Rendez-vous à minuit

...and Ann Sheridan can be quite fetching as the "showgirl" with the heart of gold who refers to herself at one point as being "technically a good girl". Fun, cliche-ridden, but with a lot of good lines. And Bogart is hilarious as he dead-pans cheating the oldsters at cards! Also: Is this the film that introduced the song "Angel in Disguise"? I only knew the song as delivered by Bugs Bunny!

Elderly friends Nora Taylor and Maggie Ryan own a weird boarding house full of wacky characters but the bank is threatening to take it away. Maggie's daughter Sarah Jane (Ann Sheridan) is trying to be a showgirl while still being a good girl. Nora's aspiring songwriter son Tommy Taylor (Jeffrey Lynn) plays the piano at a nightclub owned by gangster Chips Maguire (Humphrey Bogart). Tommy is tired of Chips' empty promises. When Chips kills a police snitch, he blackmails Tommy into getting him a room at the boarding house.

The problem with this movie is that Tommy is a complete stiff. Bogie has more charisma in his little pinky finger than that man's whole body. For a cinematic romantic pairing, Sheridan needs to get together with Bogie but the story requires that Sarah gets together with Tommy. That's the rub with this movie. Bogie is the most compelling actor and his character has the most compelling redemption arc. In a certain light, this should be his movie and this should be a character study of Chips.

Humphrey Bogart plays 'Mr. Grasselli'--a man who is sick and living in a rooming house while supposedly recuperating. In reality, he's Chips Maguire-a wanted thug who is hiding from the law. This sort of role is hardly surprising for Bogart in 1940, as he'd been playing gangsters in a variety of Warner Brothers films during the last few years. What is surprising, though, is that this film is a light comedy--with Bogie playing a less menacing sort of thug. While it's not a great film, considering that he'd been playing so many mobsters , it was nice to see a bit of a change.

Despite Maguire wanting to remain alone in his room all the time, the two nice old ladies who run the place urge him to come out and meet the other tenants. Eventually, he slowly emerges and begins socializing--and makes friends with the harmless residents and vice-versa. One of them, Ann Sheridan, however, knows who he is and you'd expect her to turn him in to the police. However, she doesn't and what she and this thug have in mind is something you'll need to see for yourself. It's all a little ridiculous, but also great fun.

With such residents as Felix Bressart, Una O'Connor (in one of her more restrained roles)and Zasu Pitts, the movie has a lot of colorful characters and give the film a certain charm and likability. This, combined with an unusual script make this film well worth seeing--especially people who love classic Hollywood or the films of Bogart.

Fun WB comedy with Humphrey Bogart playing a gangster who blackmails piano player Jeffrey Lynn into hiding him out at his mother's boarding house. The boarding house is full of colorful characters such as Zasu Pitts, Felix Bressart, Grant Mitchell, and Una O'Connor. Not to mention beautiful Ann Sheridan. Before long Bogie gets the bright idea to turn the place into a night club, in part out of boredom and in part to impress Sheridan.

Bogie seems to be having a great time in a lighter role. He was really good with comedy. Sheridan is the real star of the picture. Her brassy character has all the best lines and even gets to sing some songs. The assorted kooks at the boarding house are lots of fun to watch. Great comedic character actors all. Even Jeffrey Lynn shines in this one. If you like WB gangster movies you'll surely like this. Lots of snappy dialogue and plenty of laughs too.

This movie has everything but the kitchen sink. A preposterous movie that is nevertheless enjoyable.

There's Ann Sheridan, always totally likable--plus, in this movie she sings "You're Just an Angel in Disguise." There's also a funny dog act.

Humphrey Bogart plays his stock gangster role, but this time he has to deal with ZaSu Pitts and Una O'Connor as two spinsters, one a feisty spark-plug and the other delusionally lovelorn.

At one point, tough guy Bogie as much as says, "Hey, gang, let's put on a show!" And they do. That's where the dog act comes in.

Plus there's a nostalgiac Gay Nineties review, including a barbershop quartet.

And a number of Irish songs in the background and, ultimately, in the spotlight, including a rousing version of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."

I won't give away the ending, but trust me, you'll say, "Aw, ain't that nice!"

Kind of a fun movie.