Midnight (1939 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Mitchell Leisen |
| Produced by | Arthur Hornblow, Jr. |
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| Music by | Frederick Hollander |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Doane Harrison |
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Midnight is a 1939 American screwball comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary Astor, and Elaine Barrie. Written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder based on a story by Edwin Justus Mayer and Franz Schulz, the film is about an unemployed American showgirl stranded in Paris who is set up by a millionaire to break up his wife's affair with another man. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
American showgirl Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert) arrives in Paris from Monte Carlo during a rainstorm with nothing but her clothes (an evening gown). With no money and no place to stay, she persuades soft-hearted Hungarian taxi driver Tibor Czerny (Don Ameche) to drive her to nightclubs looking for a job in exchange for her doubling his fare. After an unsuccessful search, Tibor buys her dinner and offers to let her stay overnight at his apartment while he finishes his night shift. While attracted to Tibor, she slips away.
Seeking shelter from the rain, Eve sneaks into a black tie classical concert. Without an admission card, she uses the pawn ticket for her suitcase. Stephanie (Hedda Hopper), the hostess, learns that an imposter got in using a pawn ticket, and interrupts the concert to ask if "Eve Peabody" is there. Eve tries to slip away, but is intercepted by Marcel Renaud (Rex O'Malley), who invites her to play bridge in another room. The other players are Madame Helene Flammarion (Mary Astor) and Jacques Picot (Francis Lederer), a wealthy ladies' man. Eve introduces herself as "Madame Czerny" and is partnered with Jacques.
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