Lady at Midnight

Richard Denning and Frances Rafferty wake in the middle of the night to find a strange woman prowling their house. The next day she is found dead, and soon after , their adoption seven years earlier of Lora Lee Michel is challenged. Why would anyone do that? Who would kill the woman? Fortunately for this movie, Denning is a news reporter for a local radio station, and so we gt an interesting bit of mystery.

It's done on the cheap by Sam Newfield, operating under a pseudonym for distribution by Eagle-Lion, early in their transformation from bottom-of-the-barrel PRC. There's some pleasantly corny humor offered by Miss Michel and Ralph Dunn. For what was a blood-free, old-fashioned mystery, it fits the lower half of a double bill pleasantly.

Lady at Midnight (1948)

Another Sam Newfield low budget and low quality film. Why watch any of these really sometimes miserable films? Because of themes that get handled, and for occasional moments that rise up. This one is not bad in many ways, even if it's not exactly great. Most of all it's not pretentious.

Here the thrust of the plot is interesting--a couple with a young adopted child finds that the biological mother wants the kid back. And there is a legal problem with how the adoption was handled years before.

This is pretty heartbreaking stuff. Too bad the parents are more likable than convincing in their shock at possibly losing their child. The star is really the little girl, who is cheerful and sad and clever as needed. And so you do really feel for her when she learns she might have to leave her parents. There's a memorable scene where the detective gets into a talk with the girl in the house kitchen, and they start talking guns, and the girl knows more about tommy guns than the cop. It's great, for a minute.

A wrinkle in this whole enterprise (and a good one) is that a woman snuck into the house in the opening scenes and talked to the girl (at midnight). And then she is found murdered the next morning. So this leads to a bit of danger, and in an homage to James Cagney, we see the main character (the dad) appear at an open door and fall forward and crash to the floor.

It's all in fun, and it succeeds that far.

Richard Denning is an actor pretty much forgotten today. However, back in the 40s and 50s, he played rugged leading men in B-movies--as well as the Governor throughout the old "Hawaii Five-O" series. Here he plays a rather different role--an angry parent trying to hold on to his adopted daughter. It seems that a recent murder is somehow connected with a bizarre plot to try to overturn the adoption--even though it occurred seven years earlier. Why--and who is behind all this? Denning is ticked and determined to find out--even if it kills him.

This is a very low budget film. It's pretty obvious--especially since you'll see Sid Melton in a small part--and his appearances are ALWAYS in cheapo productions! However, for a lower budgeted film, it actually is pretty interesting and worth seeing--even if the plot is awfully far-fetched. And Denning does a fine job--as does the child actress. My only gripe is the creepy plot device where the kid keeps talking about one day marrying Al--a 50 year-old guy! And, he talks about it too! Yikes!!

One night, Peter and Ellen Wiggins (Richard Denning and Frances Rafferty) are awakened at midnight by a mysterious female intruder. The next day, the woman is found dead. The plot takes a turn when the Wiggins' believe that she knew their daughter.

Meanwhile, Peter, a radio news reporter sets out to uncover the truth, in spite of phoned-in death threats.

LADY AT MIDNIGHT is a fairly silly, mostly toothless mystery. It does gain some momentum once a missing will enters the picture. The Wiggins' daughter, Tina (Lora Lee Michel) is a highlight, adding comic relief.

Worth a watch, but don't expect any pulse-pounding suspense...

Delightful old B Picture available on Netflix and perfect for a rainy Saturday afternoon. Super cheaply made with writing and a plot that will make you smile, even at its own inadequacies. Fast paced and thoroughly entertaining. Richard Denning and Frances Rafferty are likable as they fight to keep their adopted daughter from being taken away from them. Their sickeningly sweet little girl grows on you until she's actually fun and appealing. Filled with familiar faces from old B Films, all playing their usual typecast characters. And all are placed in the context of those cheap 1940's sets which all look remarkably the same.

All the vicious comments about this B film are true yet it's still fun to watch. Be sure and make some popcorn and grab a coke before you begin.