Simply A Masterpiece

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

MIDNIGHT LACE is a straightforward mystery thriller that offers starring roles for Doris Day and Rex Harrison. This American film was shot in London with lots of British character actors in support, and it feels very much Hitchcockian in style. Day headlines as the ordinary heroine who begins to believe she's going out of her mind when she's assailed by mysterious phone calls and sinister voices.The main problem I had with the story is how predictable it all is. You can guess the outcome from the very first scene so that gives it a rather dated feel. In addition, Day's performance veers towards the histrionic and she overacts on occasion, which I always find irritating. Some of the suspense scenes are quite good and Harrison is fine in a cast-against-type role, but the best bits are those featuring welcome faces including the likes of Herbert Marshall, John Williams, Roddy McDowall, and Anthony Dawson.

Doris Day plays an American in London, the wife of wealthy company chairman Rex Harrison. Terrorised by an anonymous voice, mainly over the phone, threatening her life, she becomes convinced attempts are being made to kill her, but has no proof.This seemed promising at first, but it became increasingly obvious before the halfway point that the villain could be only one of two people, and I could see all the 'surprise' twists leading to the denouement creaking into place just before they occurred, including the identity of the accomplice. This may be as a result of seeing too many variations on the basic theme, particularly in 'Giallos' made in the years after this, but I can't believe the plot was very original even at the time. The phony Hollywood London is fun, though no great aid to any suspension of disbelief. Doris Day pulls out all the stops in a bravura performance, and it's not her fault that her moments of peril don't usually come over with the impact that they might have had. I was struck by her uncanny resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery in some scenes. Hitchcock would no doubt have produced a much stronger film, and sometimes watching stuff he didn't make is invaluable in appreciating just what a genius he was. As it is, it's probably best recommended for those fans of the star who have not seen too many examples of this kind of movie.

Midnight Lace is directed by David Miller and adapted to screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts from the play Matilda Shouted Fire by Janet Green. It stars Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, Roddy McDowall and Herbert Marshall. Music is by Frank Skinner and cinematography by Russell Metty.Kit Preston (Day) is being stalked, but she can't get anyone to believe her. Is she going mad?The "woman in peril" thriller has always proved popular since the advent of film, Midnight Lace may not have the class or menace of something like Gaslight, but it's a splendid mystery thriller yarn. Pic sets its goals out from the start, as the delightful Miss Day is pursued through the pea souper fog by person unseen. Then the phone calls start, a weird voice at the end of the line issuing less than complimentary advice, but nobody is sure if she is really suffering these harassments.So, enter a whole ream of suspects from weasels and schemers to the unbalanced and the too suave to be true, red-herrings now rule the roost and it's great fun. As things progress Kit's hysteria goes up a notch at a time until it's all out psychological bedlam. The big reveal is not exactly a surprise, but the enjoyment was in getting there. Unfortunately the production loses points for some sloppy editing and poor design for the London setting, the latter rendering the already fanciful story a fake feel that's hard to shake off; the theatrical origins evident for sure.Still, Harrison and Day can pretty much sell these characters in their sleep, and they are backed up by Gavin and Loy enjoying themselves. It makes up for what it doesn't have in atmospherics or freshness of formula, with honest to goodness entertainment values. 7/10

Doris Day is hearing voices. To be precise, one voice. And, he says he wants to kill her. But, the rub is - no one believes her. Her husband, the police. Her Aunt Bea wants to, but the more hysterical Doris gets, the more she doubts her. This film is so well made, it feels like a Hitchcock film, and it boasts an outstanding cast, including Rex Harrison, who plays her husband, John Gavin, who gives one of his most relaxed and natural performances of his career, Roddy MacDowell, Herbert Marshall, Myrna Loy as her Aunt Bea, and John Williams and Anthony Dawson, both from Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. It's been said that Doris Day swore off films like this, after completing this, due to it being physically exhausting and I can see why. Her breakdown is very real and she gives one of her most challenging and convincing acting jobs in her career here. She said she had to tap into her feelings and her pain from her abusive first marriage to really bring out the tears, and they flow! The staircase scene is where she really loses it. I have nothing negative to say about this terrifying winner! It may not win any awards, but it hits all the right buttons. For a suspenseful film with great stars and real class, this is the film for you.