MIDNIGHT LACE

Doris Day in jeopardy

MIDNIGHT LACE (1960). Director: David Miller.

Heiress Kit Preston (Doris Day) has never had a difficult day in her life, so the perky but somewhat neurotic lady is unprepared when she starts to get death threats from a sinister, cartoon-like voice in the London fog and over the telephone. Kit recently wed businessman Anthony Preston (Rex Harrison), and while he is concerned, neither he nor Inspector Byrnes (John Williams) are absolutely certain that Kit has been hearing anything. She is suspicious of everyone she encounters, including her maid's nephew (Roddy McDowall of Dead Man's Island); a hunky contractor working on a house next door (John Gavin); and an odd fellow who keeps following her (Anthony Dawson). Then someone pushes her in front of a bus ...

Day, Harrison, Williams, Gavin, Loy

Midnight Lace is a smooth and entertaining suspense film with a host of good actors, including those mentioned and Myrna Loy as Kit's aunt and Herbert Marshall (of Gog) as Anthony's business associate. Natasha Parry [The Dark Man] and Hermione Baddeley are also notable. As for Day, she gives a convincing if borderline comical performance of a incredibly overwrought woman who is admittedly in a tense situation but has no clue as to how to handle it without getting hysterical -- and I do mean hysterical. One has to witness her incredible meltdown on the staircase to believe it! The picture is fun however. It has some structural similarities to another film directed by David Miller, Sudden Fear. (In that film Joan Crawford handles things with much more vigor than Day does). 

Verdict: Unless you really hate Day you should enjoy this. ***. 

THE DARK MAN

Maxwell Reed and Natasha Parry

THE DARK MAN (1951). Written and directed by Jeffrey Dell. 

An unidentified man (Maxwell Reed of Shadow of Fear) commits a murder, and then decides to kill off the cab driver who has driven him away from the murder scene. Unfortunately, a pretty young actress named Molly (Natasha Parry) sees the latter action and immediately goes to the top of Reed's hit list. Molly manages to get away this time, and is soon taken under the wing of the lustful Inspector Viner (Edward Underdown), who seems to spend more time thinking of her and kissing her than he does in doing a decent job of protecting her. No one bothers to even check out her flat when she goes home from the theater where she works, so naturally "the Dark Man" is waiting for her -- in the dark, of course. The climax takes place at a military testing range where there is some minimal excitement, but the movie is essentially mediocre. There is some moody photography by Eric Cross, and an interesting, dissonant score by Hubert Clifford. 

Verdict: **1/2.