What makes it different from others?

One of my all time favorites.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Remember the Night is directed by Mitchell Leisen and written by Preston Sturges. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson, Willard Robertson and Sterling Holloway. Music is by Friedrich Hollaender and cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff.A lovely heart warming tale for the Yuletide season, story pitches Stanwyck as a lady thief and MacMurray as the prosecutor who takes pity on her and takes her home to meet his family. Back stories are revealed and the chemistry between the two principals is palpable. The genius pen of Sturges provides much humour, romance and family values, while Leisen smartly directs his cast to bonzer performances. Also of note is that the director never lets the film slip into deep treacle territory, getting the various balances just right.A must see Christmas movie across the board. 8/10

I like the commentaries from moonspinner55 ("Serious-comedy with the offbeat Sturges touch...") and Mark Waltz ("She may not be in Connecticut...") Both reviewers do a good job of breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of Remember the Night. Another commentary worth reading is here: http://www.black-and-white-movies.com/remember-the-night.htmlFor me, it is easily best film that Preston Sturges was part of, including his big four (Lady Even, Sullivan's Travels, Palm Beach Story and the Miracle of Morgan Creek). The combination of Mitchell Leisen (direction) and Preston Sturges (screenplay) is a lot stronger than when Sturges began directing his films.Some weaknesses include the insultingly stupid Black servant Rufus, the overly long opening courtroom scene, the bizarre cousin Willy and the sound quality, particularly near the end. (I struggled to make out several lines.)The premise of a top DA bailing out a thief and taking her home for Christmas has the makings of a Sturges farce, but the tone of the story changes as they make their journey. The legal situation they stumble into, instigated by an unreasonable farmer, parallels the relationship of the DA (Fred MacMurray) and shoplifter (Barbara Stanwyck). Another parallel is at the New Year's party when Stanwyck's character playfully steals egg money from a man with several other women nearby helping her. Both scenes help us identify with her.The Christmas scene is top-shelf; simply marvelous. Devoid of iconography (i.e., no Santa or Jesus), the simple pleasure of watching a loving family exchanging gifts with their unexpected guest is sublime. I really liked Leisen's visuals here. The only music is when MacMurray and Willy (Sterling Holloway) sing. Neither are outstanding, but both sing with feeling. (Stanwyck is supposedly playing piano for Willy's song, but we don't see her hands.)From the touching Christmas scene to the New Year's Eve party to the trip back (via Canada; as they're on the lam) to Niagra Falls and then back to the dreaded court date in New York, Remember the Night approaches greatness. It breathes life back into a holiday season that for many of us has always been bittersweet. Remember the Night is a love story so beautifully realized that viewers may may need a hankie to wipe off the tears. Those tears are from happiness and the anticipation of new possibilities.

Four years before they were murder (in "Double Indemnity") and five years before she learned how to flip pancakes (in "Christmas in Connecticut"), Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck were dynamic in this Mitchell Leissen comedy/drama that will leave you merry but weary from crying. It's just before the holidays in New York City, and shoplifter Barbara Stanwyck is caught trying to hawk a bracelet she just stole from another jewelers. D.A. Fred MacMurray is raring to get out of town for the holidays, but must first prosecute her case. He is not happy, yet he won't be happy if he leaves her behind bars over Christmas. So what does he do? He takes her home with him, of course! It's not that simple, but MacMurray does agree to drop her off in Ohio to see her mother who is not welcoming at all. But being a "Hoosier" (from Indiana), MacMurray does agree to host her for the holidays along with his widowed mother (Beulah Bondi), spinster aunt (Elizabeth Patterson) and sweet farmhand (Sterling Holloway). They are more than happy to have her, sure a romance is brewing. For a small town girl gone wrong like Stanwyck, this is heaven. And slowly but surely, the two fall in love, even though she's sure to get jail time when they get back to Manhattan.One of three Christmas movies made by the wonderful Barbara Stanwyck ("Meet John Doe" is the other), "Remember the Night" is an almost forgotten gem which has been rediscovered by film connoisseurs and is now considered a classic (not just another old movie). At the heart of its story is the message of what Christmas really is about-giving of oneself, not just to family, but to strangers as well. Once MacMurray realizes this, he finds that the reward is magic. There are so many wonderful moments in this timeless film that the best way to learn about them isn't to read reviews, but to watch the film. This cynical world of ours may find films like this overly sentimental, but it is sentiment which keeps us sane over the holidays. For me, the highlight is MacMurray's family and Stanwyck singing "A Perfect Day", as well as some sweet scenes between Stanwyck and Patterson, and later Stanwyck and Bondi, the later almost bittersweet. Georgia Caine is darkly cold as Stanwyck's mother who takes great pains to remind Stanwyck (in front of MacMurray) what a rotten child she was. Leissen took great care to make the ending a bit more realistic than it could have been. The mixture of comedy and pathos makes for great viewing of one of the best emotional screenplays (by the brilliant Preston Sturges) ever put on celluloid.

'Remember the Night' is a better film then I give it credit for. It has an overall sentimental atmosphere in an otherwise very slow paced film. Too slow paced to stand out in my mind long after the film is over. It is more dramatic then the comedic promise from the synopsis. I wanted lots of yucks and I got more drama, which is fine if your watching a dramatic picture. A pretty shoplifter named Lee Leander (Barbara Stanwyck) is caught shoplifting around the Christmas season. Assistant District Attorney John Sargeant (Fred 'Absent Minded' MacMurry (my mother's favorite actor) gets the trial postponed till after Christmas. On his way home for the holidays to Indiana he takes her along for the ride so she can visit her estranged parents. The family reunion doesn't go along so well and so she goes to spend the holidays with the lawyer who is going to have to prosecute her once they return from the Christmas holidays. Slowly and surely the fall in love. That's basically the jest of the film. He brings her to Canada where she has the chance to run off and not go back to court. Does she go back? Does John prosecute her? Ohh the mystery?The film slowly gets better as it chugs along. It still never reaches the level of something rather memorable in the StoryBlazer cinematic film history. One of the better funny gags in the film has the couple getting lost driving in the dead of night only to crash a fence and end up in a country field. In the morning they awake to a cow sticking his head in the car window mooing loudly. They decide to milk the cow for all it's worth. (Ok that wasn't funny) I wish there were more clever and funny gags to brag about then stupid cows but hey Cows are funny. More random musings about the film. One of the musical moments of the picture inspired my wife to dance with me. Who says movies are not influential. It was also fun to see Sterling 'Winnie the Pooh' Holloway in a supporting role.Not a bad film. Not a Great Film. A kinna interesting dull film that is again better then I am giving it credit for. Once they kissed at Niagara in Canada and declared their love for one another, my wife declared, 'They fall in love, what more is there to watch. It's time to play Rummikub."