Midnight (1939) – Criterion Collection

Director: Mitchell Leisen
Screenplay: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder
Starring: Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary Astor
Year: 1939
Country: USA
BBFC Certification: U
Duration: 94 mins

Mitchell Leisen’s 1939 screwball comedy Midnight was quite an expensive film for the time and featured a number of notable stars. This suggests Paramount, the studio behind it, had high hopes for the film. The bisexual Liesen was a hit maker back then and one of the studio’s top directors. He started out by working his way up through the art department, often working for Cecil B. DeMille, before becoming a director.

It was also the second film written together by the much-loved pair, Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. They reportedly clashed with Leisen, who would let actors cut and change lines if they were struggling with them.

Playing a little like a mirror image of the hit film It Happened One Night, even starring the same female lead, Midnight proved popular with critics and I believe it did fairly well at the box office, though I can’t find figures to prove this.

It’s certainly still well regarded today, with the film being selected in 2013 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Now, The Criterion Collection are releasing Midnight on Blu-ray, and I got hold of a copy to share my thoughts.

The film is set in Paris, where American showgirl Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert) is stranded with only an evening gown and no money. A friendly taxi driver, Tibor Czerny (Don Ameche), takes pity on her as she stands in the rain and agrees to drive her around the city to find a job, on the provision that she pays him back once one has been secured. Though Tibor quickly falls for her, Eve slips away into the night, determined to make her own way into high society.

Crashing an exclusive party by pretending to be “Baroness Czerny,” Eve captures the attention of wealthy playboy Jacques Picot (Francis Lederer), who is already having an affair with the glamorous and married Helene Flammarion (Mary Astor). Alarmed by Jacques’ growing infatuation with Eve, Helene’s husband Georges Flammarion (John Barrymore), sees an opportunity: he recruits Eve to continue posing as the baroness and seduce Jacques away from Helene, thereby saving his marriage.

Eve agrees, tempted by the luxurious life Georges offers her as part of the ruse. But, as the charade deepens, Tibor, who’s been searching for her across the city, arrives and puts a spanner in the works. On top of confusing the story she’d constructed, Tibor’s reappearance makes Eve question the path she is heading towards.

Midnight is a bright and breezy screwball spin on the Cinderella story, but one with some satire and a wonderfully constructed story full of fun twists and turns.

Leisen had a bit of a reputation for being a ‘window dresser’, making films that were nice to look at but little more. Midnight, however, shows his skill at getting the best from his actors as well as in establishing and maintaining the tone and pace of a great comedy.

Admittedly, the superb cast he had to work with might have helped, but you’ve still got to know how to use them and handle their unique quirks. Leisen was reportedly much-loved by his casts, which helped create a warm atmosphere that rubs off on screen. Claudette Colbert was a particular fan of the director and worked with him on four films in total. She’s absolutely wonderful here, smart and effortlessly charming. She makes it seem believable that her character can so easily sweet-talk her way into this situation and that.

John Barrymore is also a lot of fun as her fellow schemer. He was a known alcoholic, which could cause problems on set, but he somehow still managed to be a delight to watch on screen.

Don Ameche is very good too, but I don’t think his character always comes across as entirely likeable, which brings me to my only quibble with the film – I wasn’t entirely convinced by the romance between Tibor and Eve. They do have chemistry in their early scenes together, but not quite enough to suggest Eve might drop everything to be with Tibor. Also, once Tibor comes back into the equation following their initial separation, his methods and treatment of Eve are a little questionable. Perhaps this is down to modern sensibilities being quite different, but I didn’t entirely buy into the final resolution.

This doubting of the strength of the central relationship didn’t prevent me from enjoying the film immensely though. It’s still a fine example of golden-era screwball comedy. Brackett and Wilder’s script is as full of wit and as intricately plotted as ever. Aided by a wonderful cast on top of this, Midnight is still a pleasure to watch, 86 years after it was released.

Film:

Midnight is out on 14th July on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by The Criterion Collection. The film looks fantastic for its age. The picture is clean and detailed with lovely tones. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review to give an idea of how it looks, though these have been compressed. It sounds good for its age too.

Disc/Package: