from the play's audience was the primary dramatic innovation of Night of January 16th.

Although Woods liked the idea, [17] Hayden worried it would destroy the theatrical illusion; he feared audience members might refuse to participate. Successful jury selections during previews indicated this would not be a problem. This criticism dissipated following the play's success; it became famous for its "jury gimmick". The play's jury has sometimes enlisted famous participants; the Broadway selections were rigged to call on celebrities known to be in the audience. Reilly—who was known from the Lindbergh kidnapping trial earlier that year—and boxing champion Jack Dempsey.

Woods decided the jury for the Broadway run would employ some jury service rules of the New York courts. One such rule was the payment of jurors three dollars per day for their participation, which meant the selected audience members profited by at least 25 cents after subtracting the ticket price.

He later loosened the rule to allow women jurors at matinee performances twice a week. Rand described Night of January 16th as "a sense-of-life play". Andre represents an ambitious, confident, non-conformist approach to life, while the prosecution witnesses represent conformity, envy of success, and the desire for power over others. Rand supported individualism and considered Andre "not guilty". Live up to your highest vision of yourself no matter what the circumstances you might encounter.

An exalted view of self-esteem is man's most admirable quality". Several later commentators have interpreted the play as a reflection of Rand's early interest in the ideas of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Literature professor Shoshana Milgram saw elements of Nietzsche's morality in the descriptions of Bjorn Faulkner, who "never thought of things as right or wrong". Historian Jennifer Burns said Rand "found criminality an irresistible metaphor for individualism" because of the influence on her of "Nietzsche's transvaluation of values [that] changed criminals into heroes".

He called the play "a powerful and eloquent plea for the Nietzschean worldview" of the superiority of the " superman "; this is represented by Faulkner, whom Merrill interprets as rejecting external moral authority and the " slave morality " of ordinary people. Since its premiere, Night of January 16th has had a mixed reception. The initial Los Angeles run as Woman on Trial received complimentary reviews; Rand was disappointed that reviews focused on the play's melodrama and its similarity to The Trial of Mary Dugan , while paying little attention to aspects she considered more important, such as the contrasting ideas of individualism and conformity.

The Broadway production received largely positive reviews that praised its melodrama and the acting of Nolan and Pidgeon.

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Commonweal described it as "well constructed, well enough written, admirably directed Again, reviewers ignored the broader themes that Rand considered important. Professional productions in other North American cities typically received positive reviews. Fenger described the production at San Francisco's Geary Theater as "darned good theater" that was "well acted" and "crisply written".

The London production in received mostly positive reviews but was not a commercial success. A reviewer for The Times praised Foster's performance as "tense and beautiful". Darlington said the show would be popular with audiences, but the production ended its run in less than a month. The revival as Penthouse Legend was a failure and received strongly negative reviews.

The Night of January 16th

Academics and biographers reviewing the play have also expressed mixed opinions. Theater scholar Gerald Bordman declared it "an unexceptional courtroom drama" made popular by the jury element, although he noted praise for the acting of Breese and Pidgeon. Rand intended Bjorn Faulkner to embody heroic individualism, but in the play he comes off as little more than an unscrupulous businessman with a taste for rough sex".

They hired Rand to write a screenplay, but the project was scrapped. The new screenplay altered the plot significantly, focusing on Steve Van Ruyle Robert Preston , a sailor who inherits a position on the board of a company headed by Bjorn Faulkner Nils Asther. Unlike the play, in which Faulkner is already dead, he appears in the film as a living character who is apparently murdered.

Faulkner is discovered hiding in Cuba after faking his own death. In , Gawaahi , a Hindi-language adaptation of Night of January 16th was released. Night of January 16th was adapted for several television anthology series in the s and s. The broadcast had been scheduled for October 6, , but was delayed to avoid its possible interpretation as political commentary before the general election held later that week. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Flint Larry "Guts" Regan more The Night of January 16th film and Gawaahi. Closing , p. Cochran , p. Illustrators , p. Entrants , p. Hit-Bits , p. Equity , p. Archer, Thomas June 17, Atkinson, Brooks September 17, The New York Times. Barnes, Clive February 23, Penthouse Legend , a Courtroom Drama". A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, — The Passion of Ayn Rand. Garden City, New York: Overlook Illustrated Lives series. Brown, John Mason September 17, Woods at the Ambassador".

Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right. Collins, Charles September 21, Boosted by San Franciscan". Fleming, Peter October 9, The Night of January 16th". Gladstein, Mimi Reisel The New Ayn Rand Companion. Major Conservative and Libertarian Thinkers series. It was with the publication of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged that she achieved her spectacular success.

About The Night of January 16th To the world, he was a startlingly successful international tycoon, head of a vast financial empire.

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