''Midnight'' is a 1934 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

drama film, the first directed by

Chester Erskine Chester Erskine (November 29, 1905 – April 7, 1986) was an American director, producer, and writer. Biography Chester Erskine was born in Hudson, New York and studied for a short time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first dir ...

, and starring

Sidney Fox Sidney Fox (born Sarah Liefer; December 10, 1907 – November 15, 1942) was an American stage and film actress in the late 1920s and 1930s.Sidney Fox Beaha's age in some records is given as 30 or 31 when she died, including in the registry ...

O.P. Heggie Oliver Peters Heggie ( Otto Peters Heggie; 17 September 1877 – 7 February 1936), billed as O. P. Heggie, was an Australian film and theatre actor best known for portraying the hermit who befriends the Monster in the film ''Bride of Frankenste ...

Henry Hull Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor who played the lead in Universal Pictures's ''Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a character actor on scr ...

and

Margaret Wycherly Margaret De Wolfe Wycherly (26 October 1881 – 6 June 1956) was an English actress. A prolific stage and screen performer, she spent many years in the Cinema of the United States, United States and is best remembered for her Broadway theatre, B ...

. It was based on the`

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of ...

(New York, 29 December 1930) play with the same name by Claire Eunice (née Ginsburg) and Paul Field Sifton The film was produced for

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

and was shot on a modest budget of $50,000 at Thomas Edison Studios, which producer/director Chester Erskine had re-opened specifically for the shoot.Allen Eyles, ''Bogart'', Macmillan, 1975 p 32

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

had a supporting though key role. The film was re-released as ''Call It Murder'' by

Screen Guild Productions Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert. History Robert L. Lippert (1909–1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frust ...

(Guaranteed Pictures) in 1949 after Bogart became a star; he was given top billing, although he is present in few scenes and was credited eighth in the original release. ''Midnight'' is the tenth feature-length film Bogart appeared in. ''Midnight'' was one of the last Pre-Code films, having been released just four months before strict enforcement of the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...

on July 1st, 1934.

Plot

A woman named Ethel Saxton is on trial for shooting her lover to death; her defense is that she did not mean to kill him, but fired under extreme emotional pressure because she could not stand that he was leaving her. Spectators give her a decent chance to be let off because it was a crime of passion. But Edward Weldon, the jury foreman, asks her whether she picked up the money the lover had collected to leave with after she shot him, and when she says yes, he concludes, and influences the jury to find, that this means the crime was premeditated. She is convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. On the evening of Ethel's execution, Edward is dealing with the consequences of his role as foreman. Friends have come to the house to support the family, and are trying to distract Edward with bridge and chat, but reporters are clustered outside, and an unscrupulous journalist has bribed Weldon's son-in-law to let him set up a fake radio set in the house so he can play on Edward’s emotions with an exaggerated “broadcast” of the execution. Weldon's daughter Stella met a charming man named Gar Boni at the trial, and in the ensuing weeks has fallen madly in love with him. But he tells his friends that one reason he is leaving town tonight is that she is getting too serious and that is not his kind of romance. He comes to the house, and she begs him to stay or take her; she threatens to come to the train station at midnight if he does not return to say another goodbye. In the course of this she notices that he is carrying a gun, which he says is for his work. The journalist pretends to broadcast details of Ethel screaming and collapsing as she is led to the chair, though we see her, in intercut scenes, suffering and fearing but walking to her death with dignity. Edward, pressured by this and his feelings, opens his front door and gives the waiting reporters an emotional statement about how the law is the law and he did right. At the same moment, the switch is pulled at the

death house ''Death House'' is a 2017 American horror film written by Gunnar Hansen, who has a cameo in the film, and directed by Harrison Smith. The film features an ensemble cast of horror icons including Kane Hodder, Barbara Crampton, Bill Moseley, Dee W ...

, and a gun goes off where Stella and Gar are having their last argument in his car. Stella comes into the house carrying Gar’s gun, and says she shot him. The rest of her family immediately starts finding excuses for her and telling Edward they must agree on a story to exculpate her. They want her to say Gar attacked her and she shot him in self-defense, and more than one pressures Edward to choose his daughter over “some moldy old laws” that everyone else breaks. But Weldon, though obviously torn between love for his daughter and his past pronouncements about the rule of law, contacts the district attorney to come to the house, and tells him the truth. Luckily, the D.A.’s men investigate the murder scene and find that the bullet that killed Gar came from another car across the street; he was the victim of a gangland rubout, not the crime of passion Stella thought she committed. She weeps in Edward’s arms as his agonizing dilemma is negated.

Cast

... Stella Weldon *

... Edward Weldon *

... Nolan *

... Mrs. Weldon *

Lynne Overman Lynne Overman (September 19, 1887 – February 19, 1943) was an American actor. In films he often played a sidekick. Early life and career Born in Maryville, Missouri,Aaker, Everett (2013). George Raft: The Films'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland ...

... Joe Biggers (as Lynn Overman) * Katherine Wilson ... Ada Biggers *

Richard Whorf Richard Whorf (June 4, 1906 – December 14, 1966) was an American actor, writer and film director. Life and acting career Whorf was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts to Harry and Sarah (née Lee) Whorf. His older brother was linguist Benjamin ...

... Arthur Weldon *

... Gar Boni *

Granville Bates Granville Bates (January 7, 1882 – July 8, 1940) was an American character actor and bit player, appearing in over ninety films. Biography Bates was born in Chicago in 1882 to Granville Bates, Sr., a developer and builder, and Adaline Bates ...

... Henry McGrath *

Cora Witherspoon Cora Witherspoon (January 5, 1890 – November 17, 1957) was an American stage and film character actress whose career spanned nearly half a century. She began in theatre where she remained rooted even after entering motion pictures in the ...

... Elizabeth McGrath *

Moffat Johnston Moffat Johnston (1886–1935) was a Scottish-born actor with a substantial United States stage career. Career Johnston was born to John Moffat Johnston and Margaret Parke (Boyd). He was educated at Watson's School and the University of Edinburgh. ...

... Dist. Atty. Plunkett *

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles on film during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Henry O'Neill was born in Orange, New J ...

... Ingersoll (as Henry O'Neil)

References

External links

''Midnight'' (1934)
Review at ''Pre-Code.Com'' *
Midnight
-

encyclopedia.com ''Encyclopedia.com'' is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information, images, and videos from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works. History The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...

Paul Field Sifton and Claire Sifton papers, 1912-1980
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

* Metadata
Midnight
-

IBDB The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

Midnight
-

tcmdb Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

* * {{AFI film, 6305 1934 films American black-and-white films 1934 crime drama films Film noir 1934 romantic drama films Films directed by Chester Erskine American crime drama films American romantic drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language crime drama films English-language romantic drama films Romantic crime films