Midnight (1939)

Midnight - 1939

Our next film is 1939's "Midnight", starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche.  A broke showgirl arrives in Paris and begins to impersonate a Hungarian baroness.  A benefactor makes it possible to live the life she's always dreamed, but can she be happy with riches or as the wife of an ordinary taxi driver?

The film's superb supporting cast includes John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary Astor, Hedda Hopper, Monty Woolley, and Ferdinand Munier.

A train arrives in Paris from Monte Carlo.  Everyone gets off except showgirl Eve Peabody (Colbert), who has to be awakened.

She's come to Paris without a cent to her name.  Her luggage was pawned so that she could afford the train ticket.  All she has in her purse is the pawn ticket.

She gets a ride from taxi driver Tibor Czerny (Ameche).  He drives her from nightclub to nightclub where she hopes to get a job as a singer.  Unfortunately, all turn her down.  He takes her to a restaurant for a hot meal, and she tells him her story, how she's tired of living poorly and wants the comfort of money.  Tibor feels differently, but, regardless, they hit it off and take a liking to one another.

He offers to let her stay at his apartment while he works the night shift.  She refuses, and while he's getting gas in the car she makes a quick exit.  He drives around searching for her to no avail.

Her manner of dress helps her gain access to a swanky classical music salon.  She also quickly slips the majordomo her pawn ticket as her invitation.  It's a while before anyone finds out somethings wrong.  She tries to take a quick seat, but nearly sits on a little dog.

Someone takes her aside and says he needs a fourth for bridge.  She readily agrees, mostly so she can sidestep those wanting to eject her from the party.  Inside the bridge room, she meets Jacques Picot, a wealthy playboy, who turns his attentions from his girlfriend, Helene Flammarion, to Eve.  Helene is noticeably jealous.

Eve introduces herself as the Baroness Czerny.  Helene's husband Georges comes into the room and does a bit of snooping.  He notices Eve's handbag and that it's empty.  He also notices that she's losing quite a bit of money.  He slyly slips some money into it.  Eve is shocked when she goes to her handbag and finds the wad of cash.  Georges also notices the jealousy of his wife brewing over Jacques and Eve.

Later, when Jacques insists on driving her home, Eve tells him she's staying at the Ritz, intending for Jacques to drop her at the door.  When they get to the Ritz, Eve finds out that there is indeed a reservation for "Baroness Czerny".  Reluctantly, she goes to the room and decides to spend the night.

Meanwhile, Tibor Czerny is agitated at Eve's disappearance and wants to find her.  He mobilizes his taxi driver friends.  Everyone contributes a bit of money.  The person who finds Eve will win the pot of money.  The taxi drivers spread the word and head out to canvas Paris for Eve.

In the morning, Eve finds that not only has she a beautiful suite at the hotel, but she has a great deal of luggage with new clothes and a car and chauffeur at her disposal.  Georges Flammarion appears and tells Eve that it was all him.  He arranged for everything.  He also tells her that he noticed how jealous his wife was at Eve's appearance.  He loves her, and wants her back.  So, he's hired Eve to lure Jacques away from Helene.  He invites Eve to his place in Versailles for the weekend, where she'll also find Jacques.  Eve agrees and sees this as a chance to live in comfort.

Eve comes across Jacques and Helene in a hat shop.  Jacques quickly diverts his attention from Helene to Eve.  Eve borrows him to go shopping for weekend clothes.  While in the shop, the hostess of the previous evening's concert comes in.  She tells Helene that she can't find the mysterious Eve Peabody who gained admittance with a pawn ticket.  Helene has a sneaking suspicion that the "Baroness Czerny" is Eve Peabody, and asks the lady for the pawn ticket.  She later has a friend go to Monte Carlo to retrieve the pawned luggage.

While they are driving, Eve's car is struck by one of Tibor's taxi driver friends who recognizes her.  He's shocked to learn that she's using the name "Baroness Czerny", and races to tell Tibor and to claim his prize.

Eve and Jacques take a leisurely drive to the Flammarion residence in Versailles.  Along the way, Jacques falls deeper and deeper in love with Eve.

Meanwhile, Tibor goes to the Ritz and forces the doorman to tell him of Eve's whereabouts, using his taxi driver friends to honk their car horns until the doorman tells him her location.

That evening at the Flammarion residence, Helene's friend has returned from Monte Carlo with Eve's pawned suitcase.  Inside, they see a photograph of a woman whom they think is Eve.  Helene plans to confront her in full view of the assembled guests.

Jacques is in the gardens with Eve, professing his love, and proposing marriage.  She is just about to clinch the deal when Georges Flammarion arrives and tells her of Helene's plans.

Inside the house, Helene has gathered all the guests around her and is just about to confront Eve.  Georges tells Eve that he'll stand by her as best he can.  Just as Helene is about to tell the audience that Eve is not the Baroness Czerny, the unthinkable happens.

The footman announces the arrival of "Baron Tibor Czerny".  This, of course, puts all of Helene's plans to rest.  Eve is shocked.  So, is Georges, who asks Eve if she knows him.  Georges (who knows the real Baron Czerny) goes up to greet Tibor as if he were his old friend from Hungary.

After Georges and Helene leave them for the night, Tibor tells Eve he knew that she loved him when he found out that she took his name "Czerny" as her fake one.  Eve confesses her feelings to him, but she is still very wary of living as the wife of a poor taxi driver.

At breakfast the next morning, Eve has resolved to go through with her plans with Jacques.  Tibor shows up at the breakfast table with an urgent message that their 3-year-old daughter Francie is ill.  Georges and Eve outwit him using a fictitious telephone call to Budapest.  He gets angry and storms off.  Eve tells those at the breakfast table that he is insane.  Sometimes, he's normal, but the slightest thing can upset him.

He comes back downstairs dressed in his cab uniform.  Eve tells everybody to humor him.  She asks everyone to play along: he isn't a baron, he's a cab driver.  Trying to placate Tibor, everyone does as she asks.  Tibor gets frustrated and has to be restrained.  He gets knocked out in the ruckus.  Jacques tells everyone that Eve is going to marry him and he's going to take care of her from now on.

Back in Paris, Eve and Tibor head to divorce court before a very strict judge.  The law says that the couple to be divorced has to spend fifteen minutes together before the final verdict, a last ditch effort to patch things up.

Tibor tells Eve his feelings are unchanged.  He makes the court believe that he is insane, which, according to French law, makes divorce illegal.  Eve realizes that Tibor is the man for her.  She lets Jacques go.  However, Georges and Helene have reunited over the whole business.

Straight from divorce court, Tibor and Eve tell a bewildered judge that they are headed for the marriage bureau.

Cast rundown:

   Claudette Colbert........................................Eve Peabody

   Don Ameche...............................................Tibor Czerny

   John Barrymore..........................................Georges Flammarion

   Francis Lederer............................................Jacques Picot

   Mary Astor..................................................Helene Flammarion

   Hedda Hopper..............................................Stephanie

   Monty Woolley.............................................The Judge

   Ferdinand Munier..........................................Majordomo

And that's all for Midnight.  It is extremely entertaining and stylishly filmed.  Motion Picture Daily called the film "just about the best light comedy ever caught by the camera!"

And of course, I do love a film that gives a dog a place at the breakfast table.

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