Midnight Lace

While Kit's wealthy Aunt Bea (Myrna Loy) is visiting them in their beautiful home in London, Kit begins receiving a series of unnerving, anonymous calls, making threats upon her life. After notifying Scotland Yard of the threats, Kit continues to get these calls, which people are starting to think that she made up to get her busy husband's attention. She is also starting to believe that someone is following her and has some unnerving incidents occur, including one in which she is pushed in front of a moving bus and nearly run over.

Who is the stalker? Is it the handsome construction foreman, Brian Younger (John Gavin), working on the building next door, who seems to know Ms. Preston and makes his telephone calls from the pub around the corner? Is it Malcolm (Roddy McDowall), the son of Kit's maid, who is always shaking his mother down for anything he can get? Is it an executive at Mr. Preston's firm, Charles Manning (Herbert Marshall), who seems to be having money trouble and is an old love interest of Aunt Bea? Or could it be Tony, her loving husband, from whose firm someone has embezzled over a million pounds?

The red herrings fly fast and furious in this film, but the discerning viewer should be able to figure out who the crank caller is with relative ease. Notwithstanding this, the film is charming, suspenseful, and well done. Doris Day, beautifully gowned and coiffed throughout the film, is terrific as the unnerved, histrionic heiress, showing herself more than capable at handling dramatic roles. Myrna Loy is wonderful as her concerned aunt who, along with others, is beginning to think that all this is in her niece's mind. Rex Harrison, with his urbane, sophisticated air, is perfectly cast as Kit's successful and well connected husband. Roddy McDowall is excellent in the small role of the malevolent Malcolm, and John Gavin is perfect as the handsome hunk.

This is a stylish, well done film of psychological suspense, deftly directed by David Miller. Fans of Doris Day, as well as those who like a well paced mystery, will enjoy this film.


Day and Hunter's Lace is Delectable!   October 18, 2000
Paul Brogan (Portsmouth, NH United States)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful

Doris Day segued from a successful series of comedy smashes into this, producer Ross Hunter's take on a Hitchcock-style thriller, "Midnight Lace". The pair who had teamed so well in 1959 with "Pillow Talk", netting Day an Oscar nomination as best Actress, once again satisfied the masses with this slightly improbable but very engrossing and glossy suspenser. It was one of the big hits during the waning months of 1960.

The story about an American Heiress, Kit Preston, newly wed to Rex Harrison and taunted by mysterious threats from an unknown person(s), has been done before. Is she crazy? Is she only imagining these taunts as a means of garnering more attention from an unattentive husband or could there actually be someone out to kill her?

While a film buff may be able to see some of the holes in the fabric of the story and guess the ending before the final reel, most moviegoers will enjoy the fast-paced ride they are taken on and will easily get caught up in the events unfolding.

Doris Day is outstanding as Kit. She again proves her talent as an actress of depth and remarkable skill. She conveys her mounting fears with virtuoso ability, never going over the top into "hamminess". The production reportedly had to be briefly shut down after an especially harrowing scene in which Miss Day gave too much to the proceedings. She should have received a well-deserved Oscar nod.

Rex Harrison as her husband Tony is suave and dapper, while Myrna Loy is a delight as Day's Aunt Bea. Mix in Herbert Marshall, Roddy McDowell, John Gavin as well as John Williams, and you have the recipe for high suspense set in lavish surroundings indicative of Hunter's unique film style. Irene's stunning wardrobe, designed for Miss Day, was deservedly nominated for an Academy Award.

If you've only seen Doris Day in her well-loved comedies or earlier musical treats, try "Midnight Lace" which capably displays another side to the multi-talented superstar.


Suspenseful and gorgeously produced   September 9, 2000
Golden Girls fan (Alabama, USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This little thriller from 1960 echoes the tasteful talents of Sir Alfred Hitchcock and his 1954 production of the Frederick Knott stage hit "Dial M for Murder." Doris Day and Rex Harrison star as a wealthy upper-class newlywed couple living in modern-day London. He is the boss of a prestigious company and she lives at home, enjoying married life and all it has to offer. The joy comes to an abrupt end when she starts getting menacing phone calls and hears high-pitched voices calling at her from the fog of London. Her husband will not believe her claims and her best friend feels helpless in what appears to be a simple case of a neglectful husband. But who can't be suspicious when Day is nearly hit by a bus, breaks down in a stopped elevator, sees a man's shadow in her bedroom window at night, gets phone calls over and over, and is almost labeled as insane by those who know her best. The tension and suspense gets to be too much to stand for first time viewers, who cannot leave their seat once the film reaches its final quarter. The photography by Russell Metty (who won an Oscar that same year for his colorful photography of 'Spartacus') is at once appealing and splashy then changes to dark and foreboding, that there is someone in the shadows waiting and watching. One could suspect that Alfred Hitchcock had a hand in this but notice the similarities between this and "Dial M for Murder"...both husbands are named Tony, both stories are set in London, there's a phone involved, John Williams and Anthony Dawson both starred in "Dial M..." with Williams playing the detective and Dawson as the would-be killer. They each reprise such a character in "...Lace." Each film is based on a play. Day, John Gavin, Williams, and Dawson all worked with Hitchcock in different films. And each one poses enough wonder and apprehension to keep you watching to see how it will all turn out. Day played a similar role in the 1956 film "Julie". In any case, this mystery thriller belongs on the shelf of any film buff who loves mystery films and who adores Hitchcock. That twist ending will leave you gasping and wondering, "Why didn't I think of that?"


Engaging mystery but poor acting   March 25, 2000
9 out of 12 found this review helpful

The plot of this movie is certainly interesting enough and has enough suspense and action to keep the viewer interested, however I was disappointed by the bad acting, especially from Doris Day. She is an excellent actress and has previously been extremely entertaining in other suspense trillers. But the character of Kit is clearly amateurish and melodramatic. I found the almost constant sobbing and wailing to be overdone and would have preferred Kit to be a stronger person. Despite this however, the movie is entertaining and has a surprise ending.


Glossy and entertaining "who's driving her insane" saga   June 14, 2002
Simon Davis
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

"Midnight Lace" is always a favourite target for reviewers who pick up on the improbable plot and sheer glossiness of the piece as a way of saying its not a very effective piece of cinema. Personally I always find this film highly entertaining and of real interest on both a story level, of a woman being driven over the edge by a series of threatening phone calls and life threatening near accidents, to the way Ross Hunter has produced the whole piece in both look and feel.

The combination of Doris Day and Rex Harrison in the main leads is an interesting and successful one which was unfortunately never repeated. Doris Day was at this time in 1960 at the absolute peak of her Box Office drawing power in her "second career" as the star of Glossy sex comedies which began with the classic "Pillow Talk". The huge success that "Midnight Lace" enjoyed is very much due to her despite this film being a dramatic departure from the type of roles she is normally remembered for. In her terrific autobiography Doris said that she was very surprised when Ross Hunter offered her this highly dramatic role after the success of "Pillow Talk" but her talents are more than up to this story of a husband trying to drive his wife insane. Rex Harrison in the role of Tony combines the right measures of suave charm and menace to carry off beautifully his part in the proceedings.

A stellar supporting cast is on hand in the form of Roddy McDowell as the no good son of Day's housekeeper who might or might not be the one causing all these terrifying phone calls to Doris's house. The wonderful Myrna Loy in one of her later roles is terrific in the colourful and witty part of Aunt Bea. Her amusing presence in the first part of the story adds a much welcome element of humour to the story and her performance harks back to all her superb work opposite William Powell in the 1930's and 40's.

Improbable most of the story may and certainly the surprise twist at the end will have been worked out long before the conclusion, but it makes for very entertaining viewing. Doris handles all her scenes of sheer terror very well and her slow buildup to the point where she almost looses her mind is very riveting. The situations that continually pursue her such as being almost pushed under a bus, having the recorded voice harrassing her in the fog covered park, and being trapped in the lift with no lights, help to highen the suspense and set the appropiate mood of sheer terror. The musical score chosen for the scenes where Doris is being stalked or menaced on the telephone is excellent and Day's costumnes by the legendary Irene are unsurpassed in the type of elegance that Doris was famed for in her starring years.

"Mignight Lace" is an elegant thriller that pays homage to Hitchcock's work at every turn but is a great film in its own right. While not your typical Doris Day feature it is sure to interest you and displays yet again Doris's diverse talents for both comedy and drama. Enjoy this glossy drama with a dry martini and olives !