Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined
Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to of the 1%
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
edwagreen Whoever wrote this deserves a lot of credit. Of course, with such a great cast, they're able to pull this one off. The problem with this wise-cracking film is the end. It is silly and in a way a cop out as well.What a premise! A chorus girl in Paris becomes involved in a plot by a jealous wealthy man to break up the liaison between his wife and her lover. Our rich guy goes so far as to set up the chorus lady as a wife of a baron. All Hades breaks lose when the cab driver shows up as the baron.Claudette Colbert just shines as our lady baroness, and Don Ameche is perfect as the cab driver-turned-baron. In fact, when he is in the car, note the gleam in his eyes. Mary Astor, as the wealthy woman, carrying on with Francis Lederer, displays her usual suspicious, nasty character. John Barrymore, as the jealous husband, is humorous. when he killed in a jealous rage in the Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald film of 1937? Barrymore certainly proved that he was adept at comedy as well.
wes-connors Dressed for success, penniless nightclub entertainer Claudette Colbert (as Eve Peabody) arrives in Paris. Looking for both employment and eligible men, Ms. Colbert finds her style cramped by a drenching rainstorm. To stay dry, she accepts a date with handsome taxi-driver Don Ameche (as Tibor Czerny). He invites Colbert to stay over; but, she is after finer digs, and ditches Mr. Ameche at a gas station.Next, Colbert crashes a socialite's party, where she meets wealthy John Barrymore (as George Flammarion). To win back the attentions of wife Mary Astor (as Helen), Mr. Barrymore hires Colbert to romance Ms. Astor's handsome French lover, Francis Lederer (as Jacques Picot). Meanwhile, Ameche summons his taxi-driving pals to find Colbert, with whom he has fallen in love… Wonderfully cast, with Colbert offering her by now typically delightful performance; like several of her other films, "Midnight" is much better than the more celebrated "Academy Award" winner. An obviously inebriated Barrymore is better than none. And, screenplay writers Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder seem to be warming up for "Ninotchka". Probably, this is director Mitchell Leisen's finest work.********* Midnight (3/15/39) Mitchell Leisen ~ Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Mary Astor
MartinHafer In some ways I feel sorry for those that made MIDNIGHT. While it is a wonderful movie, it came out during what many would argue was the greatest year in Hollywood history. 1939 saw such films as GONE WITH THE WIND, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON and so it's not surprising that films like MIDNIGHT and THE WIZARD OF OZ somehow took a back seat. Had it come out in a different year, it might have taken home an award or at least been nominated.The story begins with penniless Colbert arriving in Paris and being befriended by cabbie, Ameche. However, soon after meeting, she accidentally bumbles into a society party and is mistaken for a guest. From then on, she is sucked into the finest circle and is wined and dined and lives a Cinderella-like life--that is until Ameche shows up and announces he's there to ask her to marry a lowly cab driver.The film has a pretty impressive pedigree--the screenplay written by the exceptional duo of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, directed gracefully by Mitchell Leisen and starring some exceptional actors--Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore. In just about every way, this was a quality product, though I will it the story was a bit silly and unbelievable. However, despite these minor limitations, the whole package looked so nice, was constructed so well and was so clever that it was easy to look past how unbelievable the whole thing was.Sweet and enjoyable from start to finish--this is a film worth seeking.
tony_procek 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 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 sur 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.
