Midnight Lace (1960)

You won't be disappointed!

Overrated and overhyped

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I know that there are quite a few people who reviewed here who really enjoyed this movie, and Doris Day's performance. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. I was a child when I saw this movie when it came out (I was about 6), and I vividly remember the outcome, so obviously it made an impression on me. But Doris Day's character has to be the most irritating damsel in distress of all time. Anytime anything happens (shadow, stray noise, phone rings), she launches into outlandish hysterics that made me long for someone to slap her and order her to get it together. The worst was a scene where the phone rings when her husband is standing next to her. She snatches up the phone, identifies herself and thrusts the receiver into her husband's hands so he can hear her stalker. Then she stands there, hands clasped together as if pleading or praying, eyes dripping tears, shaking in terror and distress. I wanted to kill her, and I was a viewer!She also must spend an inordinate amount of time changing her clothes, with a different outfit in every scene. The clothes are the height of fashion circa 1960, and they have not aged well, particularly a hat resembling an overturned bucket with a red flower on the front.But a lot of people love this movie, so obviously my opinion is not universal. Plus, to be fair, even for those of us who denigrate this film, it is fun to watch in a "OMG, now what?" kind of way.

In general, I don't like Hitchcock-like thrillers, and this is no exception. I found the screenplay rather boring ,on the whole, with some major questionable aspects, as follows: 1) The mysterious voice that keeps popping up certainly did not sound like Rex(Harrison) nor like Natasha Parry(Peggy). In fact, it didn't sound clearly like a man or women, but something in between. 2) Peggy's supposed involvement in pushing Kit(Doris) in front of the bus doesn't look possible. I didn't see her standing in back of Doris, among the crowd looking to board the bus. Rather, a short time later, she comes barging through the thick crowd behind where Doris was. How did she get back there so quick if she did the pushing? 3)I thought Peggy's husband was in Singapore in the navy, or do I have the wrong neighbor in mind? 4)Why did Kit keeping listening to the phone messages by the stalker, instead of slamming the phone down as soon as she recognized the voice? 5)Why did Rex bother with the stalker voice if he wanted to kill Kit because he needed her inheritance and because he was having an affair with Peggy, and wanted Kit out of the way before she discovered the affair and divorced him? Presumably, he wanted to drive Kit out of her mind(which he did) so that her death might be chalked up as a suicide, if done right......Things sure got complicated at the end, with both Rex and Peggy's husband on the prowl. Good thing John Gavin(Brian) showed up every now and then to comfort or save Kit......See it at YouTube or on DVD.

Despite the frilly-sounding title, Midnight Lace is not a girly chick flick. It's very scary, putting Alfred Hitchcock's films to shame. As it is, I liked it very much, but I would have loved it had I watched it in the afternoon instead of the evening. Some movies are just scary for me!Doris Day is married to Rex Harrison-I know, suspension of disbelief-and is trying to adjust to her new married life in London. She hears a frightening voice while walking home alone one day, but that's just the beginning. . . Someone is following her and threatening her, but when she tells her husband and the police, no one believes her. Myrna Loy, her aunt, comes for a visit, but an added authoritative presence doesn't deter the stalker.I've said it before, but Midnight Lace is pretty scary. If you liked getting frightened by the phone calls in Scream, you might find it fun to watch Scream's grandfather film. Doris is great, as she always is when given a chance to show her dramatic talents, and with John Gavin, Herbert Marshall, Roddy McDowall, and Hermione Baddeley to round out the supporting cast, she's got plenty to work with. I'm not a Rex Harrison fan, but he didn't ruin the movie. Try it out on Halloween and see what you think!

I'm not as impressed with this film as are many of our viewers, so I am giving it a very weak "7".Let's begin with the photography. I thought lighting here was often substandard. Many times the characters appear in dark shadows. It was quite distracting.In terms of the acting, also mixed reviews from me. I have never been that impressed with Rex Harrison. And this film didn't boost his image with me. I once saw him live at an opening night at the Kennedy Center; we had seats 5 rows back from the stage and I could barely hear him; I thought it must be me; but next day in the "Washington Post" they complained about how such a great experienced actor could hardly be heard. I have long felt that Harrison made a splash at one point in his career and then coasted. Here he certainly coasted. Perhaps you have to be British.I have liked Doris Day in many films, including her more dramatic roles. In particular, I liked her in "The Man Who Knew Too Much". Here she does "okay", but this is far from her best role.I always sort of liked John Gavin, but even I admit he sometimes seems a bit wooden. The wonderful Myrna Loy has a supporting role her as Doris Day's aunt. To me, her role was ruined by some lousy dialog, and it seemed to me she had lost her touch. I was happy to see another veteran actor in a supporting role here -- Herbert Marshall. Unfortunately, he was way past his prime here, and it was not a very good part. Unfortunately, Roddy McDowell is here, as well; I never thought he was very good.The plot...well, they did a really good job of shining the light of suspicion on several of the supporting characters, although, quite frankly, I think most of us knew who the villain was in the first 15 minutes of the film.Look, this is a decent film, probably worth watching for most people who like the genre or Doris Day, but it's no great shakes.