Midnight (1939)

A chorus girl stranded in Paris is set up by a millionaire to break up his wife's affair with another man, while being romantically pursued by a cab driver.

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Charles Brackett (screenplay), Billy Wilder (screenplay)

Stars:

Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudette Colbert	...	Eve Peabody
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
Monty Woolley	...	The Judge
Armand Kaliz	...	Lebon

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:

national film registry | showgirl | chorus girl | stranded woman | husband wife relationship | 

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Taglines:

Some little girls want luxury...Some little girls want love...Some little girl wanted money! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche and Lubbock Evening Journal - Midway Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - April 10, 1941)

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Barrymore at one point mentions the character Arsene Lupin . Barrymore played him in Arsene Lupin 1932 .

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Goofs

When Eve dances in the bar the night she meets Tibor Czerny her nails are painted, but when she wakes up in the hotel the next morning she doesn't have any nail polish on, even though she didn't have a chance to remove it, and her nails look completely different in length and shape.

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Quotes

Eve Peabody: Oh, I know. This is the pumpkin coach, and you're the fairy godmother.
Tibor Czerny: Cut that stuff out. It's raining. Come on.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Comedy Movies: 1930s (2014)

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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

a fairy tale, a screwball comedy, a gem

Break out the night vision goggles, the pick-axe, and the compass to find this one if you haven't seen it. I caught it at the MOMA cinema in the old museum basement and laughed so hard I was in tears -- and so were the hundred+ people around me. Monty Woolley and Hedda Hopper are a stitch to watch -- but this is definitely Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche's movie. Colbert spends the first 15 minutes of the movie cold, wet, and hungry -- and Ameche (her knight in shining Taxicab) thoroughly enjoys her predicament. The volley of screwball slap-lines goes on for another hour before the shoe finally fits (as we knew it always would.) The best grins are from Ameche's smug insanity -- and a shaving mug fully loaded.

Best of all, the dazzling innocence of the comedy writing from Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett is so light and politically incorrect that you can almost smell "Some Like It Hot" on the distant horizon. There is no meanness or cynicism in MIDNIGHT. Just a good story, good laughs, and a cast full of people you want to meet again and again.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

24 March 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Midnight

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,513

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