Night Life of the Gods (1935)

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Another of Thorne Smith's slyly naughty fantasy novels, Night Life of the Gods was transferred to the screen with reasonable fidelity to the original in 1934. Alan Mowbray plays the eccentric Hunter Hawk, inventor of a ray gun that can turn human beings into statues. Much to his surprise, Hawk… More Another of Thorne Smith's slyly naughty fantasy novels, Night Life of the Gods was transferred to the screen with reasonable fidelity to the original in 1934. Alan Mowbray plays the eccentric Hunter Hawk, inventor of a ray gun that can turn human beings into statues. Much to his surprise, Hawk is also able to turn statues into humans; consequently, he brings to life eight marble effigies of such Greco-Roman mythological gods as Apollo, Bacchus, Diana, Mercury, Venus and Perseus. All flimsily clad within an inch of the Production Code, the now-lively gods have a high old time adapting to Manhattan night life: in one of the funniest scenes, Neptune (Robert Warwick) playfully spears a bevy of bathing beauties with his trusty trident. Along the way, Hawk falls in love with 900-year-old "baby goddess" Megaere (Florine McKinney). The wry original ending of Smith's novel was watered somewhat by having the whole thing turn out to be a dream, but it's fun while it lasts. Night Life of the Gods was the final directorial effort of Lowell Sherman, who died shortly before the film went into release. Unfortunately, copies of this delightful bit of risque whimsy are few and far between; indeed, Night Life of the Gods may well become a "lost" film if the preservationists don't get on the stick as soon as possible. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi