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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.

Although languishing in obscurity in comparison to other great films of 1939, Midnight is a classic that deserves to be ranked among the best comedies. In this sophisticated twist on the Cinderella story, a penniless showgirl (the incomparable Claudette Colbert) passes herself off as a foreign aristocrat to help John Barrymore win back his erring wife from a champagne mogul. If she succeeds in winning this millionaire for herself, she'll have the rich lifestyle--the "tub of butter"--for which she's been scheming, but taxi driver Don Ameche is determined to teach her the age-old lesson that love is better than riches. Not only is the film a delight for fans of Colbert, whose genius for offhand, sophisticated comedy shines here, but viewers are also treated to one of Barrymore's last and funniest performances. Although he is said to have read his lines from cue cards for this film, his performance looks flawless: worldly, cunning, and wildly eccentric. Ameche provides the perfect counterpart for Colbert, holding his own in the dizzying round of deceptions, impersonations, and frivolous lawsuits. This is a sparkling, witty film that should be part of every comedy fan's library.

Claudette Colbert wanders around Paris broke and in gold lame in "Midnight." She meets a cab driver and, finding herself attracted to him, she takes off. While he's organizing a city-wide cabbie search for her, she's at a private party and winds up at the Ritz as Baroness Czerny - which is his last name, chosen by her in a moment of panic. She is backed in all her lies by John Barrymore, in a wonderfully funny performance, who wants her to woo his wife's boyfriend away from her.

There are some familiar themes at work here - one is the suitor for hire and/or opportunity, used (with variations, of course) in "Her Cardboard Lover" and "Palm Beach Story," "Mannequin," and the affable, unambitious man who feels that by having nothing, he has everything, such as in "Magnificent Dope" and "You Can't Take it With You." That's the Ameche character. Knowing she could fall for him sends Colbert running - just as she ran from Joel McCrea in "Palm Beach Story." This hunger for money in some characters (usually women) and loathing of it (usually men) is a strange dichotomy than runs through several post-Depression, pre-war films.

The handsome Czech leading man, Francis Lederer, plays Mary Astor's boyfriend who falls for Colbert. In 1929, when he made a film in Germany with Louise Brooks, Lederer couldn't speak a word of English. He lived to be nearly 101 and in his last years, taught at the American National Academy of Performing Arts, which he and his wife founded.

The funniest scene to me was a phone conversation between Barrymore and Colbert, in which she pretends she's talking to her sick daughter. But everyone is great in this movie, which is very funny and refreshing.

Quite delightful. Surprised it's not better known. Has been called "The first great Brackett and Wilder screenplay." Fantastic costumes too. Billy Wilder was frustrated that the director was more interested in the style and look of the movie (which is stellar) than in his dialogue, which he had to fight from being cut. This is probably one of the first films that made him think about directing his own, so he could have more control. Really great comic performances from John Barrymore, Don Ameche, and Claudette Colbert.

There are few films that can be seen often without the viewer tiring of them. Midnight is one of them. It glides effortlessly through the tinsel and magical world of barons and down-on-their heels showgirls without taking a mean shot at anyone. Claudette Colbert shows that she lost none of her "It Happened One Night" edginess, and Don Ameche gives the performance of his career as the romantic cab driver who sees himself as worthy to steal Colbert away from her rich suitor. John Barrymore may have been in decline at this point in his career-----but this is his last great effort at creating a truly endearing comic character. He does so splendidly. Mary Astor combines beauty and bitchiness in a memorable role. And what is there to say about Rex O'Malley as her gay pal in all this business? It is a shame that he is virtually unknown today, and didn't get many opportunities to show what a fine comic actor he was.

Midnight deserves a much wider audience than it now has. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett have written wonderful comic dialog that continues to charm and amuse today's viewers. And it is without doubt Mitchell Leisen's masterpiece.

This is THE romantic comedy to see with someone you love.

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.

Why this simply marvelous comedy is not hailed as a screwball classic standing shoulder to shoulder with "It Happened One Night," "The Awful Truth," and "My Man Godfrey," and just under "Bringing Up Baby," is utterly beyond me. Claudette Colbert sparkles in the role of an American golddigger in Paris, Don Ameche is a charming romantic lead, Mary Astor is a delightfully bitchy rival, and John Barrymore is spectacular in one of the funniest performances I have ever seen on celluloid. As others have stated, it is astonishing that he read his lines off cue cards. Anyway, everything in this film works perfectly together: the acting, the direction, the crackling writing, and the zany plot which I will not go into now, but which is absolutely ideal for a screwball. It is also refreshingly politically incorrect, and while feminists might flinch at one or two scenes, that should not prevent anyone from enjoying "Midnight," which is really one of the best comedies of all time. An enthusiastic and unequivocal 10/10.

Claudette Colbert at her best, playing a down-on-her-luck singer in Paris who is mistaken for a member of Hungarian royalty; she goes along with the deception, but only to help wealthy John Barrymore out of his marital fix. Tightly-wound screwball farce written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, from a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz (with such a distinguished pedigree, the movie has to reach some high expectations--and does so joyfully). Directed in an efficient, brisk manner by Mitchell Leisen, with superb performances by the cast and pleasant, airy surroundings. Remade in 1945 as "Masquerade in Mexico". *** from ****

"Midnight" is superb in every way - cast, direction, script are all perfection. It's like Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" in the way its plot adds complication upon complication and just as "Figaro" is a perfect opera, so this is a perfect comedy - witty, sophisticated, warm and laugh-out-loud funny. Don Ameche and Claudette Colbert are ideally cast. This should have featured in the AFI's top 100 comedies and its top 100 films - its the epitome of the golden age of Hollywood comedy.

This movie took me by surprise - as I caught it quite by accident and was on the verge of turning it off and it just grabbed me and I could not take my eyes from it until the last shot. Claudette is at her best and the script is witty and way ahead of its time. As Eve, Claudette learns how difficult it is to deceive and keep the web of make believe going. Her comic timing is impeccable. Loved Rex O'Malley in a small but "out" part. Mary Astor, as usual, has that sweet venomous second fiddle role down pat. Barrymore, apparently reading his lines, does very well. He is the only one in heavy makeup. A must see by an unrecognised director who in later life became a tailor, I believe (more info on this if anyone has it, please).

Ever seen one of those movies that had you falling in love with it, then out of it, within the space of two hours? Midnight (1939) was such a film for me. There's a precarious balancing act going on in most screwball comedies - how easily something potentially charming can be downright annoying - but this is the first time I recall the scales tipping from one to the other so perceptibly.

Claudette Colbert plays Eve, a penniless showgirl who, fleeing a gambling debt in Monte Carlo, finds herself an improbable Cinderella within Paris society, romanced by a dashing European lothario (Frances Lederer), abetted by the wealthy, fretful husband of his mistress (John Barrymore and Mary Astor respectively, looking a million years from Don Juan (1926), rather than a mere thirteen), and ultimately wooed by a humble Hungarian taxi driver (Don Ameche).

The premise is certainly promising - as you'd expect it to be, with a script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett - and the cast is sterling, but once I'd rounded my fourth or fifth twist, I found myself doing something nobody should ever be doing in a comedy: looking at my watch. You know it will all unwind in a satisfactory manner, but waiting for it to do so becomes like the bus that is running five, then ten, then fifteen minutes late. You can feel your patience ebbing away, bit by bit.

Apparently, Billy Wilder thought that it didn't quite work, and I tend to agree with him.

Second half Is better definitly. There Is a few very memorable moments with lot a laugh. I recommend the movie, you won't waste your time! But, don't expect more than entertainment... Actors aren't as familiar to me, still, I didn't care. I found them reliable.

At that time humor was still inocente and really cute. So, if you're a little bit romantic and nostalgic, this could be your cup of tea.

The cab driver also has a nice example of retro cars and we can see lot of interesting artefacts of that era. From that point of view, the movie is some sort of museum.

Need to mention, the film is more cute than hilarious!

Enjoy.

Until Claudette Colbert utters the line, "Every Cinderella has her midnight," into the ear of her crony John Barrymore, you'll wonder as to the title of this movie. While you're wondering, though, you'll be in for a hilarious treat. This modern-day Cinderella comedy is adorable, and if you like it, check out The Palm Beach Story, which reunites Claudette and her costar Mary Astor in another comedy.

Claudette Colbert stars as a poor girl who wishes to mingle with high society. She bonds with the wealthy John Barrymore and he helps her weasel her way into the in-crowd, but her brief romance with cab driver Don Ameche threatens to ruin all her plans. Don drove Claudette in his cab, and stayed in his apartment overnight, but left before he could learn her name! When he finally tracks her down, he has two options: expose her or pretend to be her wealthy husband. . .

From start to finish, Midnight is hilarious. The comic timing is perfect, the jokes are witty, and the ending is insanely funny. One of the best forgotten comedies of the 1930s, it manages to create hilarious situations out of the absurd, while using witty banter to entertain the mind as well as the reflexes. Rent it when you're in the mood for something light and silly.

MIDNIGHT, too often overlooked in the shambles of what has been called the greatest year for movies, 1939, because audiences, accustomed to "screwball comedies" weren't quite ready for this smart-ass comedy of manners scripted by Wilder & Brackett. Claudette Colbert, arriving in Paris dressed only in a gold lame evening gown with matching purse, but without any money or connections, shows how to survive without surrendering her virtue and finds both love and riches. Don Ameche, lethally handsome in beautiful B&W shows he can wear a dinner jacket as well as Cary Grant, or Gary Cooper or Fred Astaire. This film is almost as good as the best Preston Sturges comedies and deserves to be seen by a contemporary audience.

along with "it happened one night", "the thin man", "my man godfrey", "easy living", "the awful truth", "bringing up baby", "the philadelphia story", "the lady eve", and "the palm beach story", "midnight" is indispensable.

one of those seamless Hollywood films that achieves undeniable art for art's sake. it's better than anything with loftier intentions that received more praise in 1939- "wuthering heights", "gone with the wind", etc.

claudette colbert, at her best, proves how smart, funny, and dazzling American female stars could be in this era. it's a shame that after world war 2, women in movies just weren't as exciting as they were before. i guess too much independence was considered a threat to America's "values". we all lost something when women had to go back to the kitchen.

then watch this wonderful film! I could count on two hands the number of films which have genuinely made me laugh out loud, and this is near the top of the list, perhaps even the top, of the list. I first saw it on television many years ago, and I can't remember it ever being shown since - pity. I scoured the net for it and found it on VHS eventually. As others have said, it is right up there with the likes of 'Bringing Up Baby' and 'It Happened One Night' as a sparkling comedy, but the one-liners for me surpass the anything in those films. What a shame it seems to have been forgotten. If, as someone has written, it is to re-made with Reese Witherspoon as Eve Peabody, let's hope it will make people look up this overlooked classic. They really don't make them like this anymore.

This movie is a gem -- one of my favorites.

It shows you everything that the golden age of Hollywood was all about. Good writing, direction, great performances, strong supporting cast, effective production design. A lot of fun; a light comedy classic.

Reminds me a bit of "The Lady Eve," especially in that each has a similar, memorable party scene. A difference, though, is that the Colbert character is more realistically drawn, and the film is a notch less manic (and much more enjoyable for my tastes) than the screwball pace of "The Lady Eve."

A racy and amusing screwball comedy from the busy pens of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder. Set in contemporary pre-War France, penniless chorus girl Colbert steps off the Monaco to Paris train in the pouring rain wearing only her party gown where she encounters a friendly, handsome taxi driver, played by Don Ameche in a sub-Gable role, even down to his pencil 'tache and a budding if unlikely mutual attraction is immediately ignited. He takes her to an evening's musical entertainment attended by high society which she amusingly gatecrashes and after assuming a glamorous titled nom-de-plume, finds herself the centre of attraction of a rich group of toffs where she's asked by the friendly and generous millionaire Monsieur Georges Flammarion played by John Barrymore, to use her feminine wiles to honeytrap his straying younger wife's (Mary Astor) young and handsome gigolo beau (Francis Lederer).

Ameche meanwhile isn't giving up on his love-at-first-sight quarry and organises a city-wide raffle amongst his Parisian taxi-buddies to track her down and when he does, fully enters into the role-playing farcical proceedings before it all comes to an amusing if somewhat condescending courtroom sequence before the blustery presiding judge unsurprisingly played by Monty Woolley.

With all the screwball elements intact, kooky female lead, fantastic situation, romantic complications, a fast-moving and ever-changing narrative and of course, an all-loose-ends-happily-tied-up conclusion, it's an engaging and often sparkling comedy playing out the Cinderella motif of rags to riches to rags suggested by its title, to the hilt.

Colbert leads the cast delightfully but gets great support from the dashing Ameche, waspish Astor and especially the good-natured Barrymore in this fun-filled French frolic.

Eve Peabody rolls into Paris in third class from Monte Carlo dressed in gold lame and broke. A taxi driver (Don Ameche) takes pity on her and helps her look for work but she ditches him once she falls in with some swells. She works out a deal with one (John Barrymore) to pose as a countess and sweep a very wealthy count off his feet but cannot shake the nagging feeling of what she did to the taxi driver. He in turn has every other driver in Paris looking for her. When he does find her matters become even more complicated.

Midnight is another solid contributor to the film year (1939) generally accepted as the finest of the century, holding its own with a crowded field. Style obsessed director Mitchell Leisen as usual drapes his sets in gaudy opulence and his cast in chique fashion while Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's script benignly eviscerates the swells. The slapstick is toned down giving it a more Lubitsch touch than his "Easy Living" screwball making it a more subtle but as effective comedy. Colbert carries the film and her ruse with grace and charm but Ameche's hissy fit recalcitrance is off putting. A dissipated John Barrymore showing the ravages of alcoholism nevertheless registers while his teenage lover from 1924, a pregnant Mary Astor parries well will Claudette. A pleasant, good looking comedy.

The charming and vivacious Claudette Colbert shines brightly in this fast-paced, witty, hilarious farce. Look at these credits: A script by the great team of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder; a supporting cast that includes John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Rex O'Malley, Hedda Hopper and Monty Woolley - all at their best. (Even Don Ameche as the romantic lead, not known as a particularly exciting or interesting actor, holds his own.) Frederick Hollander, famous as the composer of the Marlene Dietrich signature song "Falling in Love Again," contributes incidental music that successfully evokes the Paris that used to be, or at least the Paris of the imagination, even though this movie was shot at Paramount Studios, USA, with liberal use of process shots of the fabled French metropolis. All in the sure hands of Mitchell Leisen who directed his fair share of golden age films which are still watchable in the 21st century.

The farcical plot is based on the Cinderella concept - in this case, an out-of-work show girl stranded in Paris is first taken in by a taxi driver who falls in love with her, and then by an older gentleman who plies her with riches for reasons which do not become clear until we've laughed our way through several episodes. The plot overflows with ingenious twists and clever, snappy dialogue. Complications build to a wacky courtroom resolution presided over by Monty Woolley.

Anyone who has also seen the 1942 Preston Sturges comedy The Palm Beach Story will wonder if Sturges didn't steal half the idea from Midnight. The parallels are abundant and I highly recommend the Sturges film to anyone who likes Midnight. In the Sturges film, Colbert, on the run from her architect husband (Joel McCrea), impulsively boards a train for Palm Beach, setting in motion a cinematic pandemonium. Mary Astor is again on hand as the daffy, loquacious sister of eccentric millionaire Rudy Vallee.

Claudette Colbert stars in this droll romantic comedy from 1939. Colbert arrives in the City of Lights w/o a dime in her pocket & possibly w/o a hope of finding a job but she runs into a kindly cab driver, Don Ameche, who offers to run her around on the arm to see if she can change her luck. Feeling like she's overstayed his kindness, she leaves him finding herself impersonating a Baroness at a symphonic function, through no fault of her own, which prompts an aristocrat, played by John Barrymore, to use her to break up an affair his wife, Mary Astor, is having w/another while Ameche, desperate to reconnect w/Colbert, puts out an all points bulletin among his fellow cabbies (in hopes of winning a big raffle pot) to track her down which they do which sets up the final third where Ameche pretends to be Colbert's Baron & uncomplicating the mess all the players find themselves in. Written by Billy Wilder & Charles Brackett (based on a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz) plays fine but I felt the plot itself was a bit lopsided (Ameche is sorely missed from the picture even though he gets some dollops here & there) which prevented me from fully getting invested in the scenario. Also starring famed gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (who would appear as herself in Wilder's Sunset Boulevard) as a friend of Barrymore's & Monty Woolley as a judge.

As good as a movie can get. Claudette Colbert is the flapper/gold-digger/chanteuse, (take your pick), who arrives in a very rainy Paris in an evening gown and not much else. She is momentarily rescued from her predicament by a gallant taxi driver, (played gallantly by Don Ameche), with whom she immediately falls in love but from whom she runs as fast as her well-turned-out legs can carry her. She runs straight into the clutches of John Barrymore, (a magnificent comic performance), who saves her bacon, so to speak, if only she will seduce gigolo Francis Lederer who is stealing away Barrymore's wife, the always delectable Mary Astor, and thus save Barrymore's marriage.

This is a French farce of the very best kind, although it is written, not by a Feydeau, but by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, and directed with supreme elegance by the under-valued Mitchell Leisen. Colbert is wonderful as the wide-eyed chorine, torn between love and riches, Barrymore displays sublime comic timing and Astor is as sharp as a new pin. It feels and looks like a Lubitsch but I doubt if even Lubitsch could better it.

With such a winning cast, who can go wrong with Don Ameche, Claudette Colbert, John Barrymore and Mary Astor, the brilliant Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett penning the script and a talented director, it was hard not to highly anticipate 'Midnight' with such a love for classic film.

'Midnight' turned out to be one of those films that met those expectations and even exceeded them, that cannot be said for many film viewings recently. Of all my recent viewings, and actually in a long way, 'Midnight' is easily up there in the top 5 of the most rewarding. It is a real shame that it is so overlooked today and it has nothing to do with quality, it's a fantastic film. To me, what struck me as the reason was timing, with it being released in the year that saw the releases of two of the biggest and most highly acclaimed films ever 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'Gone with the Wind' (two of my favourites as well). 'Midnight' is not quite on their level or scale, but although fondly remembered here it is deserving of more attention.

It is beautifully made for starters, especially in the sumptuous costumes and photography that is so easy on the eyes. 'Midnight' is directed with a real eye for atmosphere and visual detail and with an ability to keep the story moving along. The music is never intrusive or too syrupy.

A contender for the best asset of 'Midnight' is the script. The script here is brilliant in classic Wilder and Brackett fashion, sparkling and sizzling at every turn effortlessly and the best parts are truly hilarious.

The story is filled with charm and sophistication, it is also stylish, impossible to dislike and never hard to follow.

Cannot fault the cast either. Don Ameche oozes with charm and likeability in one of his best roles (to me at least), Claudette Colbert is luminous and with great comic timing and John Barrymore was never funnier and gives one of his best later performances. Mary Astor, Rex O'Malley and Hedda Hopper give classy support.

Overall, a wonderful film deserving of more praise. 10/10 Bethany Cox