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What a Night!

Name: What a Night!
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Released: 1928
Duration: 60 min

Representation Score

2.1/10

Limited

1928

Passed

Director

A. Edward Sutherland

Runtime

60 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

What a Night! operates within the traditional genre constraints of its era. While it offers some progressive elements, such as women's ability to drive the story, it lacks broader diversity. The film's strength lies in its portrayal of Dorothy as a central force in uncovering criminal activity. However, it remains limited by the systemic norms of 1928 Hollywood, lacking racial diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, and any meaningful engagement with disability.

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Category Breakdown

Does What a Night! have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or non-cisgender identities. The main romance is a traditional relationship between Dorothy and Joe.

How does What a Night! portray gender?

Fair

Dorothy Winston shows strong ability to act, navigating the journalism world and driving the investigation. While she avoids passive stereotypes, the film ends with a conventional romantic resolution.

How racially and ethnically diverse is What a Night!?

Limited

The production seems to follow the homogeneous casting standards of 1928. There is no evidence of a diverse or non-Anglo-Saxon cast.

How does What a Night! represent religion and culture?

Fair

The story explores institutional corruption by portraying protagonists as truth-seekers against a corrupt political boss. It upholds a traditional moral framework regarding justice and the press.

Does What a Night! include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no mention of characters with visible or invisible disabilities. The plot does not depict any neurodivergent representation.

Present on Screen

Dorothy demonstrates significant professional ability to act and intellectual rigor.
The narrative subverts traditional feminine stereotypes by making the woman a driver of the investigative plot.

Limited or Absent

The film lacks racial and ethnic diversity, adhering to the homogeneous casting of its time.
There is no representation of LGBTQ+ identities or characters.
The story provides no depiction of characters with disabilities or neurodivergent traits.

Official Synopsis

The daughter of an industrialist, Dorothy Winston, arranges to work on a newspaper in which her father places a substantial amount of advertising, Joe Madison, the reporter son of the paper's editor, offers to show her the ropes. A gunman employed by Mike Corney lands in jail, and Dorothy succeeds in interviewing him, getting him to divulge the whereabouts of a canceled check that will link Corney to Patterson, a corrupt political boss. Dorothy and Joe get the check, and Joe telephones his father to urge him to print an exposé of Patterson. Corney recovers the check, however, and Patterson institutes a damaging libel suit against the paper. Dorothy gets the check back and obtains photographic evidence to further incriminate Patterson and Corney. Dorothy and Joe decide to write the story of their life with each another. A lost film.

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