1939  |  94 mins  |  Rated G

With Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Mary Astor
Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett

Midnight is essential Leisen:  a zany comedy notionally set in Paris, but with a universal story delving into the gap between the amoral ultra-rich on one hand, and the compassion of the working-class poor on the other hand.  With total conviction and impeccable style, Claudette Colbert plays a woman who, for complicated reasons, is stranded on a rainy night in Paris, penniless and hungry, with one asset:  the lamé evening dress she is wearing.  Derek Adams in Time Out (London) wrote: “An enchanting comedy … with a superbly malicious script, gorgeous sets and camerawork, and a matchless cast.  All in all, probably Mitchell Leisen’s best film.”