Midnight Lace

"Even with the arms of her love around her...she still felt the menace of that voice in the night!"

1960 1h 48m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 132

MysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Kit Preston begins to unravel when she receives threatening telephone calls informing her she's soon to be murdered.

“Even with the arms of her love around her...she still felt the menace of that voice in the night!”

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Cast

Doris Day
Kit Preston
Rex Harrison
Anthony Preston
John Gavin
Brian Younger
Myrna Loy
Aunt Bea
Roddy McDowall
Malcolm
Herbert Marshall
Charles Manning
Natasha Parry
Peggy Thompson
Hermione Baddeley
Dora Hammer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Miller
Writers: Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Miller, shot by Russell Metty. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Leon Barsha shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Doris Day and Rex Harrison and John Gavin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Even with the arms of her love around her...she still felt the menace of that voice in the night!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0054084 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Miller directs. Russell Metty behind the camera. Frank Skinner scores. Leon Barsha cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

166 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by David Miller, shot by Russell Metty. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Leon Barsha shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Doris Day and Rex Harrison and John Gavin carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Even with the arms of her love around her...she still felt the menace of that voice in the night!".
7IMDB entry: tt0054084 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Russell Metty
Original score: Frank Skinner
Editing: Leon Barsha
Costume design: Irene
Makeup / hair: Bud Westmore
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Status: Released
Box office: $7,400,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Midnight Lace (1960)

Also by

David Miller

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-07-27
★ 7/10
Matilda Shouted Fire. Midnight Lace is directed by David Miller and adapted to screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts from the play Matilda Shouted Fire by Janet Green. It stars Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, Roddy McDowall and Herbert Marshall. Music is by Frank Skinner and cinematography by Russell Metty. Kit Preston (Day) is being stalked, but she can’t get anyone to believe her. Is she going mad? The “woman in peril” thriller has always proved popular since the advent of film, Midnight Lace may not have the class or menace of something like Gaslight or the best of Hitchcock, but it’s a splendid mystery thriller yarn. Pic sets its goals out from the start, as the delightful Miss Day is pursued through the pea souper fog by person unseen. Then the phone calls start, a weird voice at the end of the line issuing less than complimentary advice, but nobody is sure if she is really suffering these harassments. So, enter a whole ream of suspects from weasels and schemers to the unbalanced and the too suave to be true, red-herrings now rule the roost and it’s great fun. As things progress Kit’s hysteria goes up a notch at a time until it’s all out psychological bedlam. The big reveal is not exactly a surprise, but the enjoyment was in getting there. Unfortunately the production loses points for some sloppy editing and poor design for the London setting, the latter rendering the already fanciful story a fake feel that’s hard to shake off, the theatrical origins evident for sure. Which is a shame because Metty's photography is sublime, the principal colours positively spanking (check out those greens). Still, Harrison and Day can pretty much sell these characters in their sleep, and they are backed up by Gavin and Loy enjoying themselves. It makes up for what it doesn’t have in atmospherics or freshness of formula, with honest to goodness entertainment values. 7/10

Production companies