Midnight (1939)

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

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Charles Brackett (screenplay), Billy Wilder (screenplay),

Stars:

Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Showgirl Eve, stranded in Paris without a sou, befriends taxi driver Tibor Czerny, then gives him the slip to crash a party. There she meets Helene Flammarion and her gigolo Picot, who's attracted to Eve. Helene's scheming husband Georges enlists Eve's aid in taking Picot away from his wife. It works well... at first. Meanwhile, lovestruck Tibor searches for Eve. But then he learns she's calling herself Baroness Czerny!

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Plot Keywords:

party | taxi | taxi driver | millinery | faked insanity | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

15 March 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

La baronne de minuit

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett turned in their script, the studio liked it, but felt it needed some work. The writers they hired to rewrite the script were: Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. The studio sent them their own script to rewrite without knowing it. Wilder and Brackett simply retyped their original script and the studio loved the "rewrites" so much, they produced it with no further "changes".

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Quotes

Georges Flammarion: The ground has just opened under our feet.
Eve Peabody: Well... and me all set to jump for that tub of butter.
Georges Flammarion: We've landed in something, all right, but it's not butter.
Eve Peabody: Here they come.
Georges Flammarion: I'll stand by you as best I can.
Helene Flammarion: Ladies and gentlemen, may I have a word, please. I want to tell you something which I think will both interest and amuse you. Under our roof tonight, we have, as a guest, a person claiming one of the oldest names in the Almanach de Gotha.
[Crowd mutters]
Helene Flammarion: I don't know how many of you are ...
[...]

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Connections

Remade as Masquerade in Mexico (1945)

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Soundtracks

"Étude No.12 in C minor Op.10-12: Revolutionary"
(1829-32) (uncredited)
Written by Frédéric Chopin
Played on piano at Stephanie's party

User Reviews

rags to riches

This is a wonderful film in which Eve Peabody, a homeless would-be blues singer, is allowed into the elite Parisian society by Barrymore. While posing as the Baroness Czerny of Hungary, Tibor Czerny (Ameche), a cab driver,not royalty, pursues the lovely Peabody. It is delightful to see Peabody's constant deceptions grow larger and larger throughout the film until she finally decides the high life isn't really for her. I highly recommend Midnight.