My first favorite is Clifton Webb's bathroom in "Laura". When I win the lottery, I plan to hand the DVD of "Laura" to the finest interior decorator money can hire and say, "Create Waldo Lydecker's bathroom for me." Now that I've seen "Star of Midnight", I will have to add, "And incorporate William Powell's shower." Besides the fantastic Art Deco sets, Star of Midnight is enjoyable for the excellent comic yet suave performance by William Powell. Perhaps inspired by Powell, Ginger Rogers is less wooden than usual, and I (no Ginger fan) found myself rooting for her in her pursuit of marital bliss. Paul Kelly, Gene Lockhart and J. Farrell MacDonald turn in respectable if not particularly memorable performances. The only two clucks in the bunch are Leslie Fenton as the young man in search of a lost love (even if they scraped off the pancake makeup and the extra eyeliner he still would only have one expression in his repertoire), and a clod-footed "comic" turn by Robert Emmett O'Connor as a dumb police detective. Fortunately, they have very few scenes. I enjoyed "Star of Midnight", especially for William Powell's performance, and will watch it again and again.
Review of Star of Midnight
