MovieChat Forums > Midnight (1939) Discussion > One of the many wonderful things is

One of the many wonderful things is

posted 17 years ago by trpdean
4 replies | jump to latest

the supporting cast - they aren't the most common actors - Francis Lederer was fantastic - what a handsome and so very Continental kind of guy! And he was NOT in other screwball comedies.

Rex O'Malley - who IS this guy? He's hysterical.

Hedda Hopper was not often seen - particularly in comedies-

and Mary Astor was better known for serious thrillers like The Maltese Falcon.

One of the reasons this succeeds so brilliantly (after the script, the leads, the setting, the gowns, the scenery and sets) is because they use superb actors whom we haven't seen in these kinds of roles before or since.

[–] HarlowMGM 17 years ago

I don't know who Rex O'Malley is but that role has got to be the most flagrant gay character in any 1930's film. He really cracks me up when he begs "pleeeze... pleeeze" trying to persuade Claudette to dish all the inside dirt on her marriage.

Another hilarious bit is when John Barrymore says "We've landed in something but it's not butter" which has to be the first allusion to the word s**t in a American motion picture.

[–] johnlsullivan 16 years ago

The only other thing I've ever seen O'Malley in is George Cukor's version of "Camille" in which he plays Gaston, Greta Garbo's only loyal friend, the one who stuffs money into her purse when the parasitic old bag Prudence (Laura Hope Crews) shows up to fetch the money she's owed while Camille is dying. He's really good in that one, too.

[–] Molly-31 14 years ago

"I don't know who Rex O'Malley is but that role has got to be the most flagrant gay character in any 1930's film."

Except for anything played by Franklin Pangborn.

Let's just say that God doesn't believe in me.

[–] bh-boclraca 16 years ago

I just finished watching this wonderful gem again on DVD. No matter how many times I have seen this movie in the past 15 years or so, I find myself laughing out loud. Have you seen the companion to this movie, another Claudette Colbert screwball classic, "The Palm Beach Story"? Also, an underrated comedy from 1939 in a similar vein to "Midnight" is 20th Century Fox's "Day-Time Wife". The latter does not have the witty dialogue, exceptional acting or Paramount's glossy budget that shows in "Midnight", but it's a silly and fun movie. Other Claudette Colbert movies that I love are: "Family Honeymoon", "So Proudly We Hail", "The Egg and I", "Parrish" and "Texas Lady".