The Night of January 16th (film)

The Night of January 16th
Color movie poster for The Night of January 16th. In the top half, a woman drags a man's body by his feet. In the bottom half, a man and woman look up apprehensively.
Movie poster
Directed byWilliam Clemens
Screenplay by
Based onNight of January 16th
by Ayn Rand
Produced bySol C. Siegel
Starring
CinematographyJohn J. Mescall
Edited byEllsworth Hoagland
Music byGerard Carbonara
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • November 28, 1941 (1941-11-28)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Night of January 16th is a 1941 American crime drama film directed by William Clemens, based on a 1934 play of the same name by Ayn Rand. The story follows Steve Van Ruyle (Robert Preston) and Kit Lane (Ellen Drew) as they investigate the apparent murder of Lane's boss, in an attempt to clear her as a suspect.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer optioned the film rights to the play in 1934 and hired Rand to work on the screenplay, but they did not move forward and the option lapsed. The rights were later resold, first to RKO Pictures, then to Paramount Pictures. Paramount brought in a new team of writers, and Rand played no role in the final production.