Midnight (1939 film)
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| Midnight | |
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 Publicity Photo |
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| Directed by | Mitchell Leisen |
| Produced by | A. Hornblow Jr. |
| Written by | Screenplay: Billy Wilder Charles Brackett Story: Edwin Justus Mayer Franz Schulz |
| Starring | Claudette Colbert Don Ameche John Barrymore |
| Music by | Frederick Hollander |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Editing by | Doane Harrison |
| Distributed by | Paramount |
| Release date(s) | March 15, 1939 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Midnight is an American 1939 screwball comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder based on a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz.[1]
Actress Barbara Stanwyck was originally slated for the role of Eve Peabody, but was replaced by Claudette Colbert because of scheduling problems.
The film was remade as Masquerade in Mexico (1945) with Dorothy Lamour.
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[edit] Plot
The film tells of American Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert), an ex-showgirl who has to impersonate Hungarian royalty in order to infiltrate the Parisian elite.
Midnight begins during a rainstorm as Eve arrives without any money at Paris' "Gare de L'Est." She attracts the attention of a Hungarian cab driver, Tibor Czerny (Don Ameche), but she walks out on their possible romance because Eve will never again make the mistake of dating for love rather than money.
Instead, she finds shelter from the rain by crashing a socialite's late-night party using a pawnticket and a fake name, the Baroness Czerny (the cab driver's surname).
There, Eve meets wealthy Georges Flammarion (John Barrymore), who entices her with a place in society if she agrees to remain disguised as the Baroness and seduce his wife's playboy lover.
Meanwhile, Tibor Czerny has not given up his search for Eve. When he finds her and discovers she is using his name, Tibor travels to the Flammarion estate: to win Eve and to pose as her husband, the Baron.
[edit] Cast
- Claudette Colbert as Eve Peabody/Baroness Czerny
- Don Ameche as Tibor Czerny/Baron Czerny
- John Barrymore as Georges Flammarion
- Francis Lederer as Jacques Picot
- Mary Astor as Helene Flammarion
- Elaine Barrie as Simone
- Hedda Hopper as Stephanie
- Rex O'Malley as Marcel Renaud
- Monty Woolley as Judge
- Armand Kaliz as Lebon
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Midnight at the Internet Movie Database.
