Midnight (1939)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Charles Brackett (screenplay) and
Billy Wilder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

A chorus girl, stranded in Paris, is "set up" by a millionaire to break up his wife's affair with another man.

Plot Keywords:

Taxi Driver | Party | Aristocrat | Millinery | Piano

Cast

Claudette Colbert	...	Eve Peabody aka Baroness Czerny
Don Ameche	...	Tibor Czerny
John Barrymore	...	Georges Flammarion
Francis Lederer	...	Jacques Picot
Mary Astor	...	Helene Flammarion
Elaine Barrie	...	Simone
Hedda Hopper	...	Stephanie
Rex O'Malley	...	Marcel Renaud
Monty Woolley	...	The Judge
Armand Kaliz	...	Lebon - Eve's Lawyer

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4906) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Argentina:16

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Mary Astor's pregnancy caused some filming problems.

Quotes:

Simone: Well, where in the world did you get THAT hat? It looks positively moldy!
Customer in hat store: Well, I bought it from you three days ago.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Midnight (2010)

Soundtrack:

Étude No.12 in C minor Op.10-12: Revolutionary

What a wonderful, fun movie!

Quite delightful. Surprised it's not better known. Has been called "The first great Brackett and Wilder screenplay." Fantastic costumes too. Billy Wilder was frustrated that the director was more interested in the style and look of the movie (which is stellar) than in his dialogue, which he had to fight from being cut. This is probably one of the first films that made him think about directing his own, so he could have more control. Really great comic performances from John Barrymore, Don Ameche, and Claudette Colbert.