On 17 May 2021, courtesy of the British TV channel Film4, I watched a very engrossing movie that I'd only ever seen once before, more than 40 years ago (and in b/w, so until now I hadn't been aware of its vibrant colour format), but which had very firmly impressed itself upon my memory. Directed by David Miller and released by Universal Pictures in 1960, the movie in question was the very stylish, Hitchcockian Midnight Lace.
Based upon British playwright and screen writer Janet Green's 1958 play Matilda Shouted Fire, Midnight Lace (the name of a lacy black dress that the principal character Kit purchases and which is certainly a much more memorable title than that of Green's play) stars Doris Day, but playing a role very much against type.
For this film is as far removed from her typical frothy romances co-starring Rock Hudson or full-blown musicals like Calamity Jane or The Pajama Game as it is possible to conceive. Yet such was the strength of Day's performance in what for her was such a radical departure from the norm that she was duly nominated for a Golden Globe award. In addition, she was so emotionally drained by it that she vowed never to star in another thriller, and she never did.
Midnight Lace is very much in the Gaslight subgenre of psychological suspense thriller/mystery, with Day playing a wealthy, recently-married young American heiress named Kit Preston, now living in London with her English husband Tony, a banker. However, she is being terrified out of her mind by a series of spooky telephone calls in which the anonymous caller promises that he will kill her before the month is out.
Tony, played by Rex Harrison, is at his own wits' end as to what to do about this macabre affair, as are Kit's visiting American aunt Bea (Myrna Loy), Kit's friend and neighbor Peggy, Inspector Byrnes at Scotland Yard who is investigating this bizarre case at Tony's request, and youthful architect Brian Younger (John Gavin) working nearby on a building project who strikes up a friendship with Kit. To make matters even worse, her housekeeper Doris's work-shy, sinister son Malcolm Stanley (Roddy McDowall) is surreptitiously but tenaciously pestering Kit for money. Could one (or more) of these be responsible for the phone calls, or should we be looking further afield for the culprit(s)?
There are two very different reasons why Midnight Lace has stayed in my mind so vividly and for so long. One is the weird, decidedly creepy voice of her mystery persecutor. And the other is this movie's shock denouement, which comes out of nowhere, especially as the plot is liberally supplied with herrings of the exceedingly red variety.
Worthy of especial praise are the elegant sets, rich colours, and Day's numerous costumes, all of which are truly sumptuous and breathtaking to behold (costume designer Irene was Oscar-nominated for her work in this movie). Moreover, all of Day's ensemble of fellow thespians play their parts as potential suspects very efficiently as far as keeping the perpetrator(s) of Kit's terror veiled, though I have to say that, at least in this particular movie, the face of one of them does not readily lend itself to appearing guileless – which is the only clue that I'm giving out here!
I've now purchased Midnight Lace on DVD for future viewings, but if you'd like to watch an official trailer for it on YouTube to experience some of the thrills and chills that lie in store for viewers of this eerie movie, be sure to click here. (Incidentally, don't confuse this original classic cinema-released film with a remake of the same title that was released as a TV movie in 1981, starring Mary Crosby in the Day role but renamed Cathy Preston).
And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!
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