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 | taxi | taxi driver | party | screwball comedy | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

24 March 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

La baronne de minuit

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. Two of its first telecasts took place in Phoenix 23 October 1959 on KVAR (Channel 12), and in Omaha 28 December 1959 on KETV (Channel 7). It was released on DVD 22 April 2008 as part of the Universal Cinema Classics series and has since enjoyed occasional airings on cable TV on Turner Classic Movies.

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Goofs

When Eve attends the concert (c. 15 minutes) she is completely dry despite her roaming the streets in the rain previously.

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Quotes

Jacques Picot: You're wonderful.
Eve Peabody: You're magnificent.
Helene Flammarion: You're talking across the board.

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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

Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche really shine in this screwball comedy...

Screwball comedy is an art and in '39 Charles Brackett wrote a perfectly wonderful one for CLAUDETTE COLBERT and DON AMECHE called MIDNIGHT and directed by the talented Mitchell Leisen.

Claudette is down to her last coin when she stumbles out of a taxi-cab driven by Don Ameche and strolls around Paris in the pouring rain in a gold lame dress, not exactly the picture of a girl down on her luck. But the fun begins when she crashes a party given by a bunch of socialites and has to pretend to be there as a member of high society. She calls herself a Baroness and before long, Ameche has caught up with her and goes along with her impersonation, calling himself a Baron.

Of course, it takes many plot twists and turns for the whole story to come to an end, and by that time there are quite a few laughs provided by Claudette and company. JOHN BARRYMORE is in especially good comic form as a man who wants his wife (MARY ASTOR) to get rid of her lounge lizard boyfriend (FRANCIS LEDERER), who happens to fancy Claudette. REX O'MALLEY has a fey role as a house guest and the cast includes HEDDA HOPPER and MONTY WOOLLEY as an exasperated and befuddled judge.

Claudette has her best role since IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and makes the most of it. She schemes her way in and out of trouble with the disarming charm and ease of an actress who has worn many disguises before.

Summing up: A very winning comedy that is a perfect example of screwball at its best.