Classic 30s Movie: “Midnight”

May is Classic 30s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Niki Leydecker.

Movie Title: Midnight

Year: 1939

Writers: Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, based on a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz

Lead Actors: Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary Astor and Elaine Barrie

Director: Mitchell Leisen

IMDb Plot Summary: A chorus girl, stranded in Paris, is “set up” by a millionaire to break up his wife’s affair with another man.

Why I Think This Is A Classic 30s Movie

Midnight is widely viewed as one of the top screwball comedies of the 1930s. A retelling of Cinderella, the script is full of wisecracking, fast-talking dialogue that comes to life with a talented ensemble of actors who also starred in many screwball comedies of that decade.

Our Cinderella is Eve Peabody, a woman determined not to be poor because she grew up with no money and it tore her parents apart. She immediately runs into her “prince” Tibor Czerny, but there’s just one problem, he’s a cab driver. So, she makes a getaway and stumbles into a party of the wealthy elite. There, she meets her “fairy godfather” Georges, who offers her a bank account full of francs. The only catch is she has to lure away the man that is having an affair with his wife. Eve then becomes Baroness Czerny and the adventure begins.

I love how each character has their own voice, their own mini arc and transformation. Because each character is so well defined, you become more involved in the story. No supporting character is left behind; they all play a pivotal role in the film. I really enjoy watching Eve bumble her way through high society, pretending to be a baroness, but all the while fighting her true feelings for Tibor.

The costumes are truly stunning; displaying high 30s fashion at it’s best. In the ballroom scene Eve looks like a true princess. In that same scene, just as she and Georges are about to get busted, she says one of my favorite lines in the film, “Don’t forget, every Cinderella has her midnight.”

My Favorite Moment In The Movie

The scene near the end of the third act where everyone is having breakfast. This is one of the funniest moments in the film as Eve has everyone convinced that Tibor is crazy. (Tibor showed up earlier pretending to be a Baron so everyone thinks they truly are Baron and Baroness Czerny). She informs everyone at the table that Tibor likes to believe he is a fisherman or a taxi driver, and that he has violent outbursts and it’s just best to agree to everything he says. As Tibor marches down to the table decked out in his cabbie outfit to tell everyone the truth about him and Eve, he goes ballistic as everyone is very agreeable and doesn’t get upset at what he says.

My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie

Eve Peabody: Well. So this, as they say, is Paris, huh?
Train guard: Yes, madame.
Eve Peabody: Well, from here it looks an awful lot like a rainy night in Kokomo, Indiana.

Eve Peabody (to Georges): From the moment you looked at me, I had an idea you had an idea.

Eve Peabody (To Tibor): Listen. Back in New York, whenever I managed to crash a party full of luscious big-hearted millionaires, there was always sure to be some snub-faced kid in the orchestra playing traps. And so at four in the morning, when the wise girls were skipping off to Connecticut to marry those millionaires, I’d be with him in some nightspot learning tricks on the kettledrum. And he always had a nose like yours.

Tibor: “I know we’re right for each other. I know it deep down in my bones, don’t you?”
Eve Peabody: “That’s why I didn’t accept that room of yours.”
Tibor: “There were no strings on that. I was driving all night.”
Eve Peabody: “I know that… I would’ve awakened in the morning and ironed that shirt of yours, and then I would’ve waited around to thank you.”
Tibor: “And I would’ve asked you to marry me.”
Eve Peabody: “I probably would have. Don’t you see? We would have had a few grand weeks and a lot of laughs… And then all of a sudden, the walls of that one room would’ve started crowding in on us.”
Tibor: “Yeah, I know that story. When you’re poor, love flies out the window.”
Eve Peabody: “Well, I saw it happen with my mother and father. So many worries and quarrels, and they just gave up. They didn’t even hate each other.

Tibor: “She’s not a baroness… She’s an American golddigger I picked up in Paris less than a week ago… There was something about her nose, and the way the raindrops trickled down from that newspaper.”
Jacques: “Newspaper?”
Tibor: “Yes, she was wearing one instead of a hat! She twisted me around her finger in two minutes; I was crazy about her. She made me think that she felt the same way about me, until she remembered she had other fish to fry — fish like you! Gold fish!”

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie

Famously, John Barrymore did not learn any of his lines for this film; he read cue cards instead. Claudette Colbert refused to be filmed on the right side of her face, so all of her shots favor her left side. Lastly, Mary Astor became pregnant during filming so they had to get creative with wardrobe. Despite these challenges, the end result is one of the most enjoyable romantic comedies of any decade.

Go here to see a clip from Midnight.

Thanks, Niki!

To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!

We already have a set of classic 40s movies, 5os movies, 60s Movies, 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 30s movies. And thanks to the GITS community, we’ve got at least 22 movies in the works and hopefully! Here’s our MVP list of contributors:

All Quiet on the Western Front — Michael Waters
Bride of Frankenstein — Marija Nielsen
Bringing Up Baby — Melinda Mahaffey
Captain Blood — John Arends
City Girl — Adam Westbrook
Dracula — Sheila Seaclearr
Duck Soup — David Joyner
Gone With The Wind — W. H. Morris
Gunga Din — Steve Huerta
It Happened One Night — Joni Brainerd
Make Way for Tomorrow — Susan Winchell
Midnight — Niki Leydecker
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves — Will King
Sabotage — Jeff Xilon
The 39 Steps — Felicity Flesher
The Adventures of Robin Hood — Clay Mitchell
The Informer — Megaen Kelly
The Petrified Forest — Rachel Sheridan
The Women — Liz Clarke
Topper — Wayne Kline
Vampyr — Megaen Kelly

For the original post explaining the series, go here.

For all of the 30s movies featured in the series, go here.