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The Night is Young is a second-drawer operetta, and that by itself will make it a hard sell for modern audiences. The "breaking into song" musical itself is not easily embraced today, and the operetta variation is particularly scorned. But even in its own day, Night was far from The Desert Song and The Student Prince in quality. The story is terribly trite, but then so are those of many better operettas. The problem is that it is told so baldly and with so little panache. The screenplay features dialogue that is simply wince-inducing; at its best, it only achieves a kind of banality. The supporting cast is noteworthy, with stalwarts like Edward Everett Horton, Charles Butterworth and Una Merkel contributing their typical but dependable characterizations. The leads are more problematic, although both Ramon Novarro and Evelyn Laye sound quite good when singing. Unfortunately, they are saddled with the worst dialogue, and their valiant efforts are not enough. A classic score would have made a difference, but despite the presence of the superior "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" and the effective title song, the score as a whole disappoints. The production is lavish, at least, but it can't make Night more than passable.