To me, this movie is perfection.

Better Late Then Never

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Doris Day plays the victim of stalking, married to a wealthy industrialist. Or politician. One of those entitled men. He's Rex Harrison, charming and smug. Myrna Loy appears as her aunt. If you like to see a mystery/thriller clad in beautiful curtains and wallpapers, this is a film for you. There are enough jump scares for any thriller lover. The victim's life becomes a mess that can't be fixed with luxury and her ivory tower turns into a prison.

Doris Day plays an American in London, the wife of wealthy company chairman Rex Harrison. Terrorised by an anonymous voice, mainly over the phone, threatening her life, she becomes convinced attempts are being made to kill her, but has no proof.This seemed promising at first, but it became increasingly obvious before the halfway point that the villain could be only one of two people, and I could see all the 'surprise' twists leading to the denouement creaking into place just before they occurred, including the identity of the accomplice. This may be as a result of seeing too many variations on the basic theme, particularly in 'Giallos' made in the years after this, but I can't believe the plot was very original even at the time. The phony Hollywood London is fun, though no great aid to any suspension of disbelief. Doris Day pulls out all the stops in a bravura performance, and it's not her fault that her moments of peril don't usually come over with the impact that they might have had. I was struck by her uncanny resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery in some scenes. Hitchcock would no doubt have produced a much stronger film, and sometimes watching stuff he didn't make is invaluable in appreciating just what a genius he was. As it is, it's probably best recommended for those fans of the star who have not seen too many examples of this kind of movie.

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, 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.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

Ultra luxurious equally overwrought melodrama with Doris in one high fashion outfit after another being terrorized by phone. Barely believable but highly entertaining film has good co-stars in Rex Harrison and Myrna Loy, who while for the most part is also dressed very well, is forced to wear one of the ugliest hats every seen in film! It looks like an upside down flower basket was dumped on her head. Otherwise the settings are incredibly plush and poor Doris, who has rarely looked better on screen, spends the entire movie in a state of just below the surface hysteria. Also provides a chance to see some nice scenery of London in the early 60's. Silly but a whole lot of fun.