Midnight Lace (1960)

In London, a newly-wed American woman's sanity comes into question, when she claims to be the victim of a stalker.

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

Ivan Goff (screenplay), Ben Roberts (screenplay),

Stars:

Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Doris Day	...	Kit Preston
Rex Harrison	...	Anthony Preston
John Gavin	...	Brian Younger
Myrna Loy	...	Aunt Bea
Roddy McDowall	...	Malcolm Stanley
Herbert Marshall	...	Charles Manning
Natasha Parry	...	Peggy Thompson
Hermione Baddeley	...	Dora Hammer
John Williams	...	Inspector Byrnes
Richard Ney	...	Daniel Graham
Anthony Dawson	...	Roy Ash
Rhys Williams	...	Victor Elliot
Richard Lupino	...	Simon Foster
Hayden Rorke	...	Dr. Garver
Doris Lloyd	...	Nora Stanley - Housekeeper

Storyline

In London, the American futile housewife Katherine "Kit" Preston has been married for three months with the American executive Anthony "Tony" Preston. In a foggy day, while walking in a park, Kit is threatened by a voice that tells that she will be murdered by the end of the month. On the next day, Kit receives a phone call from the stalker and she goes with Tony to the Scotland Yard, but Inspector Byrnes believes that Kit is making-up the story to get more attention from Tony. Kit welcomes her Aunt Bea but only she receives the phone calls. Would Kit be losing her mind?

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Plot Keywords:

threat | telephone | scotland yard | suspense | elevator | 

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Genres:

Thriller | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 1960 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Encaje de medianoche

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arwin Productions, Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 108 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In her autobiography, Doris Day wrote that to prepare herself for one of the terror scenes, she recalled a time when her first husband, trombonist Al Jorden, dragged her out of bed when she was ill and pregnant and hurled her against a wall. Day related that in the scene she wasn't acting hysterical, she WAS hysterical, and at the end of the take she collapsed in a real faint. She was carried to her dressing room, and producer Ross Hunter shut down production for a few days while she recovered.

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Goofs

When Kit Preston is pushed to the ground in front of a bus and is subsequently helped to her feet to leave the scene, her coat remains immaculately clean throughout, in spite of having fallen face down on a wet road.

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Quotes

Aunt Bea: I was once in Dublin for the horse show, and I got a call at the Sheldon Room from a man who wanted to dress me in black underwear. Personally, mind you! It was the most *stimulating* minute-and-a-half I spent in Ireland!

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Connections

Remade as Midnight Lace (1981)

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Soundtracks

"Midnight Lace"
by Joe Lubin and Jerome Howard

User Reviews

Interesting little movie

I caught this on Channel Five last week, and I expected another plodding Doris Day film. However, I was pleasantly surprised! This little gem isn't actually that bad. I give you that Doris Day does overplay her role horrendously in some parts, and that you can guess the twist ending when you're only half - way through, but all in all, this quite a good movie thriller!

It's about a woman who starts getting mysterious death threats from some unknown person, and as the film goes on, we see her mental health deteriorate into the twist in the climax.

The scariest scene is in the London fog in the very first scene, and the rest of it builds up suspense. A little over acted, and perfectly see - through, but a good thriller all the same! Rent it for a night in! I recommend it!