Kim Novak and Fredric March meet in the “Middle of the Night”

Middle of the Night (1959) is an American drama film directed by Delbert Mann and starring Fredric March and Kim Novak. The supporting cast includes Glenda Farrell, Albert Dekker, Martin Balsam, Lee Philips, and Lee Grant.

Betty Peisser (Novak) a recently divorced and working as a secretary for a clothing manufacturer. Her boss, Jerry Kingsley, a much older widower who lives with his unmarried sister Evelyn (Edith Meiser) listens to Betty’s retelling of her loveless marriage to her ex-husband George (Philips). At first, Jerry’s affection for Betty is fatherly. But as time goes by, the two begin to fall in love.

Will Jerry and Betty make their relationship work despite the backlash from their friends and relatives?

Kim Novak and Fredric March

Delbert Mann (1920 – 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Best Director Academy Award for his first film, Marty (1955). Other Mann films include The Bachelor Party (1957), Separate Tables (1958), Middle of the Night (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Dear Heart (1964). Mann still worked in television, directing several movies including Heidi (1968), David Copperfield (1969), and Jane Eyre (1970).

Kim Novak (1933 - ) is an American film and television actress. She retired in 1991. Novak was one of the last “studio-created” stars during a time when the studio system was in decline. Born Marilyn Pauline Novak in Chicago, her name was changed to Kim after she signed a long-term contract with Columbia Pictures in 1954. By the next year, Novak was a major star working opposite the likes of Frank Sinatra and William Holden. Some of her significant films include Picnic (1955), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), The Eddy Duchin Story (1956), Pal Joey (1957), and Bell, Book and Candle (1958). Perhaps her most celebrated film is her dual role in Vertigo (1958) co-starring James Stewart and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In 2012, the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound critic’s poll voted Vertigo as the best film of all time. After retiring from film, Novak has devoted herself to painting and has exhibited her work publicly.

Fredric March (1897 - 1975) was an American actor and two-time Best Actor Academy Award winner. Also a famous stage actor, March won two Tony Awards as well and is one of a few actors to have won both the Academy Award and the Tony Award twice. March was an immediate success in films receiving his first Best Actor nomination in 1930. He won his first Best Actor Oscar for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) and second for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). During the 1930s and 1940s, March was a popular leading man starring opposite Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Janet Gaynor, Norma Shearer, Katharine Hepburn, and Carole Lombard. March continued acting on stage and in films until 1973, two years before his death from cancer.

 

Lee Grant and Kim Novak

Middle of the Night trivia

• Kim Novak considered this her best performance.
• Edward G. Robinson played March’s role on Broadway. Gena Rowlands had the Novak role on stage opposite Robinson.
• James Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, and James Cagney were all considered for the role of Jerry Kingsley.
• Jean Simmons was considered for the role of Betty.

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube.

 

Click HERE to join the online discussion on January 13, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. Did you find the relationship between Novak and March believable?
2. Do you think May-December relationships can be successful in real life?
3. Was the chemistry between Novak and March believable?
4. Did you find the ending satisfying?

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap: The Third Day

Hollywood, Saturday April 8
Saturday may have been the best day of the festival. Two of my favorite comedies: The Awful Truth and Theodora Goes Wild were on the schedule and I couldn’t have been more pleased. Irene Dunne was the top-billed star of both films and she’s one of my all-time favorite movie actresses. Someone who I think was underrated—even though she received five Best Actress nominations—during her heyday. Dunne and Cary Grant, her costar in The Awful Truth, had a chemistry that is hard to analyze, but is truly magical. Many critics, including me think that they were at their best when together. The pair made two other movies: My Favorite Wife, a comedy and Penny Serenade, a drama, which won Grant his first Best Actor nod. Dunne received two of her Best Actress nominations back to back for Theodora Goes Wild (1936) and The Awful Truth (1937).

There were so many good film choices Saturday morning that it was another day of tough decisions. The Court Jester (1955), Red River (1948), The China Syndrome (1979), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Stalag 17 (1953), and This is Cinerama (1952). Of those films, I hadn’t seen The Court Jester or This is Cinerama. I decided to see The Court Jester in the Chinese Theatre, once again keeping with the festival’s comedy theme. The Danny Kaye comedy-musical comedy is a favorite to many. It features the classic “The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!” routine. The film was presented in a digital restoration that looked beautiful. Shot in Vista-Vision, Paramount’s answer to Cinemascope, The Court Jester looked brand new. The Technicolor looked vivid and crisp. Comedian Fred Willard and Illeana Douglas introduced the movie; it is one of Willard’s favorites. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and caught myself laughing out loud (I was in good company) during many scenes. The supporting cast was a dream: Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, and Angela Lansbury. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Fred Willard and Illeana Douglas introduce The Court Jester.

I already revealed that The Awful Truth was a movie I was anxious to see at the festival and even though there were some great films competing with it, I had to see this movie on the big screen at the Chinese. Competing with The Awful Truth was Rear Window (1954), The Last Picture Show (1971), David and Lisa (1962), and The Great Dictator (1940). There was so much laughter during The Awful Truth that first-timers missed at least 20% (my estimate) of the jokes; it canceled out some of the “follow-up jokes.” It was a testament to the writing, direction, and the performances of Dunne, Grant, and Ralph Bellamy, among others, that the film holds up 80 years after it was first released!

Cary Grant and Irene Dunne toast their “freedom” in The Awful Truth.

After The Awful Truth, I took a break and went to the “Conversation with Lee Grant” at Club TCM. Interviewed by critic Leonard Maltin, Grant recounted her early life and career, as well as the devastating effects of the Black List on her life and career. Grant’s husband, Arnold Manoff, was a communist. Grant was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and because she refused to testify against her husband, she was blacklisted from film for a dozen years. Her movie career started with such promise; she received a Best Supporting Oscar nomination for her first film, Detective Story (1951). During this period, she found work on the stage and in television. Grant moved from acting to directing both small independent features and documentary films.

Melvyn Douglas, Irene Dunne and crew on location for Theodora Goes Wild

Next was another Irene Dunne classic, Theodora Goes Wild. Every time I see this movie, the more impressed I am with it. The writing, direction, and acting are first rate. This was Dunne’s first foray into comedy, but you’d never know it. Her timing is impeccable and she was a great physical comedian as well. The plot surrounding a small town girl, who writes a scandalous best-selling novel, unbeknownst to the two maiden aunts who raised her is hilarious. Illeana Douglas introduced the film. Her grandfather, Melvyn Douglas, was Dunne’s leading man and perfect comic foil. The superior supporting cast included Thomas Mitchell, Thurston Hall, Elisabeth Risdon, Margaret McWade, Spring Byington, and Nana Bryant. Risdon and McWade are especially endearing as Theodora’s aunts. Their transformation by the film’s end is wonderful and incredibly amusing. And it was great to see this film in the beautiful Egyptian Theatre filled with uproarious laughter.

Stunning Technicolor sets Black Narcissus apart from other films of the period.

My last movie of the day (evening) was Black Narcissus (1947). This nitrate film was shot in breathtaking Technicolor; the print that we saw at the Egyptian was beautiful. The film stars Deborah Kerr as a nun sent to the Himalayas to open and establish a convent school. The psychological drama also stars Sabu, Flora Robson, and David Farrar. The film features an early screen appearance by Jean Simmons, cast as an Indian servant girl. Kathleen Bryon plays a troubled nun who is drawn to the estate manager (Farrar). Bryon’s character also believes that Kerr is in love with Farrar, and in her twisted mind considers her a rival for his affections. The film’s themes and story are complicated, but fascinating. I felt like it was “Vertigo with nuns,” since it explores some of the same themes, and has a similar climatic scene.

Hard to believe that tomorrow, Sunday, would be the festival’s last day, but there were still great movies to be seen!

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap

I can’t believe the 2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival is over. All winter long, I looked forward to the festival to get me through the days, the weeks, the months until those magical four days of classic movie bliss. Now, this third TCMFF is history.

This year I saw 14 movies (the same number as last year), but all the movies I attended were in either the Egyptian Theatre or the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX! All the movies I wanted to see I got to see. Last year I was shut out of Midnight and Double Harness (twice!). Since so many films were shown at the Egyptian (618 seats), it was less stressful than last year. Last year it seemed like the time between movies was so tight that I was constantly running to the next screening for fear of not getting in. Thankfully, this was not the case this year.

Part of the crowd at the Egyptian Theatre

The festival was dedicated to the memory of Robert Osborne, which was only right. His knowledge and love of classic movies will be sorely missed. I think he would have enjoyed this year’s movie lineup that included some of the funniest screwball comedies from the 1930s and 1940s. Plus his favorite movie star, Gene Tierney was showcased in the classic film noir, Laura.

My goal this year was to try and see movies I hadn’t seen before. Of all the movies I saw, six were new to me. At this year’s festival, they promoted several nitrate films. Thanks in part to TCM, the Egyptian remodeled its projection booth so that it could screen nitrate films safely. I ended up seeing all the nitrate screenings. I had seen all of these films before, but Lady in the Dark hasn’t been seen anywhere for years. It’s been at least 30 years since I last saw it—and I didn’t remember a thing—so in many ways it was new to me.

Besides movies, I attended the “So You Think You Know Movies” event at ClubTCM (tough, tough questions!), enjoyed “conversations” with Peter Bogdanovitch and Lee Grant. Good stuff!

Films were shown in the following formats: 35mm, digital, and nitrate (35mm). Below is the breakdown of film formats I saw this year:

35mm – 9 films
Digital – 5 films
Nitrate – 4 films (nitrate films were all 35mm)

Check back for daily recaps and recollections from my four days at the festival.