Beautiful, moving film.

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

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Blistering performances.

With Don Ameche borrowed from 20th Century Fox and John Barrymore finished with his contract at MGM, the two of them teamed with Claudette Colbert to make Midnight where Colbert plays a chorus girl stranded in Paris. When Don Ameche finds her and takes her in, she's wearing a newspaper for a hat.She could have all her basic needs met with Ameche who's head over heels for her, but Claudette wants more out of life. Enter John Barrymore who would like to have her masquerade as a baroness, to ward off another goldigger of the male kind in Francis Lederer who has been sniffing around Mary Astor who is Barrymore's wife.Colbert pulls it off beautifully, maybe she'll meet a really rich candidate for a husband. Lederer is sniffing all right to Astor's jealousy, but Ameche is on the scent too. He's going to find that woman who came and went out of his life so quickly. And Barrymore, the sly rogue, is presiding over it all like an indulgent grandpa.When you have a director like Mitchell Leisen and such skilled players in comedy as Ameche and Colbert in the lead, the result can't be anything else, but pure entertainment. Barrymore is also grand in the last part he would have in an A budget film.Down in the supporting cast take careful note of Monty Woolley as a judge, a man well versed in the divorce laws of France and who brooks no nonsense in his court. Best scene in the film is Ameche with the help of several Parisian cab drivers getting the hotel maitre'd to tell where Colbert left for. That has to be seen, no description will do.Unfortunately Midnight is not the kind of screen comedy made any more, so see it when broadcast.

Dressed for success, penniless nightclub entertainer Claudette Colbert (as Eve Peabody) arrives in Paris. Looking for both employment and eligible men, Ms. Colbert finds her style cramped by a drenching rainstorm. To stay dry, she accepts a date with handsome taxi-driver Don Ameche (as Tibor Czerny). He invites Colbert to stay over; but, she is after finer digs, and ditches Mr. Ameche at a gas station.Next, Colbert crashes a socialite's party, where she meets wealthy John Barrymore (as George Flammarion). To win back the attentions of wife Mary Astor (as Helen), Mr. Barrymore hires Colbert to romance Ms. Astor's handsome French lover, Francis Lederer (as Jacques Picot). Meanwhile, Ameche summons his taxi-driving pals to find Colbert, with whom he has fallen in love… Wonderfully cast, with Colbert offering her by now typically delightful performance; like several of her other films, "Midnight" is much better than the more celebrated "Academy Award" winner. An obviously inebriated Barrymore is better than none. And, screenplay writers Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder seem to be warming up for "Ninotchka". Probably, this is director Mitchell Leisen's finest work.********* Midnight (3/15/39) Mitchell Leisen ~ Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Mary Astor

In some ways I feel sorry for those that made MIDNIGHT. While it is a wonderful movie, it came out during what many would argue was the greatest year in Hollywood history. 1939 saw such films as GONE WITH THE WIND, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS and MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON and so it's not surprising that films like MIDNIGHT and THE WIZARD OF OZ somehow took a back seat. Had it come out in a different year, it might have taken home an award or at least been nominated.The story begins with penniless Colbert arriving in Paris and being befriended by cabbie, Ameche. However, soon after meeting, she accidentally bumbles into a society party and is mistaken for a guest. From then on, she is sucked into the finest circle and is wined and dined and lives a Cinderella-like life--that is until Ameche shows up and announces he's there to ask her to marry a lowly cab driver.The film has a pretty impressive pedigree--the screenplay written by the exceptional duo of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, directed gracefully by Mitchell Leisen and starring some exceptional actors--Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore. In just about every way, this was a quality product, though I will admit the story was a bit silly and unbelievable. However, despite these minor limitations, the whole package looked so nice, was constructed so well and was so clever that it was easy to look past how unbelievable the whole thing was.Sweet and enjoyable from start to finish--this is a film worth seeking.

then watch this wonderful film! I could count on two hands the number of films which have genuinely made me laugh out loud, and this is near the top of the list, perhaps even the top, of the list. I first saw it on television many years ago, and I can't remember it ever being shown since - pity. I scoured the net for it and found it on VHS eventually. As others have said, it is right up there with the likes of 'Bringing Up Baby' and 'It Happened One Night' as a sparkling comedy, but the one-liners for me surpass the anything in those films. What a shame it seems to have been forgotten. If, as someone has written, it is to re-made with Reese Witherspoon as Eve Peabody, let's hope it will make people look up this overlooked classic. They really don't make them like this anymore.