That Midnight Kiss (1949)

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Bruce Manning (screenplay) and
Tamara Hovey (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 January 1950 (Sweden)

Genre:

Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The biggest kiss in movie history!

Plot:

In Philadelphia, the soprano Prudence Budell returns from Europe after a period of five years training in the best Europeans music schools...

Plot Keywords:

Tenor | Truck Driver | Opera Singer

Cast

Kathryn Grayson	...	Prudence Budell
José Iturbi	...	Himself (as Jose Iturbi)
Ethel Barrymore	...	Abigail Trent Budell
Mario Lanza	...	Johnny Donnetti
Keenan Wynn	...	Artie Geoffrey Glenson
J. Carrol Naish	...	Papa Donnetti
Jules Munshin	...	Michael Pemberton
Thomas Gomez	...	Guido Russino Betelli
Marjorie Reynolds	...	Mary
Arthur Treacher	...	Hutchins
Mimi Aguglia	...	Mamma Donnetti
Amparo Iturbi	...	Herself
Bridget Carr	...	Donna Donnetti
Amparo Ballester	...	Rosina Donnetti
Ann Codee	...	Mme. Bouget
Edward Earle	...	Jason
George Meader	...	Paul
Sheila Stein	...	Peanuts Donnetti
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gregg Barton	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Customer (uncredited)
George Boyce	...	Member of G.I. Quartette (uncredited)
Robert Cherry	...	Member of G.I. Quartette (uncredited)
Frank Donahue	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Frank Donia	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Edward Gargan	...	Traffic Cop (uncredited)
Patty Kate Johnston	...	Infant (uncredited)
Michael Kostrick	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Richard Lane	...	Radio D.J. interviewing Ethel Barrymore (uncredited)
Jerry Lascoe Jr.	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Dwight Martin	...	Member of G.I. Quartette (uncredited)
Anne O'Neal	...	Charwoman (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Joe Rocca	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Dore Schary	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Charles Smith	...	Member of G.I. Quartette (uncredited)
Al Thompson	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Disk Jockey (uncredited)

Directed by
Norman Taurog

Writing credits
Bruce Manning		(screenplay) and
Tamara Hovey		(screenplay)

Produced by
Joe Pasternak	....	producer

Original Music by
Charles Previn		(uncredited)
Conrad Salinger		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Robert Surtees

Film Editing by
Gene Ruggiero

Art Direction by
E. Preston Ames		(as Preston Ames)
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Helen Rose
Valles		(costumes: men)

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair designer

Production Management
Sergei Petschnikoff	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dolph Zimmer	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Krams	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording supervisor
Conrad Kahn	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bud Graybill	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Durward Graybill	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Albert Hunter	....	grip (uncredited)
A. Lindsley Lane	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo Arnaud	....	orchestrator
José Iturbi	....	music supervisor (as Jose Iturbi)
Charles Previn	....	musical director
Conrad Salinger	....	orchestrator
Robert Franklyn	....	composer: title music (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
James Gooch	....	technicolor color consultant
Henri Jaffa	....	technicolor color consultant
Howard Dietz	....	director of publicity (uncredited)
Leslie H. Martinson	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• M.P.E.A. (1952) (Austria) (theatrical)
• ClassicLine (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Although this was officially Mario Lanza's film debut, he had previously appeared as an uncredited chorus member in Winged Victory (1944). Like the character he plays in the movie, Lanza was an opera singer from an Italian-American family in Philadelphia.

Quotes:

Abigail Trent Budell:Every opera singer should fall in love with her tenor, or composer, or baritone, or conductor. I'm glad it's a tenor. We could use one.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Some of the Best: Twenty-Five Years of Motion Picture Leadership (1949)

Soundtrack:

Revolutionary Etude

Mario Lanza makes his film debut...glossy MGM musical...

It was only natural that when Mario Lanza made his film debut, MGM cast him opposite their current operatic diva, Kathryn Grayson, and showcased both of them in a sumptuous technicolor musical.

This film also marked the last film of Jose Iturbi, who lent his talent and charm to a number of MGM musicals in the '40s. The story is a simple one: opera singer Grayson would like to have a tenor who looks the part of the tenor role. When Lanza, a singing truck driver is discovered, she gets her wish--and a happy ending isn't far away. Humor of the painful kind is furnished by Jules Munshin and J. Carrol Naish but nothing really matters when Lanza and Grayson burst into song. Among the song highlights: Donizetti's "Una Furtiva Lagrima" and Verdi's "Celeste Aida". Grayson, who always had a burning ambition to be an opera singer, does a fine job on "Cara Nome" with her bright soprano.

The schmaltz is pretty thick--but fans of Grayson and Lanza will certainly enjoy this trifle. And, oh yes, Ethel Barrymore is prominent among the supporting players showing a droll sense of humor.