Star Of Midnight (1935)

Star Of Midnight - 1935

Our next film is 1935's "Star Of Midnight", starring William Powell and Ginger Rogers.  A lawyer helps tries to help a friend find his missing girlfriend, but stumbles upon a murder in his own home.  He must now try and figure out how the two events are connected.

The film's supporting cast includes Paul Kelly, Gene Lockhart, Ralph Morgan, Leslie Fenton, J. Farrell McDonald, Russell Hopton, Vivien Oakland, Robert Emmett O'Connor, and George Chandler.

The film begins with a man named Tim who asks his lawyer friend Dal (Powell) for help in locating his missing girlfriend.  She disappeared without a trace.  There are no clues to go on.  Dal says he'll keep his ear to the ground and let him know if he hears anything.

Dal's girlfriend Donna (Rogers), who wants to marry him very badly, arrives for an evening out with Dal.  They have plans to go to the theater, and Tim goes with them.

They go to see a sold-out show with a very intriguing actress named Mary Smith, who is famous for never taking off a mask, even when she isn't performing.  During the show, Dal has to leave to run an errand for Donna.  While he's gone, Tim recognizes Mary Smith as Alice.  He shouts her name and she disappears again.

Tim goes to see Dal, who is now at home.  He tells him what happened at the theater.  While he's talking, a knock is heard at the door.  Dal tells Tim to go and wait in the study while he sees who it is.

The door opens to reveal reporter Tommy Tennant.  He asks Dal a few questions, and then also tells him his version of events of what happened in the theater.  As he was following the man who shouted out Alice's name, he came across a huge story.

Just as Tommy is about to tell the story, a gun appears from behind the study door.  Two shots ring out.  Tommy is instantly killed, while Dal is grazed in the hip.  The shooter throws his gun at the two bodies and flees the scene.  Dal goes to the study to see if he can find Tim, whom he sent in after the knock at the door.  He can't find Tim, but there is an open window.

Policemen come to the apartment and question Dal about events at his apartment.  One of them becomes suspicious of Dal and blames the whole murder on him, saying he grazed himself in the hip to deflect attention.

They come back to ask more questions the next morning, following him into the bathroom so Dal's girlfriend Donna can't hear what's being said.

Wanting to get himself out from under suspicion, Dal decides to investigate the murder.  He enlists the help of Donna and his butler, Swayne.

His investigations lead him to the apartment of Mary Smith (Alice, who ran away from the theater).  The police, who have been trailing Dal, also arrive at the apartment.  Dal tells them that he now thinks the disappearance of Alice and the murder of Tommy Tennant are connected.  The police are very interested in that possibility.

Dal's sleuthing eventually leads him to the mob and a powerful mob boss named Jim Kinland.

A former girlfriend even shows up at Dal's apartment late one night to discuss the case with him.

Of course, Donna (who pretends to be Dal's wife) is having none of that, and the old girlfriend quickly leaves.

The old girlfriend's husband even talks with Dal about the case.  With so many suspects, including Dal's own butler, things quickly get more and more baffling.

One night after being mistaken as a suspect in the murder by a theater usher, Dal decides to stop investigating.  "When I’ve got to pay a reward to a correspondence school detective to find out that the most promising suspect in a murder case I’m investigating is myself, I’d better quit," says Dal.

After he's made the decision to quit, Donna finds that a picture on Dal's wall is crooked.  He removes the picture and discovers a listening device.  He's suddenly interested in investigating again.

To compound matters, Tim (the man who was in the study who had disappeared when the shots were fired at Dal) appears at his apartment and is badly beat up.

When Dal is out of the room, Tim is attacked.  Dal asks Tim who it was.  All Tim can say is that it was a woman.

Piecing more and more of the puzzle together, Dal decides to set a trap and entice the killer to come to Alice's apartment.  Donna bravely goes with him.

Low and behold, a woman appears in the doorway of Alice's apartment.  Dal tries to hold her off by talking until the police can get there.

The police do get there in the nick of time and put a slug in the woman.  Only, it turns out it's not a woman at all.  It was just a mask the real killer was wearing. (I won't spoil it and tell you who it was.)

To end things well, Tim and Alice get back together.  Dal and Donna get married, and they have a celebratory drink before retiring to bed.

Cast rundown:

   William Powell....................................Clay "Dal" Dalzell

   Ginger Rogers....................................Donna Mantin

   Paul Kelly...........................................Jim Kinland

   Gene Lockhart....................................Horatio Swayne

   Ralph Morgan.....................................Roger Classon

   Leslie Fenton......................................Tim Winthrop

   J. Farrell McDonald..............................Inspector Doremus

   Russell Hopton....................................Tommy Tennant

   Vivien Oakland....................................Jerry Classon

   Robert Emmett O'Connor......................Police Sgt. Cleary

   George Chandler..................................Witness

And that's all for Star Of Midnight.  If you enjoy whodunits, you'll definitely want to watch this one.  I love Powell and Rogers' witty banter and the way they work so well together.  Ginger Rogers started working on this film immediately after the film Roberta had finished.  After this movie, she jumped into her next project, another Fred Astaire film, Top Hat.

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