CMBA Blogathon - Movies of 1939: Midnight(1939).

Midnight (1939). Romantic/ comedy. Director: Mitchell Leisen. Written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder based on a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore.

Eve Peabody an American showgirl, finds herself stranded in Paris one rainy night. Eve makes a deal with cab driver Tibor Czerny, to double his fee for driving her from nightclub to nightclub looking for a job. Eve, decides to run away from him when it looks like he is becoming interested in her. She hides from him at a charity event where she meets, millionaire Georges Flammarion.

The adventure begins after Georges gives her the title of the Baroness Czerny and Eve finds herself in a room at the Ritz, every girls dream, with beautiful clothes and a chauffeured limousine. Later that morning, Georges, appears at the Ritz to offer Eve the job of taking Jacques away from Helen. She accepts the job and his weekend invitation at his home. That same day, Tibor has organized the cab drivers of Paris to find Eve and on a tip, he finds her at the Flammarion chateau. Just as Helen is about to expose Eve as an impostor, Tibor arrives as the Baron to claim his wife. Will they be able to keep up the crazy charade?

Favorite quote: Eve Peabody: (at the ball) Don't forget, every Cinderella has her midnight.

This is my second Midnight movie review. I thought the story was magical. Once again, Claudette Colbert shows that she is a wonderful comedian. Don Ameche, gives one of my favorite performances. Mary Astor, combines beauty and meanness into a wonderful performance.

Please click here to view Dawn's first Midnight(1939) movie review.

Claudette Colbert ( September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996), was a French-born American stage and film actress. Claudette began her career on Broadway during the 1920s, moving onto talking pictures. She began a successful film career with Paramount Pictures and later, as a freelance performer. Claudette was recognized as one of the leading women of screwball comedy. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in the film, It Happened One Night (1934), and also received Academy Award nominations for her dramatic roles in Private Worlds (1935) and Since You Went Away (1944).

Her film career began to decline in the 1950s, and she made her last film in 1961. Colbert continued to act in theater and, briefly, in television during her later years.

Don Ameche (May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an Academy Award winning actor. Ameche was a versatile and popular film actor in the 1930s and '40s, usually as the handsome, leading man. He was also popular as a radio master of ceremonies during this time. As his film popularity began to fade in the 1950s, he continued working in theater and some TV. His film career made a comeback in the 1980s as an aging millionaire in, Trading Places (1983) and in the film,Cocoon (1985).

John Barrymore (February 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942). He began his acting career as a handsome stage actor in light comedy. His success continued in movies in both the silent and sound eras. John Barrymore is mostly known for his roles in movies like, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1920), Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Twentieth Century (1934), and Don Juan (1926). He was the brother of Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore and was the paternal grandfather of, Drew Barrymore.

Mary Astor (May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was most remembered for her performance in the film, The Maltese Falcon (1941) with Humphrey Bogart. Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the 1920s.

She made a successful transition to talkies, eventually winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film, The Great Lie (1941). She was an MGM contract player through most of the 1940s and continued to act in movies, on television and on stage until her retirement from the screen in 1964. Astor was the author of five novels. Her autobiography became a bestseller, as did her later book, A Life on Film, which was about her career.