Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Midnight Lace Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson November 14, 2019

Call it the "Psycho effect" but Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film set the standard for how horror and suspense thrillers were promoted and exhibited. Hitch famously instructed theater owners to impose a "no late admission" policy for patrons coming to their theaters because of the fate Psycho's main protagonist meets during the first hour. Universal-International, which released Midnight Lace about a month after Psycho, adopted yet stretched this policy for its own means. The studio ran ads in newspapers with the headline: "We urge you to see MIDNIGHT LACE from the very beginning! POSITIVELY NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED TO THE THEATRE DURING THE LAST 37½ MINUTES OF ANY PERFORMANCE OF THIS MOST SPINE-CHILLING THRILLER EVER MADE." The film's plot depends heavily on red herrings and false trails so U-I and theater chains wanted to ensure audiences were glued to their seats from the start. Director David Miller's movie was a pet project for producers Ross Hunter and Martin Melcher, who was Doris Day's third husband. Creative partners Hunter and Melcher were also responsible for the comedy Pillow Talk, which co-starred Day and Rock Hudson and was released the year before. Hunter and Melcher entrusted scribes Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts to adapt the popular London play, Matilda Shouted Fire, which was written by Janet Green. A year earlier, Green wrote an original screenplay to the successful British crime drama Sapphire, which U-I also distributed in the States. Making Midnight Lace gave Day a reprieve from her light comedies and singing parts. By 1960, she was the number one female box-office star.

Kit Preston (Doris Day) is an American heiress and expatriate recently married to Anthony Preston (Rex Harrison), a financier of an investment firm. Kit is on her home one day when she hears a voice calling out her name. As she roams into Grosvenor Square in a thick fog, the ominous voice says that he intends to kill her. She arrives home seeking comfort from Anthony but he's been busy in meetings and merely placates her. Soon Kit begins receiving crank calls from the same high-pitched voice which reiterates the threat. Kit's Aunt Bea (Myrna Loy) arrives in London to visit and she's a calming presence. But the people around Kit start emerging as suspects. Charles Manning (Herbert Marshall), Anthony's business partner, finds that there's one million dollars missing from the account ledger and tries to reconcile the amount from his bookie. Is Charles after Kit's wealth? Malcolm (Roddy McDowall), the rapscallion son of Kit's charwoman, attempts to finagle money from Kit. Also, a slender man in a black trench-coat follows Kit around town. Kit and her husband go to Scotland Yard and report the stalker's calls to Inspector Byrnes (John Williams) but he needs more corroboration and witnesses. Besides her aunt, the only person who takes Kit seriously is Brian Younger (John Gavin, fresh off of playing Janet Leigh's boyfriend in that other thriller from 1960), the local building contractor. Will Kit be able to foil her pursuer before it's too late?

Kit is lost in the fog.

Doris Day looks glamorous in the various wardrobes fitted by her personal designer, Irene. She's easy to root for as she communicates anxiety with a shrieking voice when those close to her don't believe her story. Goff and Roberts pilfer pretty liberally from Hitch's Dial M for Murder (1954) and I don't want to delineate all the story similarities in both to spoil it for those who haven't seen either. The British thespian John Williams plays essentially the same S.Y. inspector that he played in Dial M.... Goff and Roberts introduce too many red herrings and can't follow up or develop all the characters' arcs. Midnight Lace is a good mystery thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock and Sorry, Wrong Number.

*Note: Contemporary press articles reported that top-level studio moguls at Universal-International were so enthusiastic with David Miller’s direc­tion in this picture that they offered him the chance to direct Back Street, which he did a year later.

Midnight Lace Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Midnight Lace has arrived in the US courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics on this MPEG-4, AVC-encoded BD-50. The label offers the viewer the option to watch the film in either 2.00:1 or 1.78:1. My research suggests that Miller's film was originally projected in 2.00:1 in cinemas back in 1960 and I prefer that aspect ratio. I've included screenshots of both framings. Midnight Lace has also been released on Blu-ray in Germany by Universum Film and in Australia by Shock Entertainment. This seems to be struck from an older restoration that's appeared on those earlier BDs. Primary hues in the Eastman color photography are warm and bright. Coarse grain percolates the frame throughout the presentation. You can spot it on Day and Harrison in Screenshot #18. There's a lot of dirt during the first reel and print defects, including in establishing or extreme long shots (see #19).

Entertainment journalists remarked that Grosvenor Square has "pea souper" fog, which you'll notice in #s 1 and 9. Film critic Mildred Martin commented that the "London atmosphere is cleverly maintained despite the fact it is the re­sult of lot-built sets combined with background shots. The color is smoky [see frame grab #23], leaning toward yellows and rusty coppers for menacing effect." A Variety reviewer saw the film at the Academy Awards Theatre in late Sept. 1960 and observed "highly dramatic lighting effects and striking hues, principally in the warmer yellow-brown range of the spectrum." Kino has encoded the transfers at mean video bitrates of 22994 kbps and 22958 kbps.

Screenshots 1-20 = 2.00:1 Presentation
Screenshots 21-30 = 1.78:1 Presentation

The 108-minute feature comes with eight chapters.

Midnight Lace Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kino has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1558 kbps, 16-bit). To my hears, the dialogue didn't sound pronounced enough in the foreground so I kept the volume up high on my Onkyo. Though there isn't a ton of hiss, Kino could have done more to improve this track. For older films, I'd like to see them use a bit depth of 24. Composer Frank Skinner's score does well to support the visuals and comment on the characters' emotions.

Fortunately, English subtitles are available.

Midnight Lace Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Kat Ellinger - Ellinger covers some of Doris Day's career, co-star Rex Harrison's grieving for his third wife while making the picture (she also goes into his infidelities), and the careers of the supporting players. She discusses some of the other women's films of the era and makes the argument that Midnight Lace influenced Italian Giallo. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:42) - an unrestored trailer of Midnight Lace presented in full frame.

• Bonus Trailers - trailers for other classics that Kino has also released in high-def.

Midnight Lace Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Midnight Lace tells a convoluted story but it's an entertaining melodramatic thriller that held my interest for nearly two hours. I wasn't able to find precise data on the film's complete box office intake but indications are that it was a commercial success. Hollywood gossip writer Hedda Hopper wrote in her column: "Ross Hunter's 'Midnight Lace' is cleaning up at Radio City Music Hall, where it took in over, $105,000 in four days, better busi­ness than all the Broadway thea­ters pull together." Hitchcock's imprint was readily apparent to observers. Hopper's colleague Louella Parsons asserted: "'Midnight Lace' out-Hitch-es Hitchcock in mystery and intrigue, and you're all ready to scream with fright at the dra­matic moments."

Kino Lorber's transfer is pulled from a dated master but it's watchable and I like having the option to see it in two different screen formats. The uncompressed monaural track could use additional work. Kat Ellinger's commentary is free of gaps and she imparts a lot of good production facts and anecdotes. A SOLID RECOMMENDATION for Midnight Lace.